Copyright Agency Ltd & Ors v. Victoria University of Technology [1994] FCA 702
Federal Court of Australia
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JUDGMENT No. oanZO2 gy FH
COPYRIGHT - multiple copying of works by educational
institutions - whether unauthorised sale or use of copies so
made - operation of licensing scheme comprised in Part VB of
Copyright Act 1968.
te]
Copyright Act 1968
Copyright Amendment Act 1980
Copyright Amendment Act 1989
Copyright Amendment (Re-enactment) Act 1993
1 |O jo
COPYRIGHT AGENCY LIMITED § ORS v
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
No. NG829 of 1992
BEFORE : GUMMOW J.
PLACE: SYDNEY.
DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 1994.
THE COURT:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Orders that the application be dismissed.
Orders that the applicants pay the costs of the
respondent of the application.
Declares that the making by the respondent of the copies
now comprised in Exhibits Al, A2, A3, A4 and B was
copying done with the licence of the first applicant.
Orders that the cross-claim otherwise be dismissed.
Orders that the applicants pay the costs of the
respondent of the cross-claim.
Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with by Order 36
of the Federal Court Rules.
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA )
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY ) No. NG829 of 1992
GENERAL DIVISION )
BETWEEN: R Ai 4 M
First Applicant
ED EE PA
Second Applicant
PRENTICE HALL INC.
Third Applicant
WIL TED
Fourth Applicant
R LI PUB R
Fifth Applicant
JOSSEY-BASS INC., PUBLISHERS
Sixth Applicant
HARPER EDUCATIONAL (AUSTRALASIA)
PTY LTD
Seventh Applicant
PENGUIN BOOKS AUSTRALIA LIMITED
Eighth Applicant
GEORGE ALLEN §& UNWIN
AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED
Ninth Applicant
LONGMAN GROUP PTY LTD
Tenth Applicant
RAW-— K
AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED
Eleventh Applicant
-B. IN
Twelfth Applicant
HARCOURT BRACE JOVANOVICH
GROUP_(AUSTRALIA) PTY LIMITED
Thirteenth Applicant
AND: VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
OF TECHNOLOGY
Respondent
BEFORE: GUMMOW J.
PLACE s SYDNEY.
DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 1994.
THE COURT:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Orders that the application be dismissed.
Orders that the applicants pay the costs of the
respondent of the application.
Declares that the making by the respondent of the copies
now comprised in Exhibits Al, A2, A3, A4 and B was
copying done with the licence of the first applicant.
Orders that the cross-claim otherwise be dismissed.
Orders that the applicants pay the costs of the
respondent of the cross-claim.
Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with by Order 36
of the Federal Court Rules.
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA )
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY )} No. NG829 of 1992
GENERAL DIVISION ) .
BETWEEN: COPYRIGHT AGENCY LIMITED
First Applicant
Second Applicant
NC.
Third Applicant
¥
Fourth Applicant
IN iL :
Fifth Applicant
JOSSEY-BASS INC., PUBLISHERS
Sixth Applicant
HARPER EDUCATIONAL (AUSTRALASIA)
PTY LTD
Seventh Applicant
Eighth Applicant
GEORGE ALLEN §& UNWIN
A Y I
Ninth Applicant
LONGMAN GROUP PTY LTD
Tenth Applicant
W-HI Bi
AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED
Eleventh Applicant
-B. P
Twelfth Applicant
RT E NV. NV.
Thirteenth Applicant
AND: VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
OF TECHNOLOGY
: Respondent
BEFORE: GUMMOW J.
PLACE: SYDNEY.
DATE: 30 SEPTEMBER 1994.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
There has been a large measure of cooperation between the
parties in the preparation of this proceeding for trial. It
is a test case concerning the construction and operation of
certain provisions of Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 ("the
Act"). Part VB (ss. 1352B-1352ZH) is headed "Copying of Works
etc. by Educational and Other Institutions".
It is common practice for universities and other
institutions of tertiary education to make multiple copies of
extracts from different literary works which relate to a
particular course, to collect those extracts, sometimes bound
in book form, and to supply them to students enrolied in that
course. Put broadly, the issues in this case concern the
applicability of Part VB to that practice.
Part VB, in general, operates in respect of "eligible
items", a term defined in s. 1352ZC as including a wide range
of copyright material. However, nothing in Part VB applies to
literary works being computer programmes or compilations of
computer programmes (8s. 135ZE). Division 2 (ss. 1352ZG-1352M)
deals with the copying of works by educational institutions.
There is provision for multiple copying of insubstantial
portions of works (8s. 135ZG), copying of published editions
(8. 135ZH), multiple copying of periodical articles (s. 1352J)
and multiple copying of works published in anthologies (s.
135ZK). This case is concerned with s. 1352ZL.
3.
