Implementing its free trade agreements with the UK and the EU respectively, the New Zealand Government has released a copyright package to meet the required obligations. The core items are unsurprising: extending the term of protection from 50 to 70 years (with the artist’s resale right lengthened accordingly) and strengthening the rules around technological protection measures. Simple treaty‑driven maintenance work.
Having opened the Act, the Government has taken the opportunity to add several domestic adjustments. Libraries, archives and museums (they call them Glam organisations!) gain new exceptions for preservation and access, including orphan works, preservation copying and expanded research and private‑study uses. A fair‑dealing exception for parody and satire will be introduced, wisely avoiding to mention “pastiche”.
On enforcement, the package includes a framework for website‑blocking orders, likely to resemble the UK’s Section 97A CDPA.
For more detail: Policy decisions on copyright including free trade agreement obligations
The Government will now move to drafting, with a Bill possible in the first half of 2027. The timetable is designed to ensure parliamentary passage before the deadlines in May 2028.