The National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) is responsible for preserving Australia’s audiovisual heritage. We currently have around one million works in our care.

We make collection materials available for use, including licensing for re-use, subject to prevailing copyright laws.

While we’re the custodians of this great collection, we don’t necessarily own the physical collection materials or the copyright.

This means, in most cases you’ll need to secure rights from the owners before we can release material to you.

‘Ownership’ generally refers to the intellectual property ownership of works in the NFSA collection.

Ownership affects how:

• we provide access to collection materials
• you can use the materials.

Our Enterprises team will guide you through this process.

See our:

• overview for industry professionals
• fees and conditions of use.

Types of ownership and rights

Ownership and intellectual property rights for the works can include:

• copyright
• Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights
• orphan works
• moral rights
• depositor rights
• donor rights.

We also use ‘ownership’ to refer to ownership of the physical collection items themselves, such as x. This ownership can be separate to the works themselves.

Visit the:

• Attorney-General's Department website to read about copyright
• IP Australia website to read about intellectual property
• Federal Register of Legislation to view the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act).

Copyright

In the NFSA collection, copyright ownership generally falls into one of 3 categories.

In copyright and under legal control of a third-party copyright holder

Third-party copyright holders own most of the works in our collection.

The copyright holders are usually the people or companies that produced or created the materials in the first place, but not always.

To supply copies of third-party owned materials, you need to provide us with written permission from the copyright holder. If works have multiple copyright holders, you’ll need to get permission from all copyright holders.

Seek permission as early in the process as possible. We’ll give you any information we have to help you with this.

The NFSA charges access fees for supply of cleared, third-party owned materials.

In copyright and under the legal control of the NFSA

The NFSA owns the copyright for some titles in the collection.

Most are in the Film Australia Collection. There are also titles in the wider collection where the copyright holder has chosen to legally transfer copyright ownership to us.

Titles our staff formally assessed as being under the NFSA’s legal control can be made available for commercial and non-commercial use.

We provide these titles under an NFSA licence agreement and licence fees apply.

The work is in the public domain

In the ‘public domain’ means all copyright in the work, including any underlying rights, has expired.

Titles our staff have formally assessed as being in the public domain are not subject to the Act.

These titles are available for commercial and non-commercial use under an NFSA usage agreement.

We charge usage fees for supply and use of high-resolution materials in the public domain.

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property rights

The NFSA manages over 30,000 historical and contemporary works relating First Nations peoples’ heritages and cultures.

Our Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) guidelines in our conditions of use determines how we supply materials.

To access First Nations materials:

• you may need to get permission from community representatives before we can provide access, even for initial viewing
• you'll still need to get any other permissions are relevant to your request such as copyright clearances.

We may refuse access to material that is restricted because it is known, or believed, to contain culturally sensitive or secret-sacred material. An exception would be if you've gained express permission from community representatives.

Seeking permission from community representatives

It's your responsibility to seek permission from appropriate community representatives to access First Nations collection materials.

Our staff will give you any information we have, but you may need to do research to find and contact community representatives.

Identifying, contacting and seeking permission from appropriate community representatives takes time.

If you plan to work with First Nations collection materials, allow generous lead time to work fulfil your ICIP obligations.

Getting cultural clearance is a consultative process. The relevant community representatives have complete discretion whether to grant or refuse access.

Orphan works

Like many archives, museums, galleries and libraries, the NFSA holds many orphan works.

'Orphan works' are materials that are probably still protected by copyright, but we can't identify, locate or contact the copyright owner.

In audiovisual collections, orphan works may include sound recordings or films where a copyright holder:

• can’t be identified or contacted
• where some rights have expired, but copyright still applies to elements like the script, music, or other content in the work.

You can usually view or listen to orphan works for research purposes.

The NFSA rarely provides copies of orphan works for commercial use.

Sometimes, orphan works are supplied for use in documentaries or other creative projects produced in the public interest.

Download our Statement on Orphan works (PDF, 469 KB).

Moral rights

Creators have moral rights over their works.

A creator can include directors, performers, musicians, and artists. They have the right to:

• be identified as the author of their work
• object to false attribution
• prevent derogatory treatment of their work.

At the NFSA, we're committed to correctly attributing credits and respecting the moral rights of creators. Anyone accessing or using works from our collection must also uphold these rights.

Depositor rights

Thousands of audiovisual items in our collection are lodged ‘on deposit’.

This means the NFSA cares for them, but the depositor – who is often the creator – keeps ownership of the physical items.

If you want to borrow deposited materials, you must get written permission from the depositor. We can provide you with the relevant contact details.

Donor rights

Unlike deposited items, donated materials become the physical property of the NFSA.

As a trusted custodian, we deeply value our relationships with donors and respect the agreements made at the time of donation.

In some cases, access to certain materials may require permission from the donor or their descendants. This is in addition to any other necessary permissions, such as copyright clearances.