The New Zealand Government has announced plans to significantly update its Copyright Act 1994, marking the most substantial copyright reform in decades. The changes are primarily driven by New Zealand's commitments under its free trade agreements with the United Kingdom and the European Union, but they also signal the Government's intention to address broader issues arising from digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
New Zealand's copyright framework has remained largely unchanged for many years, despite dramatic shifts in technology, digital distribution, and content creation. The Government has concluded that updates are necessary both to meet international treaty obligations and to ensure the copyright system remains fit for purpose in a rapidly evolving digital environment. Key updates include: - extending the protection for most copyright and related rights by 20 years to protect most types of works for either 70 years from the creator’s death or 70 years from publication- extending the protection it gives to digital locks (technological protection measures) to include preventing a person undertaking an act to circumvent those locks other than in limited circumstances.- introducing a new fair dealing exception for parody and satire, applying across a wide range of works while maintaining authors’ moral rights- providing courts with a framework to order internet service providers to block access to overseas websites primarily engaged in copyright infringement, with appropriate safeguards and flexibility- removing an outdated peer-to-peer file-sharing enforcement regime that is no longer used, reducing compliance costs for internet service providers- enabling copyright licensing organisations to take collective action on behalf of copyright owners to prevent infringement- clarifying that the first distribution right is only exhausted where the copyright owner has consented to the overseas sale of copies, supporting control over parallel imports of infringing copies- changing the default rule for commissioned works so that creators are the first copyright owners unless agreed otherwise- extending resale royalty rights for visual artists by 20 years to align with the longer copyright term
New Zealand's proposed copyright reforms represent a major shift in intellectual property policy. While the immediate drivers are international trade commitments with the UK and EU, the reforms also create an opportunity to modernise copyright law for the digital age.
New Zealand's copyright framework has remained largely unchanged for many years, despite dramatic shifts in technology, digital distribution, and content creation. The Government has concluded that updates are necessary both to meet international treaty obligations and to ensure the copyright system remains fit for purpose in a rapidly evolving digital environment. Key updates include: - extending the protection for most copyright and related rights by 20 years to protect most types of works for either 70 years from the creator’s death or 70 years from publication- extending the protection it gives to digital locks (technological protection measures) to include preventing a person undertaking an act to circumvent those locks other than in limited circumstances.- introducing a new fair dealing exception for parody and satire, applying across a wide range of works while maintaining authors’ moral rights- providing courts with a framework to order internet service providers to block access to overseas websites primarily engaged in copyright infringement, with appropriate safeguards and flexibility- removing an outdated peer-to-peer file-sharing enforcement regime that is no longer used, reducing compliance costs for internet service providers- enabling copyright licensing organisations to take collective action on behalf of copyright owners to prevent infringement- clarifying that the first distribution right is only exhausted where the copyright owner has consented to the overseas sale of copies, supporting control over parallel imports of infringing copies- changing the default rule for commissioned works so that creators are the first copyright owners unless agreed otherwise- extending resale royalty rights for visual artists by 20 years to align with the longer copyright term
New Zealand's proposed copyright reforms represent a major shift in intellectual property policy. While the immediate drivers are international trade commitments with the UK and EU, the reforms also create an opportunity to modernise copyright law for the digital age.