Development of NZ Copyright Policy
Reforms to NZ copyright policy have been driven by three main principles.
- The first reason is to recognise NZ’s unique identity and maturity and create a national solution to face the challenges inherent in intellectual property.
- The second is to ensure NZ’s economic future through international trade by creating intellectual property policies that allow trade to flourish.
- Technology has been another impetus for copyright policy reform.[1] The constant acceleration of new technologies bring continual challenges to copyright policy.
Copying and copyright infringement are able to be undertaken with ease. There are also means of doing so with less risk of detection.[2] In response to these trends, policy has been largely directed toward controlling the content level of Internet activity. This includes usage of images and other multimedia that can be copied without permission from the original artist.
Copyright Amendment Act 2008
The Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 is the most recent change made to copyright policy. The changes were brought about by perceived inadequacies of copyright policy in light of rapidly developing new technologies.[3] Issues that have arisen out of digital technology developments such as the appropriate extent of ISP liability are addressed. The amendments also regulate the use of mp3 players. Individuals are able to make personal copies of communications works, but must be strictly for personal use. ISPs are deemed as liable for storing infringing material if they know or have reason to believe the material infringes copyright.[4] The proposed amendment to section 92A roused discontent from various fields. ISPs expressed concern about their responsibility to cut off users’ internet. A more salient issue was the potential for internet users to have their internet shut down without due process.
[1] LexisNexis. “Introduction: The Copyright Act 1994.” http://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/nz/legal/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T7650812124&format=GNBFULL&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T7650812127&cisb=22_T7650812126&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=274478&docNo=2
[2] Alliance, Business Software. “Software Piracy on the Internet: A Threat to Your Security.” 2009, p 8.
[3] LexisNexis. “Document – Current Developments.” http://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/nz/legal/results/pubTreeViewDoc.do?nodeId=TAAI&pubTreeWidth=23%25.
[4] Ibid.