Pocketful of Tunes Pty Ltd v The Commonwealth of Australia [2015] ACopyT 1

Pocketful of Tunes Pty Ltd v The Commonwealth of Australia [2015] ACopyT 1

The Brisbane City Council licence was the only comparable licence and valued the synchronisation right at $1,500 per year. Given the imperfect evidence, a population-based extrapolation was more appropriate than a per-Council or actual-usage calculation because it better reflected a hypothetical national licence and avoided unsupported assumptions that every Council would have licensed the Song on Brisbane terms. Adding 17% for Departmental use, 2% for other uses, and a $5,000 annual premium for a national licence, then applying the 3 years and 8 months period of use, produced compensation of $149,743.34 exclusive of GST. Pocketful of Tunes was the proper recipient because the Deed...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
03 March 2015
Procedural Posture
Application to the Copyright Tribunal Under S 183(5) of the Copyright Act 1968 (cth) to Fix Terms for Past Commonwealth Use of Copyright / Reasons for Determination and Orders
Outcome
The Tribunal fixed the fee payable by the Commonwealth and declared that Pocketful of Tunes Pty Ltd held the relevant rights under the Deed.
Legal Topics
['commonwealth Use of Copyright' 'synchronisation Right' 'remuneration Under S 183(5)' 'assignment of Copyright' 'assignment of Accrued Rights of Action' 'standing']
['copyright' 'intellectual Property'] ['commonwealth Use of Copyright' 'synchronisation Right' 'remuneration Under S 183(5)' 'assignment of Copyright' 'assignment of Accrued Rights of Action' 'standing']

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Procedural Posture

Application to the Copyright Tribunal Under S 183(5) of the Copyright Act 1968 (cth) to Fix Terms for Past Commonwealth Use of Copyright / Reasons for Determination and Orders

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['What terms were appropriate to compensate the applicants for the Commonwealth\'s use of the synchronisation right in the song "I am Australian".' 'To which applicant any payment should be made.' 'Whether the Deed was effective to transfer to Pocketful of Tunes Pty Ltd the synchronisation right and the right of action, future or accrued, including the right to claim under s 183(5) of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).']

Ratio Decidendi

The Brisbane City Council licence was the only comparable licence and valued the synchronisation right at $1,500 per year. Given the imperfect evidence, a population-based extrapolation was more appropriate than a per-Council or actual-usage calculation because it better reflected a hypothetical national licence and avoided unsupported assumptions that every Council would have licensed the Song on Brisbane terms. Adding 17% for Departmental use, 2% for other uses, and a $5,000 annual premium for a national licence, then applying the 3 years and 8 months period of use, produced compensation of $149,743.34 exclusive of GST. Pocketful of Tunes was the proper recipient because the Deed...

Court Disposition

The Tribunal fixed the fee payable by the Commonwealth and declared that Pocketful of Tunes Pty Ltd held the relevant rights under the Deed.

Orders

  • ['The Deed was effective to transfer to Pocketful of Tunes Pty Ltd the synchronisation right and the right of action, future or accrued, for infringement of that right, which includes the right to claim under s 183(5) of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).' 'The Commonwealth pay to Pocketful of Tunes Pty Ltd a fee for the...