Requirements for copyright protection

Copyright does not protect ideas, only the expression or form that the ideas may take.

Works that are literary, dramatic, musical or artistic in nature can usually be protected if they are sufficiently 'original'. In copyright terms, 'original' means that the work isn’t "a mere copy, a requisite level of skill and effort has been exercised in its creation, and it has been created by a human author" (Australian Copyright Council).

In Australia copyright is an automatic right once a work takes material form - there is no need to register your work to receive copyright protection.

Further reading: