The Creation, Control and Loss of Trade Secrets in an Online World
“For two years after the first transport arrived in Botany Bay no word or supplies came from England. Even Commander Phillip wondered if England had forsaken or forgotton them ….” Colleen McCullough Morgan’s Run, Century, 2000 INTRODUCTION This article is a modified version of a paper given by the author at the September 2000 International […]
Patents – Ancare New Zealand Ltd v Cyanamid of NZ Ltd
This decision involved the New Zealand Court of Appeal considering an appeal against two decisions of Justice Morris in the High Court. The revocation decision is Novartis New Zealand Limited & Cyanamid of New Zealand Limited v Ancare New Zealand Limited CP480/97, Auckland High Court, 19 June 1998, (unreported). The case involved anthelmintic compositions suitable […]
Patenting of Life Forms
Maori have long been concerned with the possible ability to patent life forms. The Ministry of Commerce set up a focus group to provide recommendations. It has suggested the following options for reform of the patent system: • Set up an effective process for working with relevant Maori groups to resolve issues about claims to […]
Passing Off
The issue of passing off and breach of the Fair Trading Act 1986 was considered in the High Court in 2000. In Patience & Nicholson (NZ) Ltd v Cyclone Hardware Limited (High Court, Auckland, CP685/98, 25 June 2000, Rodney Hansen J), the issue of ownership of rights in names and trade marks was considered in […]
Domain Names
The courts in New Zealand have been willing to uphold rights in domain names and to require cybersquatters to either cancel their registered domain names or to hand them over to the plaintiff. In this sense, domain names have been treated as another species of IP right, even if technically speaking their legal status has […]
UDRP – Type Procedure For Domain Name Disputes
The Internet Society of New Zealand (ISOCNZ) is setting up a working group to consider the question of whether New Zealand should adopt a UDRP-type arrangement to resolve New Zealand country code domain name disputes. This will continue through 2001 and some change to the status quo is expected, whether in the form of a […]
Computer Crimes
Through a Supplementary Order Paper dated November 7 2000, an amendment to the Crimes Act was proposed through the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 6). The purpose of the Supplementary Order Paper was to add a new computer offence to those currently included in the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 6). The new offence is of accessing […]
Electronic Transactions Bill
The bill is intended to advance the goal of facilitating the use of modern technology and to take advantage of the knowledge economy. It contains provisions intended to facilitate these types of communications by enabling electronic communications to be used, provided they are functionally equivalent to paper-based legal requirements. The bill will modify statutory requirements […]
Dealing in Pirated DVDs
One of the key concerns in the entertainment industries is the ease by which films, music, computer games and all other manner of modern day content can be copied and disseminated. These concerns arise largely because of the rapid advance of digital copying technology which allows quick and convenient copying. The problem seems to be […]
Privacy in an Online World
From the dissenting judgment of Justice Callinan in the High Court of Australia in ABC v Lenah Game Meats [2001] HCA 63. “As populations expand, privacy becomes more elusive. The right to grant or refuse access to, and to allow to be published, accounts, or records whether by way of film, sound recording, drawings, or […]