It will be necessary to set out later in these reasons
the full text of s. 135ZL. It is sufficient at this stage to
say that sub-s. 135ZL (1) provides that, subject to the
"reasonable portion" provision of sub-s. 1352L (2), copyright
in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, other than
an article contained in a periodical publication, is not
infringed by multiple copying of the whole or part of the work
by or on behalf of a body administering an educational
institution if there is compliance with certain conditions.
Two of these are concerned with the record keeping
requirements and the bringing into operation of the equitable
remuneration provisions (ss. 135ZU-13522A). The other
condition is that the copies be "made solely for the
educational purposes of the institution or of another
educational institution". The respondent is an "educational
institution" within the meaning of the lengthy definition in
sub-s. 10 (1) of the Act, and therefore within the meaning of
8. 135ZL.
Of course, if the conditions I have described are not
satisfied, the immunity is lost and there has been primary
infringement under s. 36 of the Act.
Nothing in the present case turns directly upon Division
3 (88. 135ZN-135ZQ), which deals with the copying of works by
institutions assisting handicapped readers, nor upon Division
4 (88. 1352ZR-1352T), dealing with copying by institutions
assisting intellectually handicapped 'persons.
4.
Division 5 (s. 135ZU-135Z2A) deals with equitable
remuneration and establishes a system of remuneration notices
given to collecting societies whose activities are controlled
by the Attorney-General pursuant to Division 6 (ss. 13522ZB-
135225).
Division 7 (ss. 135%ZZF-13522H) deals with miscellaneous
matters. Sub-section 13522F (1) confirms that nothing in Part
VB affects the right of owners of copyright in works to grant
licences to bodies administering educational institutions.
Section 135ZZH is an important provision for this case.
Section 1352L provides that in certain circumstances copyright
in certain works is not infringed by the making of copies.
Section 1352ZH is concerned with the use (with the consent of
the body by whom or on whose behalf they were made) of copies
in circumstances which then result in removal of the immunity
otherwise provided by "prescribed provisions". The user need
not have been the maker, provided there is the necessary
consent.
Section 135ZL is a "prescribed provision" for the
purposes of s. 13522ZH. The effect of s. 135ZZH may be to
remove, apparently retroactively, the immunity from
infringement conferred by s. 1352ZL. Section 135Z2L does not
apply, "and shall be taken never to have applied", to the
making of the copies in question if, with the consent of the
administering body by whom, or on whose behalf, the copies are
made, the copies are either "sold or otherwise supplied for a
5.
financial profit" or "used for a purpose" other than, that
specified in s. 135ZL. That purpose, as I have indicated, is
the making of the copies solely for the educational purposes
of the institution or of another educational institution.
This scheme of conferring an immunity or granting a liberty,
which is withdrawn if conditions are not met, may be compared
with the provisions of Division 6 of Part III of the Act (ss.
54-64) which deal with the mechanical royalty; see the
discussion of s. 55 by Aickin J. in RCA Limited v The
Commissioner of Taxation (1977) 137 C.L.R. 583 at 592-593;
see also as to the operation of what was Part VC, Australian
Tape Manufacturers Association Ltd v The Commonwealth (1993)
176 C.L.R. 480 at 496-499, 517-518, 530-531.
If the initial copying has the immunity conferred by s.
135ZL upon the maker, subsequent sale should not infringe,
because the making of the copies did not infringe (s. 38).
Conversely, if the immunity is lost and the making does
infringe, then, given the degree of knowledge of which s. 38
speaks, subsequent use will infringe; cf the remarks by
Lockhart J. upon the unsatisfactory form now taken by s. 38,
in International Writing Institute Inc v Rimija pty Ltd (1993)
A.I.P.C. 991-035 at 39,748-9.
.This case is concerned particularly with questions of
construction in the application of ss. 135ZL and 1352ZH to
particular facts. Whilst, as I have indicated, the parties
view this as a test case, it is necessary at the outset to
6.
appreciate that any result that is achieved is the product
"which flows from the particular facts put before the Court.
The second - thirteenth applicants between them are the
owners or exclusive licensees of 14 literary works in which
copyright subsists pursuant to the Act. The first applicant
("CAL") is a company limited by guarantee, the members of
which include the second - thirteenth applicants. CAL is the
agent of the other applicants for various purposes including
Claiming payments of remuneration under Part VB of the Act.
On behalf of parties including the other applicants, on
29 October 1989 CAL entered into an agreement relating to the
photocopying of literary works with the Footscray Institute of
Technology. In January 1992, that institute and the Western
Institute were incorporated into the Victoria University of
Technology (the respondent) by virtue of the Victoria
University of Technology Act 1990 (Vict). This statute
provided for the assumption by the respondent of certain
rights, liabilities and obligations of the former bodies. The
premises of the Western Institute became the St Albans campus
of the respondent.
In 1994 the total operating budget of the respondent was
$98.51im.; operating grants from Commonwealth and State govern-
ments represented 93.8% of the total. That percentage
contribution by government grant is typical of recent years.
7.
