Scotty, my point was that copyright is protected by the one single Copyright Act in Australia. Which is what I actually said, that "its the same act that the decisions" are based on.
I'm afraid that your advice ("for photos taken Pre 1955) is quite wrong.
And the Amazon situation that you're referring to is about the issue of United States of America law system, and their copyright act. While Australia is signatories to the Berne Convention, the Australia Copyright Act (which btw is far better protection than our American friends receive), is what guides the issue of copyright in Australia. And there is only one copyright act in Australia, to which all issues of copyright applies. The Copyright Act 1968
http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/page/Copyright
People often confuse situations in the States with their own country. We are governed by Australian law here.
However, its worth noting that the 2005 free trade agreement with the US, adds some other issues to Australia's laws, (note adds, we cant, it seems, have our rights reduced) like the interesting "plus 70" rule, which is something that can be lazily paraphrased to this:
"
In short, this can be interpreted as:
* Any work that was published in the lifetime of the author who died in 1956 or earlier, is out of copyright.
* Any work that was published in the lifetime of the author who died after 1956, will be out of copyright seventy (70) years after the author's death.
Also any work that was published after the death of the author, will be out of copyright seventy (70) years after the year of first publication. Unpublished works hold copyright indefinitely.
Photographs, sound recordings, films, and anonymous/pseudonymous works are copyright for seventy (70) years from their first publication. Television and sound broadcasts are copyright for only fifty years after the year of their first broadcast (though the material contained in the broadcast may be separately copyrighted). Most other works are also dated from the first publication/broadcast/performance where this occurred after the author's death.
The period of seventy (70) years is counted from the end of the relevant calendar year."
And the word to stress is "interpreted". The thing to remember is that if its legal, then its not yes or no, its interpreted.
So, for the record, I was talking about Australian Copyright, and not any other country.
I'd repeat my earlier advice and seek guidance from the Copyright Council - that's why they're there to give the correct advice relating to Australian Copyright.
And Ricstew, Copyright Council, will probably respond quicker and easier, if you ring them and speak to one of their specialist consultants. Like any legal organisation, my experience with them is that, typically a legal issue, putting a definitive point in writing is something that they're not exactly speedy about. Speaking to them though, and they may be able to guide you to a point in their website that gives you the written answer you may want.
I always think that this discussion is interesting, because it always highlights people who are utterly convinced that we're governed by the US. We're not While we're signatories to the Berne Convention:
http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf...tectedoverseas
So its always going to be an interesting discussion, and I hope an enlightening one for many. The more this issue is discussed, the better chance people have of gaining an insight into this area.