The Government and Copyright: The Government as Proprietor, Preserver and User of Copyright Material Under the Copyright Act 1968 focuses on the interplay between law, policy and practice in copyright law by investigating the rights of the government as the copyright owner, the preserver of copyright material and the user of other's copyright material under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

The first of two recurring themes in the book asks the question whether the needs and status of government should be different from private sector institutions, which also obtain copyright protection under the law. The second theme aims to identify the relationship between government copyright law and policy, national cultural policy and fundamental governance values.

"As the first authoritative treatise on government copyright to be published in Australia, this book will be of immediate interest and relevance to Australian lawyers and policy makers, particularly in the light of ongoing efforts to ensure that the intellectual property system stimulates innovation and fosters trade and investment. Given that government copyright is recognised to some extent in most countries worldwide, this book is a valuable contribution to the international literature on this topic, which remains sparse."

From the Introduction by Dr Anne Fitzgerald and Prof. Brian Fitzgerald

John S Gilchrist is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University Academy of Law. He studied Arts and Law at Monash University and holds postgraduate degrees and qualifications from Monash University, the Queensland University of Technology, the Australian National University and the University of Canberra. He is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia.