Dec 2006

The first of our articles this month looks at the implications of possible legal action around the phenomenon that is YouTube. Jonathan Lewin and Daniel Park of our ICT team, along with Richard Watts of our intellectual property team, outline some steps that users of video sharing websites and video sharing website operators alike should take to ensure that they do not infringe copyright.

Angela Stafford, Richard Watts & Earl Gray of our intellectual property team then examine the issue of 'typo-squatting' - where a domain name registrant has deliberately registered the misspelling of a company or brand name of another entity in order to trade on that entity's goodwill - and what the options are for New Zealand companies. We examine two decisions in this area from New Zealand's recently established domain name dispute resolution service.

Topical items of interest this month include the Finance and Expenditure Committee's report back on the Telecommunications Amendment Act, and the introduction of the Human Tissue Bill.