NEW -   This article in Wired UK describes what is happening with the 2003 UK Legal Deposit legislation, and copyright in websites.
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-03/05/archiving-britain%27s-web-the-legal-nightmare-explored.aspx

Legal Deposit Leg islation and WA’s history

[Following isthe text of a letter signed by the President of The History Council which was sent to  the Hon. John Day, Minister for Culture and the Arts.]

The History Council of Western Australia, the peak body for Western Australian historians, is concerned that Western Australia is the only State or Territory that has no legal deposit legislation, and has been in this situation since 1994.  The previous legislation, which required Western Australian publishers to deposit a copy of all their publications with the State Library, was repealed when the State Government, in the process of tidying up obsolete legislation, repealed the Copyright Act 1895.  In 2005 the problem was exacerbated when the Government repealed the Newspaper Libel and Registration Act 1884, which had provided for the legal deposit of West Australian newspapers.

Without such legislation, the State’s cultural and literary heritage is at risk.  The Library has to rely on the goodwill of newspaper and other publishers both large and small to voluntarily deposit copies of their publications, and the protection afforded by the Premier’s Circular 2003/17, which covers government publications only. Publications that are not deposited in this manner, must be purchased.  In these financially troubled times, this is not an insignificant issue.

Such legislation would require all publishers in Western Australia to donate one copy of every new publication, both printed and in electronic media, for preservation by the State Library.  It would provide the basis for innovation and research for both current and future generations, across a range of interests, from industrial development to family history.  Not only that, but it would allow State Library staff to monitor local publications, and place orders for the extensive public library network.

The History Council has been monitoring this situation since the Council’s inception and has written on a number of occasions expressing our concerns to the Minister and Premier of the day.  To this end we enclose a copy of one such letter, written in November 2006.

There has been a great deal of consultation conducted by the Library Board of Western Australia in 2007 for Western Australian publishers, authors and other stakeholders, including the general public, as to incorporating some legal deposit requirements into an amended Library Board Act.  We recommend instead that the State consider the implementation of a separate piece of legislation, such as that passed in the Northern Territory in 2004.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this matter further.

Signed:  Dr Sue Graham-Taylor