Anyone watching television over the Summer will have seen
advertisements for the United Australia Party, led by Clive Palmer.
In one version, a song is played with the lyrics 'Australia
ain't gonna cop it, no Australia's not gonna cop it,
Aussies not gonna cop it any more.'
Universal Music owns the copyright in the Twisted Sister song
We're Not Gonna Take It, and they are not too pleased
with Mr Palmer's creation. In fact, they claim that Mr
Palmer's song amounts to an infringement of copyright and have
asked the Federal Court to order that it not be played anymore.
How will the Court deal with it? The starting point is that
musical works (the melody and lyrics) and sound recordings (the
recording of the song on any medium) are protected under the
Copyright Act 1968. The Act gives the owner of the
copyright a number of exclusive rights, including the right to copy
the song and play it in public. Copyright will be infringed if any
other person does those things
