Copyright Act 1994

Miscellaneous provisions - Other countries

231: Expenditure or liability incurred in connection with copyright work

You could also call this:

"Using a work with new copyright rules: what you can and can't do"

You have a work that was made before the Copyright Act 1994 started. If copyright did not exist for this work under the old law, but now it does because of section 230, this section applies to you. You are allowed to keep doing what you were doing with the work without infringing copyright. If you spent money or got into debt because of something you did with the work, you can still do that thing. This is because what you did was not against the law at the time. However, the copyright owner might ask you to stop if they pay you back for your expenses. The copyright owner can pay you back for what you spent, and you can agree on the amount. If you cannot agree, the amount can be decided through arbitration, which is a way of solving disputes, following the Arbitration Act 1908 rules. This means the act you were doing might become against the law if the copyright owner pays you and you do not stop.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM347105.

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

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230: Application to convention countries, or

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

232: Application of Act (other than Part 9) to other entities, or

"How the Copyright Act applies to people and companies from other countries"

Part 11Miscellaneous provisions
Other countries

231Expenditure or liability incurred in connection with copyright work

This section applies in any case where—
a work was made before the commencement of this Act; and
copyright did not exist in the work under the Copyright Act 1962 when the work was made; and
on the commencement of this Act, copyright exists in the work pursuant to section 230.

Where, in any case to which subsection (1) applies, a person incurred any expenditure or liability relating to an act that, at the time the act was done, was not an act restricted by copyright in the work, the person does not do an act restricted by copyright by doing, or continuing to do, that act in respect of the work when copyright exists in the work.
Notwithstanding subsection (2), an act that under that subsection is not an act restricted by copyright when copyright exists in the work may become an act restricted by copyright if the owner of the copyright or his or her exclusive licensee (if any) pays the person such compensation for the person's expenditure or liability as may be agreed upon or, in default of agreement, as shall be determined by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Act 1908.