Course coordinator
Mr Ben Gardiner
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Law School
Copyright law stands at the vanguard of the law's interaction with technology. It touches computer science, art, architecture, music, fashion, social media, broadcast media, movies and more. This course provides an in-depth examination of copyright law from its foundations and justifications through to its practical application in novel circumstances. It will develop students' knowledge of the nature and scope of copyright in Australia and will compare Australian law with that of other jurisdictions.
Copyright law is driven by technology.ﾠ It is predominantly concerned with protecting the commercial interests of creators of copyright works including writers, musicians, architects, photographers and other artists.ﾠ It also protects entrepreneurial creators such as media companies (including movie studios), music producers and computer software companies.ﾠ
TheﾠCopyright Act 1968ﾠ(Cth) is now more than 50 years old. ﾠIt has been repeatedly amended to keep pace with technological changes so that copyright owners remain protected.ﾠAs a result of these changes, copyright protection is today broader than it has ever been.ﾠ Despite this, there are constant new challenges for copyright owners to overcome. ﾠ
This course examines copyright law from its origins and justifications through to proposed considerations of how it might be improved.ﾠ Students will learn the nature of copyright (i.e. what is it and when does it exist?), how it can be used by an owner, what amounts to infringement and what are the defences and remedies.ﾠ Along the way, against a background of constant technological change, we will consider challenges posed to copyright in areas as diverse as computer software including artificial intelligence, film, social media, sports and music.
Course requirements
Assumed background
It is assumed that students are familiar with basic principles of contract and property law.ﾠ
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
(LAWS1701 + 1702 + 2706 + 2707) or (LAWS2111 + 2112 + 3111 + 3112)
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
LAWS7206
Restrictions
LLB(Hons)(#64), LLB(Hons)(#48), LLB, LLB (Graduate Entry), LLB(Hons) duals and LLB dual programs.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Mr Ben Gardiner
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
Teaching Mission Statement
The mission of the TC BeirneﾠSchool of Law is to educate students in and about the law. We seek to assist you to think critically about the law and to investigate its structures, principles, policies, and values. This is achieved by engaging with you as fellow investigators in a range of critical and intellectual conversations about the law and its place in society. Our role is thus to guide you in your own intellectual journey in the law and to equip you with the necessary skills that will enable you to continue that journey long after you have left the School.
Course Aims
To provide students with an overview of Australian copyrightﾠlaw.ﾠThe course will examine why these rights are granted, and encourage students to think critically about theﾠpolicy issues underlying the legislative provisions.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the principles of copyright law.
LO2.
Analyse and interpret the relevant statutory provisions relating to the subject matter of the course.
LO3.
Identify and apply relevant legal principles to various situations.
LO4.
Demonstrate skills in legal research, and written and oral communication skills, appropriate to the subject matter of the course.
LO5.
Critically evaluate the implications and effectiveness of the principles of copyright law.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz |
Mini Quiz in Class
|
10% |
Week 1 - Week 9 |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Research Paper
|
30% |
15/04/2025 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Take Home Assessment
|
60% |
22/05/2025 2:00 pm |
Assessment details
Mini Quiz in Class
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Quiz
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
Week 1 - Week 9
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
The Quiz will take place during the seminars. There will be a quiz each week except weeks 1 and week 10.
We will do the Quiz together during the seminar class each week, commencing Week 2. There will be 5 to 10 questions for each Quiz, relevant to the readings and preparation for that class. Each Quiz will take approximately 10 minutes. Your final participation mark will be your overall percentage for all 8 Quizzes.
This assessment task evaluates student’s abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses to the quizzes is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Quizzes to take place in class, using Blackboard quiz functionality. You will need to bring a laptop or similar to class, fully charged and with an internet connection.
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Research Paper
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
15/04/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
Students are required to choose an essay topic for this course. Students may choose from a list to be provided (preferred) or select their own topic to be approved by the Course Coordinator. Approval for topics not on the list must be sought by Friday 21 March.
The following procedure must be followed if seeking approval of your own essay topic from the Course Coordinator:
In an email, please state ‘Copyright Law Essay Approval’ in the ‘Subject’ heading. In the body of your email, please simply state ‘My essay topic is’ and then state the question/issue you wish to explore. Please keep your email brief and DO NOT provide any explanation as to why or how you came to choose your essay topic.
The Course Coordinator will respond to your email by either approving your essay question/topic, or will let you know if it is not appropriate for this course. You are required to keep a hardcopy of this email correspondence for your own records.
Word limit: 1500 words (excluding footnotes). You must clearly state your word count (excluding footnotes) on your Assignment Cover Sheet. You should include a bibliography at the end of your essay.
Any material beyond the word limit will not be read. By way of clarification, this word count:
- includes headings;
- does not include text in the header or word count; and
- does not include footnotes but footnotes should be used for citation purposes only. Any substantive content that appears in a footnote will not be read and will not contribute to your mark.
For style and referencing, students should refer to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. See item 3.4 of this course profile for further details.
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.
Submission guidelines
Assignments must be submitted electronically via the submission link on the course Blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
Where an extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered is available, any extension is limited to one week (7 days). In exceptional circumstances, extensions may be granted for more than one week, but in no case will an extension exceed four weeks (28 days) in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure.
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Take Home Assessment
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
22/05/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
Students will be provided with access to the take home assessment Monday, 19 May 2025 at 2:00pm through the LAWS5206 Learn.UQ page and will be required to submit their answers 72 hours later by 2:00pm on Thursday, 22 May 2025.
The assessment will be a combination of problem based or essay style questions.
Students will be required to answer a subset of questions from a short list.
Word limit: 2000 words (excluding footnotes). Footnotes should only contain references. You must clearly state your word count (excluding footnotes) on your Assignment Cover Sheet. The word count is a guide only. A competent answer will be possible well within the work limit.
Any material beyond the word limit will not be read. By way of clarification, this word count:
- includes headings;
- does not include text in the header or word count; and
- does not include footnotes but footnotes should be used for citation purposes only. Any substantive content that appears in a footnote will not be read and will not contribute to your mark.
For style and referencing, students should refer to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. See item 3.4 of this course profile for further details.
Extension requests should not exceed the original duration of the Take Home Assessment (ie 72 hours), and in most cases will be less than the original duration. Where an extension request exceeds this time, or where considered necessary for fairness to the class, the student seeking the extension will be set an alternate paper.
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.
Submission guidelines
Assignments must be submitted electronically via the submission link on the course Blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
Where an extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered is available, any extension is limited to one week (7 days). In exceptional circumstances, extensions may be granted for more than one week, but in no case will an extension exceed four weeks (28 days) in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure.
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 20 - 47 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 48 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Citation of legal sources in assignments should comply with the Guide to Citation of Sources and Writing Style in Assignments produced by the Law School.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Please regularly check Blackboard for further information.ﾠ For each class, additional required and optional readings will be provided, at least a week prior to class.
You may also be interested in the following U.S. online course:ﾠ CopyrightX.ﾠ See https://cyber.harvard.edu/teaching/copyrightx and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:William_Fisher_CopyrightX_Lectures
ﾠ
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Seminar |
Week 1 Introduction to Copyright Law What is copyright? Where did it come from and where is it going? Discussion: Is copyright justified? What are the arguments for and against it? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 2 Subsistence Part 1 What kinds of things are protected by copyright? What are the necessary elements for something to attract copyright? Discussion: Copyright in news, sport and public events Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 3 Subsistence Part 2 How does the basis or nature of copyright differ between traditional form such as novels, songs, and works of art and more modern forms such as computer programs, video games, movies and television broadcasts? Discussion: Copyright in software and databases. What kinds of issues are likely to arise in relation to these types of works? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 4 Authorship Who is the first owner of a copyright work? How long does copyright last? (And why does it last so long?) Discussion: Copyright in film & television. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 5 Nature of the exclusive rights conferred by copyright What is the nature of copyright? How is it different from other ownership rights? Is copyright really a form of property? What can an owner do with her copyright? Discussion: Copyright & artificial intelligence Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 6 Infringement Part 1 What amounts to copyright infringement? Discussion: Copyright in music. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 7 Infringement Part 2 (exceptions and defences) What are the exceptions or defences to infringement? Discussion: Copyright in computer games. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 8 Remedies What remedies are available to a successful applicant in a copyright infringement proceeding? Discussion: Copyright in art and architecture. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 9 Moral rights and Performersﾒ Economic Rights Criminal liability under the Copyright Act What are moral rights? How are they different from the proprietary rights conferred by the Copyright Act? What about performersﾒ economic rights? Is copyright infringement (ever) a crime? Discussion: Copyright in cultural and traditional works Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
|
Seminar |
Week 10 Emerging issues in copyright law How can copyright survive in a digital world? Discussion: What is the future of copyright? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: