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Have you ever put a CD on to create a relaxing environment while the kids in your service nap or to rev them up for a dance session? Have you ever copied pages in a book to use as part of a learning experience? Did you know that if you are a for-profit service you need an Early Education Copyright Licence to use these materials and not be in breach of copyright laws?
According to Early Childhood Australia copyright laws exist to protect the rights of creators and those who invest in them to make sure that they are fairly paid for the use of their work. For early childhood providers using creative materials such as books, music and art is a common practice and it can be confusing trying to work out what you can use without a license and where you might be in violation of copyright laws.
It's important to remember that the Copyright Act grants creators of original works – like literary, dramatic, artistic or musical works – a bundle of rights. These rights are granted automatically and don't need to be registered for protection. They are exclusive rights given to the creators; which means that if anyone else wants to do any of these things, they must have the permission of those creators first.
Some situations when you will need the Early Childhood Education Copyright Licence:
- Playing music at your facility
- Copying CDs or digital downloads to use at your facility
- Making video recordings that contain music
- Copying portions of books, artwork, pictures or other materials
- Sharing your materials with other facilities.
The Copyright Act only covers limited use of materials by educational institutions when tuition is provided for no profit. If you are using creative work outside of what the Copyright Act allows you to do, for example with a for-profit provider, then you must ensure that you have licencing in place to cover this.
What doesn't the Licence cover?
- Sharing music and videos on the internet
- Copying more than a reasonable portion of a work (usually more than 10%)
- Using music or other creative works for advertising or marketing
- Using music at events where admission fees are charged
- Making a profit from the sale of any materials used under the Licence
These above situations are not covered by the Early Childhood Education Copyright Licence and you must make sure your service receives permission to use these materials.
How do I get a Licence?
Early Childhood Australia has created An Early Childhood Education Copyright Licence to help early learning providers comply with copyright laws. The Licence costs a set amount per year per approved place at a service and the licence fees go back to the creators of the works you use in the form of royalty payments.
Click here to learn more about the ECA's copyright licence.
Reference
Early Childhood Australia |
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