WHAT do the Game of Thrones TV series, Justin Bieber's new hit single, the original Mona Lisa painting, a John Grisham novel, this article and a computer program all have in common? They are protected by copyright.

Copyright protects the expression of ideas (ie. in writing, sound, film, art etc) but not the actual ideas themselves. It comes into existence the moment an idea is written down, painted, drawn, filmed or taped. It is automatically protected in Australia and does not require registration. Though it can be helpful to include a copyright notice or symbol (©) on material, with the owner's name and date of first publication.

Copyright protects the original material from unauthorised copying and certain other uses. It gives the owner the exclusive rights to exploit the work - through granting others a licence to reproduce it (i.e. like publishing a book). However, copyright does not protect against independent creation of a similar work. For example, if we both independently decide to paint a picture of a tiger, then the fact that our works may look similar does not necessarily mean there has been copyright infringement.

Copyright protection generally lasts 70 years from the year of the author's death or from the year of first publication after the author's death. If someone infringes copyright, then the Court can impose a range of civil remedies, like ordering an injunction (to stop the infringement); that infringing copies be surrendered; or an order for damages or sharing of profits. The governing legislation also imposes criminal offences such as where someone is knowingly selling pirated DVDs. The penalty is up to $99,000.00 and 5 years in prison.