A new bill could give comedians clearer guidelines for following the law when it comes to satire referencing other arts.
Photo: Supplied/Tim Green – CC BY 2.0

Proposed law change would give comedians some leeway when using other works of art to make their humorous point – but it’s not a free pass, says law professor .

Copyright of Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter (parody and satire) Amendment Bill was removed from the ballot yesterday.

If passed, it would allow people to use copyrighted work for satire or parody, such as memes.

Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington law professor Graeme Austin said the history of New Zealand’s copyright law reform process has continued for several years, ” by stages and starts”.

“I’m pretty sure this could have been subject to comprehensive reform, but governments have different priorities and we haven’t made much progress on this.”

In 2018, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment carried out a review of New Zealand’s copyright law, while opposition MP Simeon Brown also introduced his own bill, seeking to expand existing exceptions to copyright owners’ rights to cover parody and satire.

“It’s a big process and it takes time, and that’s why we’ve seen several attempts to do this — this is just the latest one,” Austin said.

The Greens’ amendment would be a popular and likely cross-party bill, he said.

Green MP Kahurangi Carter defends bill
Photo: Kahurangi Carter

“We all love comedy, what this bill will do is give comedians a little more breathing room when they use other works to make a humorous point.”

He said the amendment supports free speech, but it is not carte blanche for comedians to make fun of everyone.

“It is important for a free society to make fun of politicians and public figures, but it is also not one-sided – because copyright itself is a driver of free expression because it provides incentives economical opportunities for people to create and invest (in art).”

Foreign courts have “played very cautiously,” and it is important not to overestimate the importance of the bill, he said.

“This is not a defense for parody or satire, it is a defense for fair use of works, for purposes of parody or satire. This is in no way a free pass for actors.”

Meanwhile, a comedian said the proposed law change would be important for all social media users, as well as artists.

Tom Sainsbury, known for his impersonations of politicians such as Paula Bennett, Simon Bridges and Judith Collins, said people, including himself, might be “blissfully unaware” that they could be breaking the law as it currently stands .

“Young people who could be breaking the law without even realizing it. It’s important now, when everyone has their phone and everyone can create content and put it out to the world.”

Satire is an important part of a “healthy society”, he added.