The 1989 agreement was varied by further written
agreements made between CAL and the respondent on 12 February
1991 and 12 January 1992; as amended from time to time the
agreement is referred to in these reasons as the "License
Agreement". The 1989 agreement had followed upon the entry of
CAL on 29 September 1989 into a head agreement ("the head
agreement") with the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
("the AVCC") and the Australian Committee of Directors and
Principals Ltd. These arrangements have legal effect largely
outside Part VB, but this is permitted by sub-s. 1352ZF (1).
As I have indicated, ss. 1352ZB-135ZZE provide for the
declaration by the Attorney-General of approved collection
societies for the purposes of Part VB. CAL was declared to be
such a collecting society on 13 June 1990. However, its
primary significance in the present litigation is as party to
the License Agreement. The effect of the License Agreement is
to license the respondent to copy the whole or part of
literary and other works where, but for the availability of
the statutory licence under Part VB of the Act, this would
involve infringement of copyright in those works. The licence
conferred by the License Agreement is subject to payment of
what is defined therein as the "Remuneration Payment Amount".
This contractual licence operates without the need for the
respondent to maintain and provide the records called for by
Part VB and without the need to pay any further amount over
and above the Remuneration Payment Amount for copying pursuant
to the licence. The royalty is computed by use of a formula
8.
_which uses sampling techniques to obtain what in evidence was
called a "nationwide average".
However, the provisions of Part VB remain important to
the operation of the contractual arrangement. This is because
those acts which do not infringe because they fall within what
might loosely be called the statutory licence also will fall
within the License Agreement. The applicants contend that the
particular activities with which this case is concerned fell
outside the statutory licence and so outside the License
Agreement, thus leaving the respondent in the position of an
infringer. This has the result that, although the respondent
relies upon its contractual licence rather than the statutory
licence, the provisions of the latter are vital to the
determination of the issues arising under the former.
The litigation was instituted after correspondence in
1992, first between CAL and the AVCC and later between CAL and
the respondent. On 15 June, CAL wrote to the AVCC expressing
what was then its "formal position" on the sale of anthologies
of works. This was that the making and sale of anthologies
was contrary to the head agreement and this was so whether or
not (i) the materials were sold only to students enrolled in
the relevant institution, and (ii) the amount charged to
students was based on recovery of no more than normal
administrative costs in the production of the materials. Then
on 29 September- 1992, the solicitors for CAL wrote to the
respondent stating that it had come to the attention of CAL
9.
that the respondent was compiling and selling collections of
materials entitled "Readings on Organisations, Work and
Personnel Psychology" (being comprised in booklets 1 - 4) and
"Psychosocial Aspects of Health and Illness". These
anthologies were said to contain photocopied chapters of works
copyright in which was held by the members of CAL.
At the trial the four booklets became Exs. Al - A4, and
the other anthology became Ex. B. Exhibit Al comprises 76
pages, A2 - 36 pages, A3 - 48 pages, and A4 - 63 pages.
Exhibit B comprises 153 pages. Exhibit Al contains extracts
from 4 literary works, A2 from 2 works, A3 and A4 each from 3
works. Exhibit B contains 4 short papers or articles and
extracts from 8 longer works.
It is appropriate now to return to the provisions of Part
VB. Part VB has an unusual legislative history. Initially it
replaced Divisions 5A and 5B of Part III of the Act (ss. 53A -
53D). These had been added to the Act by the Copyright
Amendment Act 1980 ("the 1980 Act") and had established a
compulsory licensing scheme for educational institutions and
for institutions assisting handicapped readers in respect of
the copyright of works. These provisions of the 1980 Act were
repealed by the Schedule to the Copyright Amendment Act 1989
("the 1989 Act").
The 1989 Act inserted Part VA, dealing with copying of
broadcasts by educational and other institutions, and Part VB
10.
dealing with copying of, inter alia, works by educational and
other institutions, and Part VC dealing with the use of blank
tapes for private and domestic copying. Part VC comprised ss.
13522J-1352Z22B. Divisions 3 and 4 of Part VC dealt with the
blank tape royalty and the use of collecting societies to
recover it. On 11 March 1993, the High Court declared that
Divisions 3 and 4 of Part VC were invalid: Australian Tape
Manufacturers Association Ltd v The Commonwealth, supra. This
was because, in the terms of the Court order (176 C.L.R. at
532-533):
""(i) they constitute a law with respect to taxation
within the meaning of s. 51 (ii) of the
Constitution and a law imposing taxation within
the meaning of s. 55 of the Constitution; and
(ii) the Copyright Amendment Act 1989 (Cth) and/or
the Act as amended by that Act deal or deals
with the imposition of taxation as well as with
. other matters."
It will be apparent that the terms of para. (ii) of the Court
order suggested its effect went beyond establishing the
invalidity of the particular Divisions 3 and 4 of Part VC; see
Air Caledonie International v The Commonwealth (1988) 165
C.L.R. 462.
