Copyright Act 1994

Acts permitted in relation to copyright works - Education

47: Performing, playing, or showing work in course of activities of educational establishment

You could also call this:

"Using copyright works for learning at school"

You can perform a work, like a play or a song, at your school without it being a public performance. This is allowed if you are a student or staff member and you are doing it as part of your school activities. It is also allowed if someone else is doing it at your school to teach you something. You can play or show a sound recording, film, or communication work at school for instructional purposes. This is not considered a public playing or showing of the work. You can do this if your audience is made up of students or staff members at the school. If you are a parent or guardian of a student, you are not automatically considered to be connected to the school just because of that. You must have a direct connection to the school's activities to be considered connected. This rule applies when talking about section 32(1) and section 32(2).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM345972.

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

Topics:

Education and learning > School educationArts and culture > Arts fundingBusiness > Intellectual property

46: Anthologies for educational use, or

"Copying parts of books or songs for school use is allowed under certain rules"

48: Copying and communication of communication work for educational purposes, or

"Copying and sharing for school is allowed for educational purposes"

Part 3Acts permitted in relation to copyright works
Education

47Performing, playing, or showing work in course of activities of educational establishment

The performance of a literary, dramatic, or musical work before an audience consisting of persons who are students or staff members at an educational establishment or are directly connected with the activities of the establishment—
by a student or staff member in the course of the activities of the establishment; or
at the establishment, by any person for the purposes of instruction,—

section 32(1)

The playing or showing, for the purposes of instruction, of a sound recording, film, or communication work to the audience described in subsection (1) at an educational establishment is not a playing or showing of the work in public for the purposes of section 32(2).
For the purposes of this section, a person shall not be treated as a person directly connected with the activities of an educational establishment by reason only that the person is a parent or guardian of a student at that educational establishment.

Compare

1962 No 33 s 21(5)

Notes

Section 47(2): substituted, on 31 October 2008, by section 28 of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 27).