Mar 2008

We have 4 articles for this issue.

Firstly, Jeremy Gray and Andrew Lewis discuss recent changes to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Growth Services Fund, and an upcoming tax incentive for carrying out Research and Development in New Zealand.

Next, the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Bill has been read and debated in Parliament for a second time. But progress appears to have been delayed following various issues raised. Claire Foggo and Richard Watts look at what seems to be holding things up.

Thirdly, with rapidly changing technologies come increasingly faster rates of product obsolescence, but manufacturers need to be aware of their legal obligations to provide spare parts and repair facilities for products supplied to consumers. Karl Loo and Karen Ngan examine the potential liability of manufacturers failing to meet their obligations and strategies to minimise their exposure to this potential liability.

The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 (commonly referred to as the 'Spam Act') has been in force for almost 6 months. Late last year, the Department of Internal Affairs' Anti-Spam Compliance Unit instigated and reported on two investigations in response to spam allegations the Unit received. In our fourth article, Jenny Te and Karen Ngan look at these two investigations and comment on their significance.