The Parliament responded with the Copyright Amendment
{Re-enactment) Act 1993 ("the 1993 Act"). Part VA had been
inserted in the Act by s. 14 of the 1989 Act, Part VB by a. 15
and Part VC by 8. 16. -Section 13 of the 1993 Act repealed the
1989 Act. It went on to re-enact certain provisions of the
11.
1989 Act. In particular, the effect of para. 4 (a) is to
amend the Act in the terms set out in s. 14 of the 1989 Act,
that is to say by the reintroduction of Part VA. This is done
with effect on 29 January 1990, that being the date on which
8. 14 of the 1989 Act had commenced its operation. There was
no re-enactment of any Division of Part VC dealing with blank
tapes for private and domestic copying. Part VB, that with
which this case is concerned, was dealt with in s. 5 of the
1993 Act. This inserted in the Act the Part which had been
set out in s. 15 of the 1989 Act, with effect from 1 July
1990, the day on which s. 15 of the 1989 Act had commenced its
operation.
It is appropriate now to turn to the particular
provisions of Part VB upon the construction of which this case
turns.
Section 135Z2L is as follows:
"1352L (1) Subject to this section, the
copyright in a literary, dramatic,
musical or artistic work (other than
an article contained in a periodical
publication) is not infringed by the
making of one or more copies of the
whole or a part of the work by, or on
behalf of, a body administering an
educational institution if:
(a) a remuneration notice, given by
or on behalf of the body to the
relevant collecting society, is
in force;
(b) the copy is made solely for the
educational purposes of the
12.
institution or of another
educational institution; and
(c) the body complies with
subsection 1352X (1) or (3), as
the case requires, in relation
to the copy.
(2) This section does not apply in
relation to copies of the whole, or
of more than a reasonable portion, of
a work that has been separately
published unless the person who makes
the copies, or causes the copies to
be made, for, or on behalf of, the
body is satisfied, after reasonable
investigation, that copies (other
than second-hand copies) of the work
cannot be obtained within a
reasonable time at an ordinary
commercial price."
(Emphasis supplied]
The expression "reasonable portion" is the subject of a
definition in sub-s. 10 (2) of the Act. This states:
"10 (2) Without limiting the meaning of the
expression 'reasonable portion' in this
Act, where a literary, dramatic or musical
work is contained in a published edition
of that work, being an addition of not
less than 10 pages, a copy of part of that
work, as it appears in that edition, shall
be taken to contain only a reasonable
portion of that work if the pages that are
copied in the edition:
(a) do not exceed, in the aggregate, 10%
of the number of pages in that
edition; or
(b) in a case where the work is divided
into chapters exceed, in the
aggregate, 10% of the number of pages
in that edition but contain only the
whole or part of a single chapter of
the work."
13.
Sub-section 135ZL (1) is a prescribed provision for the
purposes of s. 1352ZH, the other principal provision in this
litigation. Section 13522H states:
"13522H (1) Where a copy, record or version of a
work, a sound recording or a
cinematograph film, being a_ copy,
record or version referred to in a
prescribed provision of this Part:
(a) is _seld or otherwise supplied
(Db) is used for a purpose other than
5 : :
the purpose —Sspecitied——in the i vision
(c) ive iniste
with the consent of the administering
body by whom, or on whose behalf, it
is made, the prescribed provision
does not apply, and shall be taken
never to have applied, to the making
of the copy.
(2) For the purposes of this section,
subsection 13526 (1), subsection
13525 (1), section 135ZK and
subsections 135ZL (1), 135ZP (1) and
(2) and 1352S (1) are prescribed
provisions." :
[Emphasis supplied]
As I have indicated, the present dispute arises from the
preparation and distribution of Exs. Al - A4 and Ex. B.
Exhibits Al - A4 were compiled in approximately August 1991 by
Mr John Alder. He was then lecturer in the Psychology
Department of the Faculty of Arts at the Western Institute and
has since become lecturer in the Psychology Department of the
14.
Faculty of Arts of the respondent. Exhibit B was first
assembled in March 1991 by Anne Graham who was then a senior
lecturer in the same faculty as Mr Alder. Like him, she is
now senior lecturer in the same faculty of the respondent.
Both have taught at all material times at the St Albans
campus.
I turn to consider the role played by the two lecturers
in the preparation of those collections. In 1991 and 1992, Mr
Alder was co-ordinator for the following four subjects:
"Organisations and Work", "Personnel Psychology",
"Organisational Psychology I" and "Organisational Psychology
II". The last three were fourth year units for students in
the graduate diploma in Applied Psychology. The first was a
third year course for Bachelor of Arts students. Each subject
was taught by a mixture of lectures and class discussions, and
students were provided with a subject outline including the
sequence in which the subjects were to be taught. Students
were provided with a reading list and a textbook was
prescribed for use in relation to each subject. However,
there was no single textbook available which dealt with all
aspects of any of the four subjects. Accordingly, students
were required to supplement their reading by going to parts of
various other texts. Mr Alder set out to produce
supplementary collections of readings for distribution to
students, extracting and collecting together some of those
parts of other works which were relevant to the four subjects.
