On July 8th we received correspondence from MBIE on the Review of the Copyright Act, the message is copied below. This comes on the back of a concerted effort by the publishing, music and screen industries to demonstrate the problems with the November 2019 paper and the revised objectives.
We were delighted to secure the support of Minister Faafoi to achieve this and look forward to re-engaging with MBIE to develop objectives for the Review that will deliver legislation that will underpin the growth of New Zealand’s creative economy. Noho ora mai, Paula Browning, CLNZ
Update on the review of the Copyright Act 1994
Kia ora koutou,
We know many of you work in industries affected by COVID-19 and trust this update finds you well.
Many thanks for your continued interest in MBIE’s review of the Copyright Act 1994. We are writing to let you know about the latest stage we have reached in the review.
In November 2019 we published a paper outlining revised objectives for copyright law. This paper was developed in response to the submissions on the Issues Paper we had previously received in April 2019. The main change we had proposed to the revised objectives was to ensure they more expressly recognise the rights and interests of people involved in creating copyright works.
Some stakeholders have raised concerns about this paper and their inability to provide formal feedback on it. It is important to MBIE for all stakeholders to have trust and confidence in the review. For this reason, we are withdrawing the revised objectives paper. The next stage in the review will be to formally consult on potential revisions to the objectives. This will ensure all stakeholders have the opportunity to fully contribute to this part of the process in an open and transparent way.
We expect to carry out this further consultation as early as possible in the new Parliamentary term. Following this, we will consult on an Options Paper.
Thank you for your contribution to the review. We will inform you about the consultation on objectives as the work gets underway, and look forward to receiving your input.
As always, the copyright review team are happy to talk with you or answer any questions.
Ngā mihi
James Hartley
General Manager Commerce, Consumers and Communications
