Intellectual property and information technology

New copyright law for the 21st Century
After years of debate and consultation over how New Zealand's copyright legal framework should be amended to fit in with technologies in today's digital environment, the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Bill has been passed. In this article, solicitor Jessie Parker takes a practical look at some of the key provisions.

US technology case brings reminder for New Zealand business
In this article, senior associate Heidi Leslie comments on a case in which a major US company is suing software developer SAP claiming a "complete failure" of a multi-million dollar system and notes how this case brings some timely reminders on technology contracts for New Zealand business.

Protecting information: contracting to account for the Official Information Act
Have you ever thought about how your trade secrets could end up being released as part of an Official Information Act (OIA) request? In this article, senior associate Heidi Leslie alerts us to potential issues that may arise when dealing with organisations subject to the OIA and outlines some contractual protections that can be put in place to avoid information inadvertently becoming part of the public domain.

Unpacking privacy issues: the all knowing search engine
In this article, senior associate Heidi Leslie and law clerk Nick Laing take a look at the very topical issue of privacy and service providers on the internet in light of the European Union's recently released report which offers an opinion on the collection of personal data by search engines.

Enquiries and information

For more information on any of the cases, articles and features in Commercial Quarterly, please email Diane Graham or call her on 64 9 916 8849.