Auckland, New Zealand: 15 April 2011

Video Ezy International (NZ) Ltd applauds the New Zealand Government’s passing of legislation this week which protects the interests of rights holders against the effects of digital copyright piracy.

Kevin Peterson, Joint Managing Director, says New Zealand has one of the highest rates of peer-to-peer copyright infringement in the world, and the growth in copyright theft has had a serious impact on the video rental industry in recent years.

“Many people probably don’t realise that this is hurting small business owners and their employees throughout the country,” he says.

The new law, which will come into effect on 1 September, provides the sanctions needed to help people understand downloading movies from BitTorrent sites is no different from walking into a store and taking something off the shelf without paying for it.”

The New Zealand government has made every effort to consult broadly with all parts of the creative sector, the ISPs and other interested parties, to create a fair, credible and workable piece of legislation,” he said.

ENDS

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