Welcome to the August edition of Simpson Grierson's xtech ezine.
Contents
August 2006
Intellectual property starts us off this month. After considering the submissions and advice from officials, Cabinet has recommended that an experimental use exception be incorporated into New Zealand's patent legislation. Earl Gray and Karla Horstmans outline the background detail and suggest that further consideration of this issue is needed.
Up second and third, our information and communications technology (ICT) group examine two recently released discussion papers from the Ministry of Economic Development (MED). The first of these deals with the renewal of radio spectrum rights for cellular services currently held by Telecom and Vodafone. The second discussion paper relates to the Government's drive to encourage investment in alternative infrastructure for the telecommunications sector, particularly spectrum allocation opportunities for broadband wireless access in New Zealand. Submissions from industry and other stakeholders on this subject are sought.
Finally, Mike Sage
and Daniel Park look at yet another discussion paper - this time from the Ministry of Health and relating to the biotech and medical research sectors. The paper in question discusses the proposed guidelines on the use of human tissue for future unspecified research purposes.
Also included in this edition is detail of an upcoming ICT sector event that we're hosting at the end of August that may be of interest to you. Numbers are limited so if you are interested in attending as a guest of Simpson Grierson please contact us as detailed.
As always - please let us know if there's a topic you'd like to see covered in the ezine and feel free to forward this ezine to friends or colleagues. If you're not on the distribution list - why not sign up?
Regards,
Simpson Grierson's x-tech group
Simpson Grierson is NZ Bio's Premier Commercial Legal Partner
Upcoming Articles
When Employees Steal and Sell Secrets - The Coca Cola & Pepsi Saga
Key Steps to Ensure Delivery of a Successful Major IT Project
Chips Down for Online Gaming Sites
Contact Information
Simpson Grierson's x-tech group provides suppliers and users of technology with specialist legal advice on information technology, intellectual property, telecommunications, biotechnology and the commercialisation of technology.
To contact us or if you would like to receive a list of all previous x-tech articles, or a hard copy of any articles please email x-tech@simpsongrierson.com or phone Clinton Swan on +64 9 977 5339
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IP / R&D:
Experimental Use Exception to Patent Infringement: The Inventor's Trojan Horse?
Cabinet has approved the introduction of an experimental use exception to patent infringement in order to promote investment in research and development and stimulate innovation. However, it is unclear that the exception will achieve these results. The proposed wording is unduly broad and uncertain, it appears to permit use of patented inventions for experimental purposes which interfere with the normal exploitation of the patent. This may discourage investment in research and development in New Zealand. In our view, further discussion around the rationale for and the likely implications of the proposed wording of the exception are required.
Related link: The Cabinet paper proposing the experimental use exception and the options is available from the Ministry of Economic Development's website.
IT / TELECOMS:Renewal of Rights for Cellular Services - Discussion Paper Released
The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) has released a discussion paper on the renewal of radio spectrum rights for the main bands currently being used to provide cellular services, being rights in the 800MHz and 900MHz ranges. These rights are currently held by Vodafone and Telecom, and begin to expire in 2011. The Government's stated policy objective of ensuring certainty for existing spectrum rightholders is intended to be achieved by offering replacement rights to existing rightholders prior to the expiry of their rights, subject to a case by case review. This discussion paper outlines the review which is currently being undertaken by the MED in respect of the cellular services spectrum rights. Submissions are called for by 25 August 2006.
Related link: The Discussion Paper on Renewal Rights for Cellular Services is available from the Ministry of Economic Development's website.
IT / TELECOMS
: Spectrum Allocation for Broadband Wireless Access - Discussion Paper Released
One of the stated aims of the Government's recently announced package of measures for the telecommunications sector is to encourage investment in alternative infrastructure, including wireless infrastructure.
Broadband wireless access is largely used for digital transmission of data with bandwidth capacity significantly greater than that required for telephony (eg internet applications). The availability of appropriate spectrum on which to operate wireless networks utilising various technologies is a key factor for the growth of this type of service. The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) has released a discussion paper setting out some issues in relation to spectrum allocation for broadband wireless access (BWA), for the purpose of seeking input from interested parties. Submissions close 4 August 2006.
Related link: The discussion paper on Broadband Wireless Access is available from the Ministry of Economic Development's website.
BIOTECH
: We'd Like to Use Your Spleen - But We're Not Sure What For Yet
It might sound like science fiction but it's far closer to science fact - The fact is that biomedical research has become increasingly reliant on the use of human tissue as a resource. In New Zealand, human tissue may be collected for clinical, diagnostic or research purposes specified at the time that consent is given by the tissue donor. However, New Zealand research groups, much like other research groups around the world, now wish to bank human tissue for future unspecified research purposes. The Ministry of Health has released a discussion paper containing proposed guidelines, with submissions due by 11 August 2006.
Related link: The discussion document relating to Guidelines on the Use of Human Tissue for Future Unspecified Research Purposes
is available from the Ministry of Health's website.
Upcoming Event
Simpson Grierson is hosting and co-presenting an Auckland ICT Cluster even at our Auckland offices on Thursday 31 August with the following speakers.
- Doug Casement of IDG (Managing Editor - Computerworld. Publisher - Computerworld & CIO) - Topic: "Dealing With The Media (For ICT Companies)".
- A member of Simpson Grierson's ICT team will give a brief talk about the role of a shareholders agreement in protecting the value of your company and your investment.
If you'd like to attend as a guest of Simpson Grierson please contact Clinton Swan with your details. Note that numbers for this event are limited and that RSVPs are essential.
Question of the Month
Q: How much protection does the law provide business against actions of computer criminals?
A: While the new crimes against computers provisions introduced into the Crimes Act have been used a number of times since becoming law to punish perpetrators of computer crime, there are clearly practical issues faced by enforcement authorities in relation to piecing together a potentially complex electronic crime and gathering enough evidence to identify and then prosecute the alleged perpetrator.
As with any potential criminal acts against your business, prevention and self-protection is the key. Organisations should focus on implementing cybersecurity plans addressing people, process, and technology issues. Organisations need to commit the resources to developing thorough plans for handling sensitive data, records, transactions, and incorporating robust security technology, such as firewalls, anti-virus software, intrusion detection tools, and authentication services, throughout their computer systems. Recent hacking cases also highlight the importance of companies establishing and enforcing email policies to limit the opportunity for malicious software to be introduced into their systems.
