6.4 Intellectual property


Use your information appropriately
	6.1 Privacy and security
	6.2 Censorship and freedom of speech
	6.3 Netiquette
	6.4 Intellectual property
		6.4.1 Copyright
		6.4.2 Fair dealing
	6.5 Plagiarism


	Glossary

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According to the World Intellectual Property Organization "intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce".

In Australia, the Copyright Act 1968 governs the use of certain forms of intellectual property including:

artistic works
- for example: paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, architectural models
dramatic works
- for example: plays, film scripts, choreography
literary works
- for example: journal articles, computer programs, poems, song lyrics, novels, tables of statistics
musical works
- for example: compositions
television and radio broadcasts
cinematograph films
sound recordings.

Copyright protects the way ideas and information are expressed, not the idea or information itself (Australian Copyright Council, 2005). In Australia, inventions (patents), trademarks, and industrial designs are protected by other areas of law such as the Patents Act 1990 and the Designs Act 2003.

Australian Copyright Council. (2005). Ideas: legal protection. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.copyright.org.au/publications/G015.pdf

World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d). About Intellectual Property. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/

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