Royalty-free impermanence, disembodied copyright –
tax win, but copyright loss for un-broadcasted signals in the
Commissioner of Taxation v Seven Network Limited [2016] FCAFC
70
In a decision that somehow brings together the Olympics,
copyright, Switzerland and the subtler points of tax law, the Full
Federal Court has further dissected what can and cannot be
protected as a film under copyright laws. Upholding the first
instance decision of Justice Bennett, the Full Federal Court has
confirmed that data signals carrying images and sounds will not
enjoy copyright protection as "cinematographic films"
under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The decision is an
important alert to broadcasters and media stakeholders that the
increasing use of digitised transmission or data signals leaves the
images and sounds without copyright protection – at least
until a broadcast is made. On the up side, the absence of copyright
protection in the data signals may offer a pleasant tax break
