FAQs

Copyright' refers to a group of exclusive rights granted by law (in New Zealand it is The Copyright Act 1994) to original works. These rights allow copyright owners to control certain activities relating to the use of their work. A more detailed discussion of copyright can be found here.

In New Zealand it is generally 50 years after the death of the author, although sometimes copyright can be held by the author's estate and may be extended. The duration of copyright overseas will vary from country to country.

In most countries, yes. New Zealand is a signatory to various international treaties on copyright and your work receives protection in those countries that are signatories to the treaties. As an NZWG you can register your works with Writers Guild’s in international territories for additional protection.

Author under the copyright law is the creator of the original expression in a work, in the narrow sense, an author is the originator of any written work. The author is also the owner of copyright. However, they may assign the copyright to another person or entity, such as a publisher. In cases of works made for hire, the employer or commissioning party is the author.

There is no copyright in an idea, only the expression of an idea. For your idea to receive the protection of copyright you will need to develop it into something linear & tangible like a story, treatment, script, article, play etc.

Effectively, not a lot. The best way to stop this happening is to have an agreement in place with that person to protect your idea. NZWG recommends not discussing your ideas with anyone until you have protected your work.

No, there is no copyright in a title and while titles can be registered, this doesn't confer copyright over them. You should be aware that using a title very similar to that of an already existing work could confer passing off.

It is first important to ensure you identify yourself as the author of the work. The most common way of doing this is to put the copyright symbol (©), your name and the year of completion on the bottom of the page (eg. © Jill Smith 2006). Secondly, register it with the NZWG. Registration will help you prove your claim to authorship.

Registration provides a record of a writer's claim to authorship. It is not the same as copyright: all registration does is objectively establish your claim to ownership at a certain point in time. However, establishing such ownership can be critical if you ever go to court or assert your copyright in the case of plagiarism or breach of confidence.

Copyright applies to work published on the internet. There are sites that enable you to post treatments and scripts which will be viewed by producers. This is a good way to get your work to overseas producers. You must ensure such sites are legitimate. If in doubt about a specific site, contact the Guild.