15.
Mr Alder selected a series of articles and extracts from
textbooks which were arranged approximately in the order in
which they would be reached in the subjects to which they were
relevant. The extracts were divided into four booklets so as
to allow students to buy some but not all of the collections
where appropriate. Another objective was to make it easier in
subsequent years to replace or to add to the collection
without the need to scrap the whole of a large volume each
time a change was made.
When the respondent became aware that CAL, on behalf of
the publishers of certain of the works extracted in Exs. Al -
A4, objected to what was happening, of the 40 copies of each
of the four booklets which had been supplied to the bookshop,
there were still unsold 8 of Ex. Al, 10 of Ex. A2, 14 of Ex.
A3 and 13 of Ex. A4. These were withdrawn from sale.
Anne Graham was co-ordinator of the subject "Psychosocial
Aspects of Health and Illness". This was a compulsory subject
for students taking the Bachelor of Health Science, formerly
the Diploma of Applied Science (Nursing). The students taking
the course were training as nurses. She shared the teaching
load with three or four other lecturers. There was no
suitable textbook available for the whole of the subject, none
covering both psychological and sociological aspects of health
and illness in the way they were treated in the course.
Before 1991 the main reading necessary for students enrolled
in the subject was made available by placing photocopy
16.
articles and sections from textbooks on counter reserve in the
library. In practice, it was not possible for many of the
students to read all of the reserve material, and there were
complaints to Ms Graham from students that they had been
unable to get access to the relevant material from closed
reserve.
Therefore, she assembled a collection of relevant
readings and the print room produced approximately one copy of
the materials, Ex. B, for each student registered for the
course. The total was 145 but this proved to be too many
because not every student purchased a copy. A number of
copies was left over for sale in the following academic year.
Students were told in lectures of the availability of the
booklets, and further reference to them was made in the
"handout" to students who enrolled in 1992. Remaining copies
of Ex. B were withdrawn from sale upon complaint by CAL.
In order to appreciate the case sought to be made by the
applicants, something first must be said of the financial
system used by the respondent and of the activities of the
print room and bookshop at the St Albans campus.
The financial management of the respondent is based upon
annual budget allocations of operating income to "cost
centres", the faculties and various non-academic departments.
The cost centres are "expected to meet the direct costs of
their activities from the budget allocations but are not
17.
required to fund from those allocations what are referred to
as university wide costs. The latter are separately budgeted
and include property services and management costs, building
costs, insurance and employee entitlements.
Certain cost centres are identified as "self funding".
This means they are expected by the respondent to cover from
self-generated revenues direct costs, apart from some
university wide costs. These "self funding" cost centres
include the bookshop, the print room, and the cafeteria and
bistro. These charge for goods and services which may be
provided, whether to other "cost centres" or to staff and
students and occasionally to bodies outside the university.
It is important to appreciate that when such a centre succeeds
in recovering from charges an amount equal to its directly
accounted operating costs, so that in a sense it breaks even
as a separate accounting entity, nonetheless it is being
subsidised by the general administration of the respondent at
least to the extent of the provision of some university wide
services.
Since 1990 the print room has been located in a free
Standing but prefabricated building. It has contained two
large leased modern commercial photocopying machines and some
related printing and binding equipment owned by the respondent
or its predecessor. The print room was staffed by one
employee occasionally supplemented by casual help. Among the
activities of the print room was the production of copies of
18.
reading materials selected by academic staff for particular
' courses. Binding or stapling in booklet form also was
attended to in the print room. The product of these labours
then was supplied to the person on the staff who requested it
or, if so directed, to the bookshop. The print room did no
photocopying other than for the respondent or its predecessor.
In 1991, the year in which there occurred the events with
which this case is concerned, the print room at St Albans was
treated as part of the Corporate Services Department of the
Western Institute and not as a distinct "cost centre". The
print room was budgeted to break even and neither to
contribute to nor draw upon the budget of Corporate Services.
The practice was to cost production with the objective of
recovering annual direct equipment costs, paper costs and
operator costs by taking into account the expected production
in the print room. However, this break even point did not
take into account the cost of depreciation of university owned
equipment and of the print room itself. The profit and loss
statement for 1991 shows that on a turnover in excess of
$200,000 for 1991, the print room made an operating surplus of
$1,400. This means that the amount charged on internal
invoices to departments exceeded the direct and other costs of
the print room by $1,400. However, the caiculation of this
operating surplus took no account of the depreciation in value
of print room equipment owned by the university, or of the
building in which the print room was located, nor of
maintenance and repairs to that building.
19.
In March and August 1991 respectively, the St Albans
print room copied, bound and supplied to the bookshop the
booklets, copies of which are Exs. Al - A4 and Ex. B.
