Copyright Act 1994

Description, ownership, and duration of copyright - Qualification for copyright

19: Qualification by reference to country of first publication

You could also call this:

"Getting copyright based on where your work is first published"

You can get copyright for a work if it is first published in New Zealand or a prescribed foreign country. This includes things like books, music, and films. If a work is published in one country and also in another country within 30 days, it is considered to be published at the same time. You can get copyright if your work is published first in New Zealand. You can also get copyright if your work is published first in a foreign country that is prescribed. This means the government has said it is okay to get copyright for works published in that country. If a work is published in another country at the same time, or within 30 days, it does not change where it was first published. This rule helps decide where a work was first published.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM345927.

This page was last updated on 3 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Intellectual property > Copyright

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Part 1Description, ownership, and duration of copyright
Qualification for copyright

19Qualification by reference to country of first publication

A work (being a literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work, a sound recording, a film, or a typographical arrangement of a published edition) qualifies for copyright if it is first published—
in New Zealand; or
in a prescribed foreign country.

For the purposes of this section, publication in one country shall not be regarded as other than the first publication by reason of simultaneous publication elsewhere; and for this purpose publication elsewhere within the previous 30 days shall be treated as simultaneous.

Compare

1962 No 33 ss 7(2), 13(2), 14(2), 17(1)