The Presumptions under the ERP are based on a recognition of principles of Australian copyright law, industry agreed contracts and industry practice. Under Australian copyright law, Statutory Royalties are payable to the copyright owner in a work and copyright ownership in a work may be completely assigned. A contract may however indicate that Statutory Royalties are payable to a person other than the copyright owner in a work.
The position differs under the laws of some countries, which provide for a right to receive certain royalties based on authorship in a work rather than ownership of copyright.