Production by the print room was costed in accordance with the
practices described above and the St Albans bookshop then, in
accordance with its practice, added a 30% margin to reach the
final selling price charged in the bookshop.
Each campus of the respondent has a bookshop. One of
these is on the St Albans campus. Each bookshop sells
textbooks, course materials (including the collections at
issue in this case), stationery, calculators and sundry items.
The bookshops do not stock any general titles such as works of
fiction, other than texts prescribed by university courses.
Each is positioned on the campus away from passing trade. In
particular, the St Albans bookshop, in 1991-1992, occupied a
temporary site at the back of the campus. It was located in a
room containing piles of books sorted according to courses and
no effort was made to stimulate sales. There was a staff of
two, one of whom worked 30 hours a week and the other 12
hours. The general public did not enter the bookshop,
customers consisting of students and members of staff.
The Manager of the bookshops of the respondent prepares a
budget and business plan for each year. The aim is break even
but in the result the bookshops 'operate at a loss. The budget
is for a cash surplus from which to account for operating
costs such as the proportion of university occupancy costs for
20.
. security, maintenance, accounting services and the like, which
are attributed to the operation of the bookshops. The
objective is for receipts from sales to exceed operating
expenses paid from the bookshop budget, so as to provide for
occupancy costs borne by the central administration of the
respondent. In 1991 and 1992 this ambition was not achieved
and the bookshops required a subsidy. For example, in 1992 on
net sales at the campus bookshops at Footscray, St Albans,
Werribee and Melton, of $1,862,957, there was a net loss of
$3,620. Approximately 2.1% of annual turnover is attributable
to theft by students of material from the bookshops.
The bookshop marks up by 30% the cost of printed
Materials received from the print room. It does this in order
to cover its identified costs of supplying the printed
materials to students. The costs intended to be covered by
the mark up include salaries for staff, including provision
for payroll tax 'and superannuation, together with such things
as insurance, telephone, packaging, wrapping and computer
maintenance. The margin is also intended to allow for
occupancy costs including lighting and heating, cleaning
services, and building maintenance, and for accounting
services which are provided by the central administration of
the respondent.
In all, the copying for Exs. Al - A4 and Ex. B comprised
31,481 pages. -It is an agreed fact that CAL received
$6,300.69 as the Remuneration Payment Amount computed under
21.
the License Agreement in respect of copying at the Western
Institute in 1991. As indicated, the copying with which this
case is concerned took place in that year. The formula
pursuant to which the amount of royalty was computed used an
element for "Copy Pages" which was an average number of pages
per student determined by a survey conducted for the parties
in 1989 and 1990. The result, the respondent submits, is that
the parties were operating upon a stated aim of averaging for
1991 a charge of 2.244 cents per copy page, less a 10%
deduction under the License Agreement. On that footing the
31,481 pages might properly have attributed to them a total
royalty of $706.42 less the 10% discount. On the other hand,
the applicants dissect and apply the sum of $6,300.69 in such
a fashion as to calculate a royalty paid at the rate of 0.42
cents per copy, rather than 2.244 cents. The results, as the
applicants would have it, is a total royalty in respect of the
31,481 pages of $132.23.
If in respect of the four anthologies (Exs. Al - Aé4)
there is brought into account not only direct print room
costs, the 30% mark up and the total sales revenue generated
by the bookshop, but also the royalty as computed by the
respondent, what is the result? The total royalty would be
$184.65 and this would eliminate what otherwise would have
been' the gross profit of $165.68. In respect of Ex. B, the
total royalty of $451.13 would eliminate the gross profit of
$351.79.
22.
If the royalty as computed by the applicants were applied
in respect of Exs. Al - A4, the total licence fee of $38.41
would not eliminate the gross profit of $165.68. Likewise, in
respect of Ex. B, the total royalty of $93.82 would not
eliminate the gross profit of $351.79. However, if allowance
then were made for bookshop costs to establish the net profit
or loss, then in the case of all the anthologies there would
be a net loss.
The applicants submit that the statutory licence provided
for in Part VB is a major derogation from the rights of
copyright owners, and that the entire purpose of the statutory
licence is to provide access for educational institutions so
that "any question of profit" is antithetical to the new
scheme. It is submitted that s. 135Z2L is designed to permit
teachers .to make multiple copies and to hand them to students
s0 that a "business of quasi-publishing" and of book selling
is quite outside what was contemplated. However, on the facts
as I have outlined them, I would not characterise the
activities of the respondent as a business of quasi-publishing
or bookselling.
The applicants further submit that it follows from the
nature of copyright infringement, the statutory licence and
what counsel dubbed the "deemed retrospective absence of
licence", that the only proper focus in the construction of
sub-s. 135ZZH (1) is upon the characterisation of the
individual transaction. The result is said to be that
23.
consideration of overall profit, whether as a matter of
intention or of result, is irrelevant. In the alternative, it
is submitted that if purpose be relevant, the respondent set
up a system designed to make a gross profit on each
transaction and to break even on a net basis. It is then
submitted that even if "actual result" is relevant, the
respondent, as a matter of result, did make a gross or
incremental profit on each transaction.
