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Copyright Act 1994

Miscellaneous provisions - Other countries

230: Application to convention countries

You could also call this:

"Copyright law applies to people and companies from countries that follow the same rules as New Zealand."

Illustration for Copyright Act 1994

This law applies to people from countries that have agreed to follow certain copyright rules, known as convention countries. You are treated the same as New Zealand citizens when it comes to copyright if you are from one of these countries. The law also applies to companies from these countries and to works like books or music that were first created or published there. This applies until the end of 1995 or when a specific order is made for that country, whichever happens first. You are still protected by this law even if the country where something happened was not a convention country at the time. The law does not apply to old works unless they were already protected by copyright in New Zealand or another convention country, or if they were first published in a convention country.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM347104.

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Part 11Miscellaneous provisions
Other countries

230Application to convention countries

  1. Subject to subsection (2), the provisions of this Act, other than the provisions of Part 9, shall—

  2. apply in relation to persons who are citizens or subjects of any convention country or are domiciled or resident there, as they apply in relation to persons who are New Zealand citizens or are domiciled or resident in New Zealand:
    1. apply in relation to bodies incorporated under the law of any convention country as they apply in relation to bodies incorporated under the law of New Zealand:
      1. apply in relation to works first published in any convention country as they apply in relation to works first published in New Zealand:
        1. apply in relation to communication works communicated from any convention country as they apply in relation to communication works communicated from New Zealand,—
            1. until the close of 31 December 1995 or, in relation to any particular convention country, the coming into force in respect of that convention country of an Order in Council made under section 232, whichever is the earlier.

          1. For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that subsection (1) applies, in relation to a state of affairs or an action referred to in that subsection as existing or taking place in a convention country, whether or not the country in which the state of affairs existed or the action was taken was, at the time the state of affairs existed or the action was taken, a convention country.

          2. No provision of this Act shall apply, pursuant to subsection (1), to a work made before the commencement of this Act unless—

          3. copyright existed in the work under the Copyright Act 1962 immediately before the commencement of this Act; or
            1. the work enjoyed protection in the nature of copyright in any convention country and, at the commencement of this Act, the term of that protection had not expired; or
              1. the work was first published in a convention country.

                Notes
                • Section 230(1)(d): substituted, on , by section 94 of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 27).