New Zealand, Ownership

(New Zealand Centre for Intellectual Property, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland)/ /Leave a comment

In March 2025 the New Zealand Supreme Court confirmed that copyright is relationship property, to be divided accordingly when a qualifying relationship ends. This decision has significant implications for copyright practice in New Zealand, and jurisdictions with similar regulatory frameworks for IP and family property (like the United Kingdom).   Background As recounted by Lyall…

Australia

(New Zealand Centre for Intellectual Property, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland) and (Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia)/ /Leave a comment

In Anglosphere nations, the rights of creators are governed almost entirely by their contracts with investors. The US and Canada have the only (small) exceptions: US law entitles creators to terminate (most) agreements after 35 years; in Canada, rights revert automatically to heirs 25 years after the author’s death. Outside those cases, and throughout the…