The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has released an Issues Paper on the review of the Copyright Act 1994. This release begins formal public consultation on the copyright regime in New Zealand, and seeks information and evidence about aspects of the Act that the review should address.

This review provides an opportunity to reassess how well the copyright regime is performing, and address issues that have arisen because of recent technological developments. As it has been over a decade since the Copyright Act was last substantially reviewed, it is important that our law provides an effective framework for the creation and use of copyright works in a changing digital environment.

The Issues Paper also discusses the Waitangi Tribunal’s recommendations in its Wai 262 report that the Crown set up new protections for taonga works, and a new commission to administer them. This paper provides a chance to comment on the proposed approach of establishing a parallel work stream to consider these recommendations alongside the Copyright Act review.

The consultation period on this Issues Paper is now open and will last until Friday 5 April 2019.

For more information on this review and information about how to make a submission, please visit the MBIE website.