Sections 135ZV (1), and 135ZW (1) indicate that at the
time of the sale in question, the amount of equitable
remuneration may not be known or ascertainable. This is
because where a records notice has been given to the relevant
collecting society, it carries with it an undertaking to pay
equitable remuneration for each licensed copy in such amount
as is determined by agreement and, in default thereof, by the
Copyright Tribunal; where a sampling notice is given, the
undertaking is to pay equitable remuneration being such annual
amount per student of the institution concerned as is
determined by agreement and, in default thereof, by the
Copyright Tribunal. A remuneration notice of either variety
may come into force on the day on which it is given to the
collecting society (sub-s. 1352U (3)).- Whilst it is in force,
and there is compliance with the other conditions in s. 1352L,
there will be no infringement. This is so even though the
amount of equitable remuneration has not been fixed and is not
ascertainable at the time of what would otherwise be
infringements.
24.
Further, in the present case, there is, as I have
indicated, disagreement between the parties as to that sum
which, having regard to the operation of the License
Agreement, should properly be attributed as the royalty per
page in respect of Exs. Al - A4 and Ex. B.
Counsel for the applicants rely upon the effect of ss.
135Z2V and 1352W as a factor supporting a construction of the
phrase "sold or otherwise supplied for a financial profit" in
8. 1352ZH which does not involve calculations of royalty. But
without an allocation for royalty, a direct cost, any
computation of the loss or profit on any actual sale must be
illusory.
In my view, this supports a construction that the
legislation does not contemplate that the decision as to (i)
whether a copy is made solely for the educational purposes of
the institution or (ii) whether, even if so, the copies were
sold or otherwise supplied for a financial profit, will turn
upon subsequently ascertainable facts to show if such a profit
indeed was made. The complexities in day to day
administration of educational institutions to which such a
construction would give rise serve to emphasise the point. It
is further emphasised by the facts of this case. After
extensive evidence there is left the barren dispute whether on
accounts which are necessarily imperfect, given the difficulty
in computing the proper allowance for royalty, regard should
be had to the "gross" or "net" profit, in either case with
25.
very small sums being involved. The proper construction of
Part VB must, in my view, be approached on a broader footing.
Counsel for the applicants emphasises, quite correctly,
that when in an infringement case an account of profits is
taken, attention necessarily is directed to the economic
significance of each infringing act as an individual
transaction. This is so although, as illustrated by Dart
industries Ine. v The Decor Corporation Pty Ltd (1993) 179
C.L.R. 101, there has been great difficulty in practice with
the proper allocation of overheads. Be that as it may, the
taking of an account of profits, as the last step in a
successful infringement action, involves different concerns to
those in determining whether an immunity to infringement has
been lost because copies, the making of which otherwise would
not infringe, have been sold or otherwise supplied "for a
financial profit". The phrase in para. 1352ZH (1) (a) in
terms does not ask the question which would be appropriate on
the taking of an account of profits, namely whether the copy
was sold or otherwise supplied at a financial profit. Rather,
it asks whether the copy was sold or otherwise supplied for a
financial profit. This directs attention to the state of
affairs at the time of sale or supply and to the object or
purpose with which the sale or supply was effected.
I find that the booklets which are Exs. Al - A4 and Ex. B
were produced and distributed by the respondent with the
objective of providing copies to students at minimum cost. It
26.
_ was no part of the objective of the respondent to attempt to
maximise sale of these materials. Rather, the objective was
to ensure that students enrolled in the relevant courses would
be able to find and obtain copies of the materials at a price
which covered costs. Of course, the notion of "costs"
included provision (including the 30% mark up by the bookshop)
for some of the indirect costs as described above.
The facts illustrate the way in which there is some
coalescence between the issues presented under ss. 135ZL and
13522ZH. Nevertheless, it is necessary first to ask whether
the copies were made solely for the educational purposes of
the respondent within the meaning of para. 135Z2L (1) (b). In
argument, there was reference to various provisions in Part VA
and Part VB itself where the adverb "solely" qualified
references to purpose, and others where reference was to
purpose 'alone. For example, in dealing with multiple copying
of periodical 'articles by educational institutions, and
multiple copying of works published in anthologies, paras.
13523 (1) (b), and 1352K (b) respectively, follow the same
form as para. (b) in sub-s. 135ZL (1). On the other hand, s.
135ZH (which deals with copying by educational institutions of
published editions) merely requires that the reproduction be
made "for the educational purposes" of the relevant
institution. Likewise, sub-s. 1352G (1), which deals with
multiple copying of insubstantial portions of works, requires
that the copying be carried out "for the purposes of a course
of education" which is provided by the educational institution
27.
in question. Counsel for the applicants makes the point that
the drafting of s. 1352G follows that of its predecessor, s.
53A, which had been part of the compulsory licensing scheme
established by the 1980 Act.
