Copyright ownership
Who owns copyright?
Copyright is generally owned by the creator/author of the material. There is no requirement to register copyright - it comes into existence automatically once an idea is expressed in a material form (i.e. written down or stored in electronic form).
Can copyright be transferred or sold?
Copyright material can be traded to others. It can be completely traded (for example transferring your complete copyright ownership in an article to a journal publisher), or partially traded (for example, giving a journal publisher a non exclusive right to publish your article on their website).
What if more than one person has worked on the material?
If two or more people make inseparable contributions to the creation of copyright material then they will both own the material. Each owner must give permission when dealing with the copyright material that is jointly owned.
What about material created as an employee of Swinburne?
Copyright in material created by an employee in the course of the employment, and according to the terms of employment is generally owned by the employer.
However, rights and ownership in copyright material can be varied, transferred and divided through agreement between an employer and an employee.
For Swinburne researchers:
- material created within the course of employment as part of research or scholarship which is for the sole purpose of publication in the form of books articles and conference papers; and
- creative works and audiovisual productions made within the course of employment (or otherwise) for the sole purpose of exhibition
are owned by the creator.
For those participating in research projects at the university’s request (e.g. PhD students working under university funds):
- Material created through reliance on pre-existing university owned intellectual property
- Material created by a team of staff, students, or other persons
- Material created as a result of project-specific funding provided by the university
are all owned by the university.
For further information regarding IP ownership refer to Swinburne’s Intellectual Property Policy.
The webpage Copyright for Researchers provides more information that may be useful to researchers.
For further information contact the Copyright Office.