A Fair Deal for Funny: NZ's Copyright Bill puts parody and satire in the spotlight

Wednesday 27 November, 2024

New Zealand comedians and satirists may soon find themselves with a little more freedom to poke fun at and critique the world around them, thanks to the drawing of the Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill (the Bill).

Introduced by the Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter on 7 November 2024, the Bill seeks to amend the Copyright Act 1994 (the Act) to explicitly allow for fair dealing with copyright works when the purpose is for parody or satire. If the Bill were to become law, it would align New Zealand’s laws with international standards adopted in Australia, the United States, and various European nations and would give our local comedians, critics, and creators the chance to incorporate parts of existing works to complement their original humour.

The Existing Copyright Framework

The Act currently lacks explicit protection for parody and satire. Parody and satire are both creative ways of using humour and exaggeration to make a point. Parody involves imitating the distinctive style of a writer, artist, or genre, intentionally exaggerating certain features to create a comic effect. Satire, on the other hand, uses humour, irony, exaggeration, or wit to highlight flaws or issues, often focusing on topics like corruption, politics, or societal problems.

Lack of protection for parody and satire means creators using existing works for comedic purposes without a licence could risk facing legal action. This issue was raised in several submissions during the initial steps of the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment’s (MBIE) review of the Act, which commenced in 2019 and has since stalled.

Many submissions pointed out that while parody and satire play an important role in social and cultural commentary, New Zealand's laws were falling behind other jurisdictions in protecting those forms of humour from potential legal risks. As a result, local comedians, entertainers and others face challenges accessing content or creating new works based on existing material.

Other submissions highlight that smaller creators are often disadvantaged as large content creators enter into “gentlemen’s agreements” not to take legal action over parody and satire directed at each other’s works.

The MBIE review is intended to address various issues within the current copyright framework that have arisen from technological advancements. The original Issues Paper specifically invited feedback on the inclusion of parody and satire as exceptions to copyright infringement.

Comparison with other “funny” jurisdictions

The Bill proposes adding a new section 42A to the Act, which states "A fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or with an adaptation of a literary, dramatic or musical work, does not constitute an infringement of the copyright in the work if it is for the purpose of parody or satire." This amendment would expand the fair dealing exceptions, which currently permit limited use of copyrighted material for purposes such as research, private study, criticism, review, and news reporting.

This is identical to Australia’s Copyright Act 1968 section 41A and moves New Zealand closer to the broader protections for users of existing works in place across much of Europe, and ‘fair use’ exceptions in the United States.

Keeping up with the times

As for the Bill’s progression, now that the Bill has been drawn from the ballot and introduced to parliament, it begins a process which involves several readings and stages of scrutiny. It must receive sufficient support to progress at each stage. If the Bill does progress, it will also go through Select Committee review, where public submissions can be made. If the Bill passes all stages and receives majority approval at a final vote of Parliament, it receives the Royal assent and becomes law.

If the Bill passes, it could provide some impetus to the stalled Copyright Act review including influencing how similar exceptions could be treated in future versions of the Act.

The idea to allow for fair dealing of copyrighted work for the purpose of parody or satire has been raised before, with member’s bills submitted by a National MP in 2018 and another Green MP in 2011, though neither progressed at the time. Therefore, it is uncertain whether the Bill will receive enough support to progress or be adopted into law. So for now, it is a matter of waiting to see how things unfold.

If you have any questions about the Bill, or how it may affect you, contact one of our experts below.