Articles
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Welcome to Commodity-Land
I don’t often agree with Winston Peters, but I do on this. I’m pleased to finally see one of our leaders asking some hard questions about Fonterra’s proposed sell-off of…
Important Court of Appeal Decision on the Assessment of Confusing Similarity
In Manuka Doctor Ltd v Hill [2025] NZCA 516, the New Zealand Court of Appeal has just handed down a majority decision (Hinton and Edwards JJ), finding that the marks…
IP Update – Revocation of Trade Marks by Commissioner/Registrar
It was great to do my annual NZ IP update last night at Simpson Grierson’s office in Auckland. Thanks, Richard Watts and Sarah Chapman for hosting the function and for…
Preserving Democracy and the Rule of Law and Why Sir Geoffrey Palmer’s Call Matters
The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer KC’s recent book, How to Save Democracy in Aotearoa New Zealand, is a guide we should all familiarise ourselves with. Not only for its…
Kim Dotcom’s Judicial Review Application Fails
Back in August 2024, I commented on Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith's decision to surrender larger-than-life Kim Dotcom to the U.S. authorities in relation to charges that his company, Megaupload, had…
Fonterra’s sale of Mainland and Anchor brands not cause to celebrate!
This recent RNZ article repeats the now familiar narrative about the sale of Fonterra’s consumer brands, the big money involved and how good it is for New Zealand. It is…
Why New Zealand needs a Personality Right – right now!
Regular IP commentator Kate Duckworth was recently interviewed on RNZ by Wallace Chapman. Kate and Wallace discussed the unfortunate case of a Māori woman who had her face plastered on…
Bar and Bench Art Exhibition – Contributions welcome!
Having some form of artistic outlet is a great way to relax and forget about the files piled up on your desk and waiting for your attention, and generally to…
How does copyright apply to AI generated work?
I had an interesting discussion this evening on Radio New Zealand Checkpoint with Lisa Owen about the enormous challenges that AI is creating in the music industry and how copyright…