Copyright Laws and Copyright Protection

Copyright penalties vary from country to country; however, the common purpose of these anti-copyright theft laws is to protect valuable ideas and content-creating industries.

That effort benefits all people in creative industries - such as filmmaking business - globally.

NZFACT investigators work closely with law enforcement authorities to ensure that copyright is protected in New Zealand. NZFACT also works with the Motion Picture Association and other industry anti-piracy associations - for example, in the music, computer software and computer games industries - in the effort to stamp out movie piracy and other forms of copyright theft.

Government agencies, acting on information from NZFACT, and members of the public, are continually identifying and raiding illegal distributors and manufacturing labs across New Zealand. In 2024, a New Zealand movie thief for the first time received a jail sentence.

Cinema employees also are becoming increasingly vigilant in looking out for people copying films in cinemas with camcorders. These offenders risk significant penalties, including equipment seizures and the laying of criminal charges by the police.

And the New Zealand government has recently identified intellectual property theft as a serious crime, with additional resources expected to be allocated to cracking down on copyright thieves.

To report piracy call 0800 copyright (0800 267-974) or go to www.stopmoviepiracy.co.nz