Entertainment & Arts Law · Intellectual Property & Copyright
Copyright basics for performing artists.
Copyright is automatic, free and unregistered in Australia. Here is the primer every performer, writer, composer and maker should have.
By Aaron Kernaghan · Brady & Associates Lawyers · 13 September 2026
This article is for informational purposes and general commentary only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship.
Copyright is the automatic legal right that protects original creative work in Australia. It arises the moment a work is put into material form, such as written down or recorded. There is no register and nothing to file. The governing statute is the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
For performing artists, copyright protects the things you create, such as scripts, music, lyrics, choreography and designs, and separately protects recordings and films of performances. It protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself, and it does not protect a performance that is never fixed in material form, although performers have their own separate performers' rights.
What copyright protects
The Act protects two groups. First, works: literary works such as scripts and lyrics, dramatic works such as plays and fixed choreography, musical works, and artistic works such as set and costume designs. Second, subject matter other than works: sound recordings, films and broadcasts. A single production can contain many copyrights at once, owned by different people.
Ideas versus expression
Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, styles or information. It protects the particular form in which they are expressed. Two writers can each write a play about the same historical event, and each owns copyright in their own script, but neither can stop the other from using the underlying idea.
How long copyright lasts
For most works, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. For sound recordings and films, it generally lasts 70 years from the year of first publication. When copyright expires, the work enters the public domain and can be used freely, which matters when staging older plays or setting classic texts.
Your rights as the owner
The owner of copyright in a work controls a bundle of exclusive rights, including the right to reproduce it, to perform it in public, to publish it, and to communicate it to the public, for example by streaming. Someone who does one of these things without permission, and without an exception applying, infringes copyright. Permission is given by a licence, and ownership is transferred by a written assignment.
Using other people's work
To use someone else's work you generally need a licence. There are limited exceptions called fair dealing, which allow use without permission for defined purposes: research or study, criticism or review, parody or satire, reporting the news, and professional legal advice. These are narrow and depend on the use being fair. For music performed in public, licensing usually runs through APRA AMCOS and PPCA, often as a single OneMusic licence.
Performers' rights, in brief
Even where a performer does not own copyright, they have performers' rights that control the recording and use of their live performances, and moral rights in their performances since 2007. These are separate from the copyright in the underlying work and are covered in more detail elsewhere in this resource.
Frequently asked.
Do I have to register copyright in Australia?
No. Copyright is automatic once a work is in material form. There is no register. Keeping dated records helps prove authorship if there is a dispute.
Does copyright protect an idea for a show?
No. Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea, concept or style itself. Protecting a concept usually requires confidentiality agreements or other tools.
How long does copyright last?
For most works, the life of the author plus 70 years. For sound recordings and films, generally 70 years from first publication.
Can I use a short clip of a song under fair dealing?
Only if the use fits a fair dealing purpose such as criticism, review, parody or satire, and is fair. Using music in a show for entertainment is not covered and usually needs a licence.
What is the difference between a licence and an assignment?
A licence is permission to use a work while the owner keeps ownership. An assignment transfers ownership and must be in writing and signed.
If you are a performer, producer, venue, or independent practitioner and this raises a question about your own situation, Aaron Kernaghan and the team at Brady & Associates Lawyers can give you tailored guidance. Call 0421 717 019 or contact the firm.
This article is for informational purposes and general commentary only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. It reflects the law in Australia as at 13 September 2026, with a focus on Commonwealth law and New South Wales and ACT practice. The law changes and applies differently to every set of facts. Written by Aaron Kernaghan, Brady & Associates Lawyers.