Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

COPYRIGHT ACT 1968 - SECT 153F

             (1)  A company limited by guarantee may apply to the Tribunal for a declaration that the company be a collecting society for the purposes of Division 2 of Part VII.

             (2)  The parties to the application are the applicant and any person made a party by the Tribunal.

             (3)  The Tribunal may make a person a party if:

                     (a)  the person asks to be made a party; and

                     (b)  the Tribunal thinks that the person has a sufficient interest in either or both of the following questions:

                              (i)  whether the applicant should be declared to be a collecting society;

                             (ii)  whether any current declaration of a company as a collecting society should be revoked.

             (4)  After giving each party an opportunity of presenting its case, the Tribunal must:

                     (a)  declare the applicant to be a collecting society for the purposes of Division 2 of Part VII; or

                     (b)  reject the application.

             (5)  A declaration of a company as a collecting society for the purposes of Division 2 of Part VII may be a declaration in relation to:

                     (a)  all government copies; or

                     (b)  a specified class of government copies.

             (6)  The Tribunal may only declare the applicant to be a collecting society if the Tribunal is satisfied:

                     (a)  that the applicant is a company limited by guarantee incorporated under a law in force in a State or Territory relating to companies; and

                     (b)  in the case of an application for a declaration in relation to all government copies, that the applicant's rules permit the owner, or the agent of the owner, of the copyright in any copyright material to become a member; and

                     (c)  in the case of an application for a declaration in relation to a class of government copies, that the applicant's rules permit the owner, or the agent of the owner, of the copyright in any copyright material a reproduction of which in accordance with section 183 would be within that class to become a member; and

                     (d)  that the applicant's rules prohibit the payment of dividends to its members; and

                     (e)  that the applicant's rules contain such provisions about all of the following matters as are adequate for the protection of its members:

                              (i)  the collection of remuneration payable under section 183A;

                             (ii)  the payment of administrative costs of the collecting society out of remuneration it collects;

                            (iii)  the distribution of remuneration the collecting society collects;

                            (iv)  the collecting society holding on trust remuneration for owners of copyright in copyright material who are not members of the society;

                             (v)  access to the collecting society's records by its members; and

                      (f)  that the applicant's rules contain such other provisions as are required by the regulations to be included for the protection of members of the society.

             (7)  A declaration must specify the day on which it takes effect.

             (8)  If the Tribunal makes a declaration under this section, the Registrar must publish the declaration in the Gazette .