Copyright Guidelines for Research Students: Second Edition

Abstract

Copyright is a form of intellectual property - which is a generic term for a range of property rights that provide protection for “creations of the mind”. Copyright does not, however, exist until a work is recorded, in writing or otherwise. Copyright protects the recorded expression of a work - it does not protect the ideas or knowledge incorporated in the work. Among other things, copyright law gives to the creator of a work the exclusive right to do certain specified things in relation to that work, including to copy it. But copyright is not only about copying: it includes a number of other rights relating to a work as well - to perform, play or show the work in public, to broadcast the work, to communicate the work, or to make an adaptation of the work, for example. These exclusive rights of the copyright owner are, however, qualified by the provision of certain legislative exceptions, which permit others to make use of the copyright work under specified conditions without first getting permission from the copyright owner. The Copyright Act 1994, which is the New Zealand law governing copyright, calls these exceptions “permitted acts”.