Copyright Act changes coming for New Zealand
In May 2026, the New Zealand Government confirmed a package of proposed changes to the Copyright Act 1994.
Some of the changes are required under New Zealand’s free trade agreements with the United Kingdom and European Union. Others are targeted updates intended to modernise the Act and respond to issues that have emerged in a more digital copyright environment.
The FTA-driven changes must be implemented by 1 May 2028.
What are the key changes?
The headline change is a 20-year extension to the term of copyright and related rights protection for most categories of works. In many cases, this will move New Zealand from a 50-year term to a 70-year term.
The proposed package also includes changes to:
- strengthen protections for digital locks, including technologies used to control access to online content, software and streaming services;
- give not-for-profit galleries, libraries, archives and museums more flexibility to preserve, digitise and manage works in their collections;
- introduce a new fair dealing exception for parody and satire;
- give courts express power to order website-blocking injunctions against overseas piracy sites;
- allow copyright licensing organisations and other non-exclusive licensees to bring infringement proceedings on behalf of copyright owners;
- clarify when a copyright owner’s first distribution right is exhausted, particularly to give better certainty in relation to the importation and sale of infringing copies; and
- change the default rule for commissioned works so that, unless the parties agree otherwise, the creator rather than the commissioning party is the first owner of copyright.
What is not covered?
The package does not deal with all copyright issues.
In particular, the Government has not proposed specific legislative changes directed to generative AI as part of this package. Cabinet has invited the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to report back by 31 March 2027 on the copyright implications of generative AI, including whether any further legislative response is needed.
Issues relating to Māori cultural intellectual property are being considered separately through Te Pae Tawhiti, the Government’s Wai 262 work programme.
Takeaways
The proposed changes are significant, but targeted.
For international readers, many of the proposed changes will look familiar. The package would move New Zealand closer to copyright settings already seen in the United Kingdom and, in some respects, the United States, including longer copyright terms, stronger protection for digital locks, clearer rules around first distribution, and a creator-first approach to commissioned works unless the parties agree otherwise. However, the New Zealand reforms are targeted rather than a wholesale adoption of either UK or US law.
For rights holders, the term extension will be welcome, particularly where valuable works may otherwise soon fall out of copyright.
For businesses, the proposed change to commissioned works may be the most practical issue. If passed, businesses commissioning creative work will need to ensure their contracts clearly deal with ownership and licence rights.
The proposed website-blocking regime and stronger digital-lock protections also signal a more enforcement-focused approach to online copyright infringement.
Generative AI remains an area to watch. The extent to which existing copyright law already deals with AI-related issues, and whether further reform is needed, is likely to be an important part of the next stage of New Zealand’s copyright policy debate.
Special thanks to Partner Kieran O’Connell for preparing this article.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose.
