Digital Content Policy

Our digital content policy forms a part of our Banned and Restricted list.

This is to allow us to keep up-to-date with the some of the ways of the digital age.

Trade Me’s digital content policy is in place to prevent breaches of intellectual property rights and to ensure the requirements of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classifications Act 1993 (FVPC Act) are met.

You may not list any of the following unless one of the exceptions below applies:

• Digital content (such as photos, software, audio files including music, and digital video files).
• Storage devices (such as hard drives, flash drives, CDs or DVDs) containing digital content (if the contents of the device would not otherwise be allowed to be listed).
• Access to subscription-based digital content (such as Netflix or Hulu).
• Accounts or memberships for online services (such as gaming networks).

Exceptions: Provided the item or content is classified in accordance with the FVPC Act or does not require classification, you may list:

• Accounts, subscriptions or access to digital content or online services, but only if the service provider allows the sale of such access (for example, Sky Television does not allow the sale of Sky subscriptions).
• Digital content on original discs.
• Installation keys for games, add-on packs and items such as avatars and account top-ups for PlayStation and Xbox and Steam.
• Installation keys for software.
• Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) software, but only together with the equipment for which it is licensed.
• Text works (such as eBooks) for which you are the sole copyright owner and the original author.

For clarity, only games and DLC that have been classified in accordance with the requirements of the NZ classification system and advertised appropriately may be listed on the site.

You may be thinking – “get with the times Trade Me!” however we need to be able ensure legislation is met.

We know you may have some original content of your own that feel you should be able to sell but given this is a very difficult area to manage we have to take a tough line on digital media.

If you spy a listing that goes against the spirit of this policy, let us know via the Community Watch button that’s found at the bottom of every listing and we’ll have a look at it.