Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Cook Islands/es

This page provides an overview of copyright rules of the Cook Islands that are relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons. Note that any work originating in the Cook Islands must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both the Cook Islands and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from the Cook Islands, refer to the Copyright Act for clarification.

The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888. In 1900 the islands were annexed by Britain. In 1901 they were included within the boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand. The islands remained a New Zealand dependent territory until 1965, when they became self-governing. The Cook Islands today is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. The Cook Islands has been a member of the Berne Convention since 3 August 2017 and the WIPO Copyright treaty since 19 June 2019.^[1]

As of 2019 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed the Copyright Act 2013 and the Traditional Knowledge Act 2013 as the main IP laws enacted by the legislature of the Cook Islands.^[2] The WIPO-LEX website holds copies of these acts, which both entered into force on 5 December 2013.^[3][4]

The Copyright Act 1962 of New Zealand applied to the Cook Islands until 2013.^[5] The 2013 Act replaced the Copyright Act 1962, but was not retroactive.

• On and from its commencement, this Act applies, with any necessary modification, to any work, performance, sound recording, or communication to the public protected under the Copyright Act 1962 or any previous Act if the term of copyright protection or rights protection for the work, performance, sound recording, or communication to the public has not expired under that enactment (the previous enactment).^{[8/2013 Sec.53(1)]}
• The protection under subsection (1) applies for the balance of the term of protection as calculated in accordance with the previous enactment.^{[8/2013 Sec.53(2)]}

According to the former Copyright Act 1962, a work is in the public domain if it meets one of the following criteria:

• It is an anonymous work or pseudonymous work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication
• It is another kind of work, and 50 years have passed since the year of death of the author (or last-surviving author)
• It is work not published during the lifetime of the author, and 75 years have passed since the death of the author, or 50 years have passed since the date of its publication, whichever period is the shorter

• It is a photographic work, sound recording, cinematograph film, television or sound broadcast and 50 years have passed since the date of its creation
• It is a "original literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work made by or under the direction or control of Her Majesty or a Government Department", and 50 years have passed since the date of its creation

According to the Copyright Act 8/2013,

• Copyright in a work (other than a work of applied art or a typographical arrangement of a published edition) exists (a) for the life of the author; and (b) for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.^{[8/2013 Sec.13(1)]}
• If 2 or more individuals are the authors of a work, copyright in the work (other than a work of applied art or a typographical arrangement of a published edition) exists ( a) for the life of the longest-surviving author; and (b) for 50 years from the end ·of the calendar year in which that author dies.^{[8/2013 Sec.13(2)]}

• Copyright in a collective work (other than a work of applied art or a typographical arrangement of a published edition) or film exists for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the latest of the following events occurred: (a) the work was made: (b) the work was first made available to the public: (c) the work was first published.^{[8/2013 Sec.13(3)]}
• Copyright in a work of applied art (including a collective work) exists for 25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.^{[8/2013 Sec.13(4)]}
• Copyright in a typographical arrangement of a published edition of the whole or any part of a literary work, dramatic work, or musical work (including a collective work) exists for 25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the edition is first published.^{[8/2013 Sec.13(5)]}

• The definition of "work" does not include any work that is an official text, or a translation, of a legislative, administrative, or legal nature.^{[8/2013 Sec.3(work)]}
• Copyright does not exist in any idea, procedure, system, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery, or data expressed, described, explained, illustrated, or otherwise embodied in a work.^{[8/2013 Sec.7(4)]}

The Traditional Knowledge Act 2013, which is not retroactive, imposes non-copyright restrictions on the uses allowed for expressions of traditional knowledge. Ownership of rights to traditional knowledge is confirmed by the Are Korero of the traditional community, and the owner must approve various types of use, including commercial use.

   There is no provision in the 2013 law for freedom of panorama.

The 1962 law broadly followed the Copyright Act 1956 (UK), which did allow Freedom of Panorama. The 2013 law applies to any works whose copyright had not expired when it came into effect.^{[8/2013 Sec.53]}