THE
LEGAL GUFF
All the plays, musicals and adaptations in the Grumpy Catalogue
are covered by Copyright, both within Australia and internationally
Someone is infringing copyright laws and acting illegally if they or
their company/ organisation:
• Perform or rehearse a play/musical without permission
from the author/composer or their agent
• Perform or rehearse a play/musical without paying a royalty
to the author/composer or their agent
• Perform or rehearse a play/musical without paying a publishing/script
copying fee to the author/ composer or their agent
• Copy the author/composer’s work without permission
When Does Copyright Not Apply?
Copyright exists for the life of the author/composer and for the following
50-70 years. When this time has expired, the work becomes ‘public
domain’ meaning that anyone has the right to produce, perform
or publish the original work. Therefore, original works by authors like
Aristophanes, Shakespeare and Dickens fall under public domain
What Are Royalties?
As
authors and composers occasionally eat, they depend upon earnings from
the performance/publishing/reproduction of original works as their income.
These payments are called Royalties and are applicable to any public
performance, be that for a paying audience or a school classroom. Royalties
are usually determined by a set fee or a percentage of the gross earnings
As all the works in the Grumpy Catalogue are covered by
copyright, Royalties need to be paid for each and every performance
What Are Script Levies?
According to the technicalities of Copyright Law, each performer in
a play should purchase a script, regardless of the size of their particular
role. Script Levies are payments made to the author/ composer in order
to photocopy the script to accommodate the cast size and/or in lieu
of purchasing scrips concomitant with the cast numbers. Script Levies
are usually determined by a set fee or by a negotiated fee per capita
As all the works in the Grumpy Catalogue are covered by
copyright, Script Levies need to be paid for each and every production
