New Zealand educational service
About the service
Under the New Zealand Copyright Act, educational institutions must enter into an agreement with Screenrights and pay a fee for a comprehensive right to copy programs from television and radio broadcasts.
Rightsholders who wish to participate in this service must appoint Screenrights as a non-exclusive agent to collect royalties on their behalf by registering their titles.
Under the Act, failure to register for this service may result in titles being copied by educational institutions without any payment to the rightsholder.
Screenrights has been paying copying royalties under this service since 1999.
Where the royalties come from
In New Zealand, educational institutions pay a negotiated licence fee to Screenrights for the right to copy programs from television and radio broadcasts for educational purposes.
Screenrights collects the licence fees, identifies the programs that are copied using a sample (or survey) system, and pays royalties to the rightsholders in these programs.
How the royalties are calculated
The value of royalties derived from the educational service is dependent on the duration of the program, the nature of the program and the type of educational institution that copied the program for educational purposes.
See also: Full Distribution Policy (680K)
Royalties paid under the service
A television program contains a number of components protected by the New Zealand Copyright Act. According to Screenrights' Distribution Policy, royalties are allocated to the following components of a television program copied under the New Zealand educational service:
Component of TV program copied under the Act |
Royalty Allocation |
|---|---|
| Film and sound recording in associated sound track | 67.1% |
| Script (literary and dramatic works) | 21.7% |
| Commissioned sound recordings | 0.64% |
| Commercial sound recordings | 1.06% |
| Library sound recordings | 0.20% |
| Musical (and associated literary) works | 7.3% |
| Broadcast signal | 2.0% |
Screenrights pays rightsholders directly for Film, Script and Commissioned Sound Recordings (CSR).
Royalties for Commercial Sound Recordings are paid via the Phonographic Performance (PPNZ), royalties for Library Sound Recordings are paid via the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) and royalties for Musical Works are paid via the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS).
The Broadcast Signal is paid directly to the relevant broadcasters by Screenrights.
Screenrights also pays royalties for Artistic Works incorporated in programs, which can include paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures, photographs and other works of 'artistic craftmanship'.
See also: Info Sheet - Distribution Policy, Info Sheet - Artistic Works
Claiming royalties under this service
The legislation provides that rightsholders in film and television must appoint Screenrights as their agent to administer this right on their behalf. To claim royalties for copying of programs in New Zealand you must be a member of Screenrights and register your titles.
Become a member
Screenrights is required by law to pay royalties to members only. It is free to join - you only need to join once, and membership is straightforward. Furthermore you are not giving any rights away by becoming a member.
If you are unsure if you are a member already, please contact us.
Register titles
As a Screenrights member, the only step necessary to claim New Zealand educational royalties, is to register your titles, or extend previous registrations to include the New Zealand Educational Service.
Addressing Screenrights royalties in your contracts
Any agreements, including sales and distribution agreements, should ideally address who is entitled to claim Screenrights royalties as the owner, assignee, or exclusive licensee of the relevant copyright.
Screenrights publishes suggested clauses that address who is entitled to royalties under the various collection services we administer.
See also: Info Sheet - Standard Contract Clauses
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"Having the additional revenue stream certainly helps with projects that many broadcasters consider marginally commercial and that sometimes have a hard time finding funding. That is certainly true for New Zealand."
- Ray Waru Producer Whakapapa Productions Ltd
