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Guide:
Intellectual
Property
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New
Zealand
This page looks at the duration of copyright under New
Zealand law and the shape of the public domain.
It covers -
It
supplements the discussion of copyright duration
in the Intellectual Property guide elsewhere on this site.
introduction
The New Zealand regime (based on the Copyright
Act 1994, currently under review) is similar to that
of Australia.
Both ultimately derive from 1911 UK legislation and centre
on protection of works by individual authors for life
plus fifty years. Works that are jointly authored enjoy
protection for fifty years from the death of the last
surviving author. Copyright cannot be 'revived'. There
is no 'registration' requirement. Copyright protection
for some government works is for 100 years from the end
of the calendar year in which the work (eg a briefing)
is made.
literary works
Section 22 of the 1994 Act provides that
copyright in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic
works continues for 50 years after the end of the calendar
year in which the author died.
Protection for works that are computer-generated expires
at the end of fifty years from the end of the calendar
year in which the work was first made.
An
exception provides protection for works of particular
international organisations. Protection is for fifty years
(unless otherwise ordered by the New Zealand Governor-General)
from the end of the year in which the work was made.
recordings
Copyright in films and sound recordings
(distinct from copyright in underlying works such as a
film script, score or lyrics) continues for fifty years
from the end of the calendar year in which they were made.
If the work is made available to the public before the
end of that fifty year period, copyright continues for
fifty years from the end of the calendar year in which
the work was first made available.
broadcasts
Copyright in broadcasts and cable programmes
continues for fifty years from the end of the calendar
year in which the broadcast was made or - for a cable
programme - it was included in a cable programme service.
published editions
A publisher's copyright in the typographical
arrangement of a published edition lasts for twenty five
years from the end of the calendar year in which the work
was first published.
The major exception concerns protection for published
editions owned by particular international organisations.
Protection is for twenty five years (unless otherwise
ordered by the New Zealand Governor-General) from the
end of the year in which the work was made.
anonymous and unpublished works
Protection for literary, dramatic, musical
or artistic work by an unknown author expires at the end
of fifty years from the end of the calendar year in which
that work was first made available to the public.
That 'making available' encompasses action such as public
exhibition, broadcast and performance.
government works
The New Zealand government retains copyright
in official publications and works produced by employees/contractors
in the course of official service.
That 'Crown copyright' extends for twenty five years from
the end of the calendar year in which a typographical
arrangement of a published edition was made (consistent
with protection for published editions noted above). For
other works, such as maps and briefs, protection is for
one hundred years from the end of the calendar year in
which the work was made.
There is, however, no Crown copyright in legislation (Bills,
Acts, Regulations), judgements by courts and tribunals,
reports of Royal Commissions and statutory inquiries,
New Zealand Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) and House
of Representatives Select Committee reports.
public domain
There is no national register of works
in the public domain. Estimates of the size and shape
of the public domain are unavailable.
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