C O N S T I T U T I O N

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

The Media & Advertising Copyright Board is a non-profit body. It is an association of bodies representing those who are users or commisioners of copyright works, whether or not they are themselves creators or owners of copyright works.

AIMS OF THE BOARD

The Board’s main aims are:

• To raise awareness about the importance of copyright;
• To identify and research areas of copyright law and practice;
• To seek changes to law and practice to enhance the effectiveness and fairness of copyright laws; and
• To foster co-operation among bodies representing users of copyright works.

FU NCTIONS OF THE BOARD

The principal functions of the Board are:

• To determine, review and approve the Board’s strategic objectives;
• To review and approve the Board’s position in relation to various policy issues, and the relative priority of those issues to the Board;
• To review and approve the annual budget;
• To receive and approve accounts, including the setting of subscriptions to be paid by members;
• To establish, as appropriate, standing and ad-hoc committees, and appoint their members;
• To discuss reports from the committees;
• To consider and determine any issue which in the opinion of the members constitutes an important matter of policy.

MEETINGS

(a) There will be not less than four meetings of the Board each year.

(b) All members are entitled to attend meetings and to receive minutes of meetings. There will be one vote per member organisation. Decisions will be made by majority of voters present and entitled to vote.

(c) Every member of the Board may at any time request the Board to examine a matter of concern to its members. Any such request shall be submitted to the Secretary, who will include it on the agenda for the next meeting.

Officers of the Board
The officers of the Board shall be the Chair, the Secretary and the Treasurer. A Legal Advisor shall be appointed who shall be eligible to attend all meetings but not to vote.

FOUNDING MEMBERS

The founding members of the Board are as follows:

Association of New Zealand Advertisers Inc.
Communication Agencies Association
Magazine Publishers’ Association
The Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand Inc.
The Radio Broadcasters Association
Television Broadcasters’ Council.

MEMBERSHIP

The Board retains complete discretion as to whom to admit to membership.

Applications for membership are considered by the Board at its regular meetings. To be successful, they must comply with the Board’s membership criteria and receive the general support of the existing members. Each member organisation is entitled to nominate one representative and up to two substitutes to attend meetings of the Board and to receive papers and other information disseminated by the Board.

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA

Subject to the unfettered discretion of the Board, any organisation falling within the below categories may be eligible to be admitted as a member.

• An organisation which represents persons, firms or other bodies which are the users or commissioners of copyright works, whether or not they are also originators, or creators of copyright works.
• To be regarded as eligible for membership, an organisation must also:
  • (a) be a national or regional organisation; and
  • (b) be a body representative of its sector.

Membership of the Board is not open to individuals.