Read time: 9 minutes
The moral rights provisions in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (the Act) mean that clients of architectural practices need to manage certain obligations in relation to the work created for their project. Architects can assist clients to effectively manage these obligations by using the procedures below.
The life of copyright and moral rights is the life of the author plus 70 years. For further information about moral rights, see Acumen note Moral rights.
Some clients may seek to have practices waive moral rights or indemnify them against infringement claims. Such practices should be discouraged and resisted. The most effective way of discouraging these waivers and indemnities is to provide your client with a workable agreement that manages their obligations and minimises any adverse impacts of these obligations on building ownership. At the same time, the agreement should ensure that the benefits to the profession flowing from moral rights are preserved.