Australian Secondary Royalties

We administer the following Statutory Royalties in Australia:

1. Educational copying royalties;
2. Educational communication royalties;
3. Government copying royalties;
4. Retransmission royalties.

Educational Use

In Australia, educational institutions can copy any program from a television or radio broadcast, and communicate that copy, provided that the institution has a Screenrights licence. The films, TV shows, documentaries and other screen projects that are copied by educators are used in the classroom for educational purposes. This secondary use is enabled under the Australian Copyright Act.

The licences fees paid by educational institutions become educational royalties.

Screenrights collects information about the programs that are copied and communicated for educational purposes and allocates the educational royalties to those programs.

Copying Royalties

Communication Royalties

Performance In The Classroom

Streaming Screen Content In The Classroom

For more information about what Australian educators can do under their Screenrights licence, see Licensing Content In Australia.

Royalty Valuation

There are three factors that influence how the value of a program that has been copied or communicated by an educational institution is quantified. These are:

The type of educational institution – a copy made by a university is worth more than a copy made by a primary school. Educational institutions pay an amount per student, and as there are more students at a university campus than a primary school, the university copy has a greater value.
The duration of the copy – a 60 minute program will receive more than a 30 minute program.
The category of the program – there are currently two categories of programs: ephemeral and non-ephemeral. Ephemeral programs are programs of a shorter “shelf life” such as news and current affairs, and as such receive a smaller weighting and a smaller allocation of royalties. Non-ephemeral programs such as documentaries and feature films receive a higher weighting and therefore a greater allocation of royalties.

Government Use

In Australia, government departments can copy any program from a television or radio broadcast and from the internet, provided that the Commonwealth or State government has a Screenrights licence. The licence fees paid by the Commonwealth and State governments become government copying royalties.

Copying Royalties

Performance Within Government Departments

Streaming Screen Content In Government Departments

Royalty Valuation

There are two factors that influence the value of a program that has been copied or communicated by a government department. These are:

The duration of the copy – a 60 minute program will receive more than a 30 minute program.
The category of the program – there are currently two categories of programs: ephemeral and non-ephemeral. Ephemeral programs are programs of a shorter “shelf life” such as news and current affairs, and as such receive a smaller weighting and a smaller allocation of royalties. Non-ephemeral programs such as documentaries and feature films receive a higher weighting and therefore a greater allocation of royalties.

Retransmission

In Australia, cable and satellite providers can simultaneously retransmit the free-to-air channels over their networks as part of their overall service offering, provided they have a Screenrights licence. The licence fees paid by the cable and satellite providers become retransmission royalties. When a TV or radio channel is retransmitted, so too are all the films, TV shows, documentaries and other projects on the channel. Screenrights collects information about the programs that are retransmitted and allocates the retransmission royalties to those programs.

Retransmission Royalties

Re-broadcasts

Video-On-Demand Services

Royalty Valuation

The money collected from the retransmitters is divided into two pools, one for TV royalties and one for radio royalties. These pools are further divided into individual TV network and radio channel pools.

The amount paid to each program is therefore influenced by the money available in the pool for that TV network.

There are three factors that influence the value of a program retransmitted on TV. These are:

The ratings of the channel being retransmitted – his is based on the channel’s overall viewership and is different from the individual program rating
The time of the program broadcast – programs that are broadcast in primetime earn around three times as much as programs that play during the day or late in the evening, which in turn earn three times as much as programs that are broadcast in the middle of the night.
The duration of the copy – a 60 minute program will receive more than a 30 minute program.