In my view, even without the express force given by the
term "solely", there would be much to be said for the view
that within the meaning of a provision such as s. 1352G a
reference to copying being carried out for the purposes of a
course of education requires more than a primary or
predominant purpose of that nature.
Where, as in s. 135Z2L, that for which the copying is made
is identified as educational purposes, assistance is provided
by sub-s. 10 (1A) of the Act. This states:
"10 (1A) Without limiting the meaning of the
expression 'educational purposes' in this
Act, a copy of the whole or a part of a
work or other subject-matter shall be
taken, for the purposes of the provision
in which the expression appears, to have
been made, used or retained, as the case
may be, for the educational purposes of an
educational institution if:
(a) it is made or retained for use, or is
used, in connection with a particular
course of instruction provided by the
institution; or
(b) it is made or retained for inclusion,
or is included, in the collection of
a library of the institution."
Accordingly, in the present case one.asks of each copy whether
it was made for use in connection with a particular course of
28.
instruction provided by the respondent. The copies were so
made and, in my view, were made only or exclusively with the
objective that they be used in connection with the particular
courses of instruction suggested by the statements on the
covers of Exs. Al - A4 "Readings on Organisations, Work and
Personnel Psychology" and, on Ex. B, "Psychosocial Aspects of
Health and Iliness"". Paragraph 135Z2L (1) (b) operated to
confer immunity from infringement. But did s. 135Z2ZH then
operate to remove that inmunity?
There is no evidence to suggest that the copies of the
booklets which were supplied to students were used for a
purpose other than in connection with the relevant courses of
instruction provided to them by the respondent. It follows
that para. 13522H (1) (b) has no application to then.
The evidence includes material relating to a "trap
purchase" of the 5 booklets apparently made by an officer of
the seventh applicant. As I understand it, counsel for the
applicants submits that the sale was a use for a purpose not
in connection with the relevant courses of instruction.
Therefore, it is submitted, there was at least in these
instances an operation of para. 135ZZH (1) (b) so as to remove
in respect of those particular copies so purchased the
immunity that would otherwise apply to the making of the
relevant copies.
29.
There is a degree of artificiality in this argument.
First, a "trap purchase" for the purposes of the preparation
of litigation, where the purpose of the transaction is not
immediately brought home to the seller, is an unusual form of
dealing; see Bryant v Keith Harris & Co. Ltd (1980) 33 A.L.R.
437. Further, the use to which the booklets have been put, by
their tender by the applicants in their case as Exs. Al - Ad,
and Ex. B, is a use by the applicants themselves not by the
respondent. Finally, I accept the submission for the
respondent as to the relationship between paras. (a) and (b)
of sub-s. 1352ZH (1). Counsel submitted, and I accept, that
where what is said to be a use within the meaning of para.
135ZZ2H (1) (b) is a sale or other supply, the structure of the
sub-section directs one not to para. (b) but to para. (a).
The issue in this case is whether the sale was made by the
respondent for a financial profit. If it was not, then the
threat posed by the sub-section to the immunity otherwise
conferred by s. 135ZL is removed. It is not renewed by going
on to ask whether, whilst the sale was not made for a
financial profit, the sale nevertheless was a use for a
purpose outside that specified in s. 1352L.
There remains for consideration the reliance placed by
the applicants, as regards all sales by the respondent, upon
para. (a) of sub-s. 135ZZH (1).. The sales here were made in
the course of a system established and operated by the
respondent, the aim of which was to enable students to acquire
the materials at a price which covered the costs of the
30.
respondent, including indirect costs. The facts of this case
"show that what was done by the respondent did not involve
sales with the object or purpose of returning a profit to the
respondent. It follows that para. (a) of sub-s. 135ZZ2H (1)
had no application.
The application should be dismissed with costs.
By its cross-claim the respondent seeks to establish its
position by declaratory relief. Care has been taken to avoid
a claim for a declaration which is hypothetical and suffers
from the vices exposed in University of New South Wales v
Moorhouse (1975) 133 C.L.R. 1. In particular, the respondent
seeks declaratory relief to the effect that the making of the
copies now comprised in Exs. Al - A4 and Ex. B was done with
the licence of CAL. The result will be to make clear that
there has been no breach of the License Agreement.
The respondent should have a declaration to that effect,
together with its costs on the cross claim. These will be
added to the costs in its favour upon the dismissal of the
application.
31.
I certify that this and the preceding thirty (30)
pages are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of
the Honourable Mr Justice Gummow.
Associate:
Date:
Counsel and solicitors
for the applicants:
Counsel and solicitors
for the respondent:
Dates of hearing:
Date of judgment:
Laie Come
30 September 1994.
Mr D.K. Catterns Q.C.
instructed by
Phillips Fox.
Mr A.R. Emmett Q.C. and
Mr I.M. Jackman
instructed by Baker &
McKenzie. .
29, 30 August,
1 September 1994.
30 September 1994.