-- JonathanMo - 14 Sep 2015

Parallel importation

Importing copyright material for commercial purposes or dealing with such material without the approval of the copyright owner is an infringement of copyright

However, a mechanism exists for the importation of foreign published books, without the permission of the copyright owner, in limited circumstances - primarily where a foreign published book is not available in Australia within 30 days of the first publication. The result of this is that foreign publishers can continue to maintain their effective monopoly so long as they meet the demands of Australian readers. If the book is not made available within 30 days, the person wishing to import must place a written order for the book with the copyright owner: if this order is not fulfilled within 90 days, copies of the book may be imported for sale [CA s.44A].

Note, however, the trend towards phasing out parallel importation restrictions as anti-competitive and price distorting: see Copyright Amendment (Parallel Importation) Act 2003 (Cth). See also Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd (2001) 115 FCR 442.