This exciting new project will study the digital disruption of the surveying industry and the subsequent effects on Plan IP & Copyright by addressing the following:

• Authorship and artificial intelligence.
• Originality and Technology.
• Authorship and digital records.
• Exceptions and data mining.
• Open data initiatives.
• Smart contracts and Blockchain.
• Technical protection measures (TPMs).
• Legislative reviews and changes.

We look forward to sharing regular updates on this research.

"Since the High Court of Australia’s decision of 2008 which determined that surveyors owned the copyright of survey plans, there have been significant advances in surveying technologies and the ubiquitous integration of spatial data. The digital information collected, processed and managed by surveyors is now, more than ever, critical to their business models. The Surveyors’ Intellectual Property and Copyright Research Project will identify future challenges and opportunities for surveyors to maintain and leverage the value of their information in this digital age."

says Professor Kevin McDougall from USQ School of Civil Engineering & Surveying