Copyright Act 1994

Performers' rights - Miscellaneous provisions - Duration and transmission of rights

194G: Performers’ property rights to pass under will with unpublished original recording

You could also call this:

"Getting property rights to a recording someone leaves you in their will"

You have property rights to a recording of a performance. If someone leaves you this recording in their will, you also get the property rights. This happens if the recording was not released before the person died. You get these rights unless the person's will says something different. The will might say you should not get the property rights. This rule applies to you if you are given a recording that has not been released. If you are left a recording in a will, you should check the will to see if it says anything about property rights. You can also look at the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Amendment Act 2018 for more information.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS152053.

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

Topics:

Intellectual property > Property rightsFamily and relationships > Wills and inheritance

194F: Assignment, or

"Signing over performer's rights to someone else"

194H: Future property rights, or

"Assigning rights to things that don't exist yet"

Part 9Performers' rights
Miscellaneous provisions: Duration and transmission of rights

194GPerformers’ property rights to pass under will with unpublished original recording

This section applies if, under a testamentary disposition (whether general or specific), a person is entitled beneficially or otherwise to any material thing containing an original recording of a performance that was not published before the death of the testator.
The testamentary disposition must be construed as including any performers’ property rights in relation to the recording in so far as the testator was the person entitled to exercise the performers’ property rights immediately before the testator’s death.
Subsection (2) does not apply if a contrary intention is indicated in the testator’s will or a codicil to it.

Notes

Section 194G: inserted, on 30 December 2018, by section 29 of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Amendment Act 2018 (2016 No 90).