The following advice was prepared with reference to the Architecture, Building Design and Copyright (2016) publication by the Australian Copyright Council. The information below outlines the basic concept of copyright and discusses some common areas of infringement and how to protect the intellectual property of an architectural practice.
In Australia, copyright law is made up of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) ('Copyright Act') and court decisions which have applied and interpreted the Copyright Act. Any drawing or sketch, whether produced by hand or CAD software, is considered an artistic work in which copyright subsists. Computer renderings, as well as virtual tours, will be protected by copyright as an artistic work. In virtual walk-throughs, the footage is likely to be protected by copyright as a cinematographic film protected by copyright.