Date: 17 April 2025
Court: Federal Court of Australia
Judge(s): Justice Cheeseman, Justice Jackman and Justice Owens
Judgment date: 10 April 2025
Catchwords: Copyright – Statutory construction – copyright material for the services of the Crown – appeal dismissed

Abstract:

The Federal Court of Australia has dismissed the appeal by Australian News Channel Pty Ltd (ANC) against Isentia Pty Ltd (Isentia), affirming that the provision of media monitoring services to government clients by Isentia did not infringe copyright under section 183(1) of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (Act).

Background

ANC operates Sky News Australia, delivering news content via television and online platforms. Isentia is a media monitoring company that searches for and identifies news content relevant to its clients, where they would also occasionally provide clients with access to the content. This process often involves copying content over which ANC holds copyright.

While Isentia typically requires a licence from the copyright owner to use such content, some of its clients are government departments or statutory authorities. These clients provided Isentia with written authorities under s 183(1) of…