5.5 Intellectual property

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (n.d, ¶ 1) "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 1906.

Refer to Australian Copyright Council - Information Sheets at  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/