TRIPS Article 14.2 provides for the producers of phonograms to enjoy the right to authorize or prohibit the direct or indirect reproduction of their phonograms.
A producer may be either the performer or a person, by virtue of a recording contract, who owns the copyright.
Copyright in phonograms (sound recordings) is provided for in Section 14 of the Copyright Act 1994. A sound recording is defined under Section 2 of the Act as any medium on which a recording is made or any method by which sounds are reproduced or produced.
The owner of copyright has exclusive rights under Section 16 of the Act. These include the rights to copy the work, issue copies to the public and authorize any other person to do either of these. Copyright is infringed by copying, either directly or indirectly.
"Broadcast" and "cable programme" collectively include both wireless and non-wireless transmission means and are inclusive of analogue and digital means.
A performer's rights are infringed by the use of an illicit recording in a public performance or by inclusion in a broadcast or cable programme, or by copying a recording, either directly or indirectly, if it is known, or it can be reasonably expected, that the performer has not given his/her consent. Domestic or private use does not constitute infringement.
New Zealand law, therefore, gives effect to TRIPS Article 14.2.
