Publishers, authors welcome NZ Copyright Act review

Tuesday, 27 November 2018 Books+Publishing

The New Zealand government’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has released an issues paper on the review of the Copyright Act, which has been welcomed by both the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA).

The review of New Zealand’s copyright laws, which have not been updated in more than 10 years, will assess how well current legislation meets the country’s objectives for copyright, identify any barriers to achieving these objectives, and consider how these will affect creators, publishers, distributors and consumers. The issues paper is the first stage of public consultation on the Copyright Act review.

‘New Zealand has good copyright law, but we think it could be better,’ said PANZ president Peter Dowling. ‘The review of the Copyright Act is an important opportunity to reinforce the incentives to create and innovate that distinguish what our authors and publishers do in New Zealand and abroad.’

‘We need copyright law that gives New Zealand creators control over their global aspirations, that is effective in digital as well as in print, that uses licensing and exceptions to minimise transaction costs when required, that offers affordable means for enforcement, and that harmonises our law with those of our key trading partners,’ added Dowling.

NZSA, which represents more than 1600 New Zealand writers, said: ‘It is crucial we maintain a copyright framework that gives content creators fair reward for their labour and protects the right of ownership … A healthy copyright law sets the stage to take our writing to the world’.

The issues paper is available for comment until Friday, 5 April 2019. For more information, see the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website.

Category: Local news