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Copyright Act 1994

5: Meaning of author

You could also call this:

"Who is considered the author of a created work"

Illustration for Copyright Act 1994

When you create a work, you are the author of that work. You create a work when you make it, and this can include things like writing a story or making a movie. The person who makes the arrangements for a work to be created is also considered the author in some cases. If a work is made using a computer, the person who sets up the computer to make the work is the author. If a sound recording or film is made, the person who makes the arrangements for it to be recorded or filmed is the author. The author of a work can be a person or a company. You can be the author of a work even if you are not the one who actually made it, as long as you made the arrangements for it to be created. The author of a work can be a natural person or a body corporate, which means it can be either a person or a company. This applies to all types of works, including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM345899.

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5Meaning of author

  1. For the purposes of this Act, the author of a work is the person who creates it.

  2. For the purposes of subsection (1), the person who creates a work shall be taken to be,—

  3. in the case of a literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work that is computer-generated, the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken:
    1. in the case of a sound recording or film, the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the making of the recording or film are undertaken:
      1. in the case of a communication work, the person who makes the communication work:
        1. in the case of a typographical arrangement of a published edition, the publisher.

            1. The author of a work of any of the descriptions referred to in subsection (2) may be a natural person or a body corporate.

            Notes
            • Section 5(2)(c): substituted, on , by section 7 of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 27).
            • Section 5(2)(d): substituted, on , by section 7 of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 27).
            • Section 5(2)(e): repealed, on , by section 7 of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 27).