As a country that doesn't take itself too seriously, parody and satire are common forms of cultural expression in New Zealand, especially online and via social media. But under the Copyright Act 1994 (the Act), parodies that reproduce copyright-protected works still run the risk of infringing. The Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill (the Bill) aims to change that, introducing an express fair dealing exception for parody and satire. Public submissions on the Bill are open until 19 May 2026.
About the Bill
The Bill was initially drawn from Parliament's 'biscuit tin' in November 2024, and passed its first reading on 1 April 2026 (yes, that's right April Fools' Day – very appropriate).
While the Act already contains fair dealing exceptions for criticism, review, news reporting, and research and private study, there is currently no exception for parody or satire. The Bill would insert a new section 42A into the Act, to provide that fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work does not infringe copyright if it is for the purpose of parody or satire.
The Bill mirrors Australia's equivalent provision under section 41A of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), and is broadly consistent with the exceptions in Canada and the United Kingdom.
The Bill does not include a definition of "parody" or "satire", leaving it to the Courts to determine the boundaries of this new exception, no doubt influenced by case law from the jurisdictions mentioned above. This will involve striking a balance between free expression and protecting creativity, and even though our social media feeds are already cluttered with memes, we don't expect the Bill to lead to a complete free-for-all when it comes to social media. Rather, we expect the Bill to provide more certainty to commentators that engage thoughtfully (and perhaps humorously) with a copyright work, with many memes remaining in a legal grey area.
Key questions with the Bill
The Bill is deliberately short and concise, although it leaves a number of questions open:
- Definitions: As mentioned, neither "parody" nor "satire" are defined in the Bill. While this allows for a flexible, context-sensitive approach, it comes at the expense of certainty.
- Relationship to mātauranga Māori: The Bill proposes a general exception, but does not address the particular sensitivities that may arise when the underlying work is a taonga or culturally significant.
- Films excluded: The Bill applies only to "literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work", and does not specifically extend to parodies of films or sound recordings. In the age of social media and short-form video content, this (perhaps intentionally) limits the reach of the new exception.
- Moral rights: The Bill does not address how the new exception would interact with authors' moral rights under Part 4 of the Act, and specifically, the right to object to derogatory treatment. It is not clear whether this is deliberate – should an author be able to object to genuine parody and satire, where it is also derogatory?
- Other laws continue to apply: The exception is relevant to copyright infringement only, and does not override existing laws about use of trade marks, defamation, passing off, or under the Fair Trading Act 1986. Any parody and satirical content will therefore still need careful review before publication.
More broadly, the Bill may revive the long-awaited comprehensive copyright law reform that was proposed in MBIE's 2018 issues paper. We will be watching closely to see whether this Bill opens the door to a more holistic review.
Next steps
Submissions on the Bill can be made here, and close at midnight on 19 May 2026. If you would like assistance in preparing a submission, or if you have any questions on how the Bill might affect you, please get in touch with our team.
Co-authored by Katrina Dickins (Solicitor).
