Northern Territory Bills

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PUBLICATIONS (LEGAL DEPOSIT) BILL 2004

1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004.

2. Commencement
This Act comes into operation on the date fixed by the Administrator by notice in the Gazette.

3. Object
(1) The object of this Act is to assist in the preservation of the Territory's published documentary heritage.

(2) The object of this Act is to be achieved by –

(a) ensuring that a copy of each publication that is published in the Territory is deposited with the CEO; and

(b) authorising the CEO to copy Internet publications that are published in the Territory.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

"CEO" means the Chief Executive Officer, within the meaning of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act, of the Agency principally responsible under the Minister for the administration of this Act;

"document" means a document in any form and includes –

(a) any writing on any material (for example – books, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, reports, newsletters, calendars, directories, handbooks, guides, sheet music, maps and pamphlets);

(b) information recorded or stored by means of a recording device, computer or other electronic device, or any other device, and material subsequently derived from information so recorded or stored (for example – audio cassettes, video cassettes, films, multimedia kits, computer magnetic tape, computer optical discs, floppy discs, compact discs, CDROMs, DVDs, websites and PDF files); and

(c) a later edition of a document referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);

"electronic" includes electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, biometric and phototonic;

"electronic document" means a document in which information is stored or displayed by means of an electronic recording device, computer or other electronic medium;

"information" includes information in the form of a document, data, text, images, sound or speech;

"printer", in relation to any printed publication, means the person who has the management and control of the device by which the document is printed or otherwise produced;

"publication" means a document –

(a) that is printed or produced by any other means in the Territory or is commissioned to be printed or otherwise produced outside the Territory by a person who is resident in the Territory or whose principal place of business is in the Territory; and

(b) of which one or more copies are –

(i) issued to the public;

(ii) available to the public upon request; or

(iii) available to the public on the Internet (whether or not there is any restriction on members of the public accessing or using the document);

"publish" means making publicly available, whether or not there is any restriction on members of the public accessing or using the document;

"publisher" means –

(a) in relation to a printed publication – the person who publishes the document;

(b) in relation to an Internet publication – the person who has control over the content of the website, or part of the website, on which the document is located; and

(c) in relation to any other publication – the person who produced in the Territory, or commissioned the production outside the Territory of, the copies of the document issued to, or available on request by, the public;

"restriction", in relation to access to, or use of, a document of any kind, means a physical, technical or mechanical restriction such as a requirement to pay a fee or price, or the use of a password or other requirement that prevents or restricts free public access to the document, but does not include a legal restriction recorded in or claimed for the document.

5. Internet publication
(1) An Internet publication is an electronic document that is published on the Internet, whether or not there is any restriction on members of the public accessing or using the document, and includes the whole or part of a website.

(2) An Internet publication is the document for the time being and if that document is changed in any significant respect it becomes a new publication.

6. Act binds Crown
This Act binds the Crown in right of the Territory and, to the extent the legislative power of the Legislative Assembly permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.

7. Publisher to deposit copy of new publication
(1) The publisher of a new publication published in the Territory must, at the publisher's expense, deposit a copy of the publication with the CEO.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a reprint of a document whose content and form are identical to the content and form of a document already deposited with the CEO under this Act.

8. Printer must ensure copy is deposited in certain cases
(1) This section applies if –

(a) the name of the publisher does not appear on a printed publication; and

(b) the printer of the publication is resident in the Territory or has its principal place of business in the Territory.

9. Time and place for deposit
(1) If a copy of a printed publication is required under this Act to be deposited with the CEO, the copy must be deposited –

(a) within 2 months after the publication was first published; and

(b) by mailing or delivering it to the CEO, marked "Legal Deposit Copy".

10. Exemption of spatial information
(1) Section 7 does not apply in relation to spatial information generated from one or more dynamic spatial databases for a specific use or purpose unless that use or purpose involves distribution (whether without charge, by sale or by incorporation into another product) of the spatial information to a class or classes of persons or to the public generally.

(2) The CEO may negotiate access arrangements in relation to spatial information exempted under subsection (1).

(3) In this section –

"spatial information" means information about the location and shape of, and relationships among, geographical features, usually stored as coordinates and topology.

(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent the publisher of an indigenous community publication that contains culturally sensitive information from depositing a copy of the publication with the CEO for preservation and safekeeping.

12. Copies of publications
A copy of a publication deposited with the CEO in accordance with this Act must –

(a) be an identical copy and of the same standard as the best copy of the document that has been published in the Territory; and

(b) include any containers, wrapping material, notices, instructions or other material generally accompanying the published document.

13. Internet publications
(1) The publisher of an Internet publication for which no printed version is published must, within 2 months after the publication is first published, advise the CEO of the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the publication on the publisher's website.

(2) The CEO may, for preserving the Territory's published documentary heritage, copy an Internet publication and, if it changes, may take further copies of the publication from time to time as the CEO considers appropriate.

(3) If an Internet publication is protected by technical means from being copied, the publisher must provide the CEO with –

(a) an electronic copy of the publication (whenever requested); or

(b) the means to capture an identical copy of the publication (from time to time, if appropriate) from the Internet.

(2) If a deposited document is made publicly available on the Internet by the publisher without restriction on its access or use by members of the public, the CEO may make the document available for access and use by members of the public on the Internet.

(3) If a deposited document is not publicly available on the Internet, the CEO must not, except with the publisher's agreement, make the document available on the Internet.

(4) In this section –

"deposited document" means a publication of which one or more copies have been given to, or made by, the CEO under this Act.

15. Documents to which access is restricted
(1) If a publisher deposits with the CEO a publication that contains culturally sensitive information, or information to which access is normally restricted on commercial or other grounds, the publisher must advise the CEO of the restrictions that are appropriate in relation to access to the publication.

(2) The CEO must ensure that the restrictions are complied with.

16. Intellectual property not affected
This Act does not affect any claim of intellectual property in any document deposited under the Act.

17. No offence created by Act
A failure to comply with a requirement under this Act does not constitute an offence.

18. Regulations
(1) The Administrator may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing matters –

(a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or

(b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

(2) The Regulations may provide for the following:

(a) the exemption from any requirement of this Act of –

(i) a document or class of documents; or

(ii) a publisher or class of publishers;

(b) access to documents;

(c) the type of Internet publications to be copied and the manner and frequency of making of copies of such publications.