Online Contracting - Making Sure it's all Wrapped Up Aug 2008 The Internet age has changed the way in which many companies now contract with their customers. More than ever, companies are using the Internet to conduct business transactions, frequently requiring customers to agree to standard terms and conditions before agreeing to process any order for goods or services. It is important that appropriate measures are taken to ensure that these online contracts are enforceable. > Read More> View PDF
Privacy Law Review Jul 2008 Privacy is a relatively recent development to the law. Indeed the concept of privacy itself is much debated in today's society – with some predicting the end of privacy, and others arguing that privacy threatens other important values such as freedom of speech. > Read More> View PDF
Without System Support You Have Nothing - Top 10 Issues for System Support Agreements Jul 2008 There is no questioning the importance of a robust and dependable IT system in today's marketplace. Service Providers do a great job of extolling the virtues of the latest and greatest system enhancements and what they can do for your business. And for the first month a new system may solve many problems and significantly enhance how you do business. But then the system crashes. Data has been lost and the system outage is severely affecting your ability to service your clients. What do you do? > Read More> View PDF
Automatically-generated email disclaimers are used by business organisations all around the world and are now considered standard practice.They purport to deal with a number of business risks and issues, some of which include:
liability for negligent misstatements;
liability for the transfer of viruses;
confidential information;
messages mistakenly sent to the wrong recipient; and
the "deeming provisions" of the Electronic Transactions Act 2002 (ETA).
Potential Provider Liability for Online Discrimination May 2008 The responsibility and liability of service providers operating on the internet for discriminatory content posted by users of their services was the subject of a recent decision of a full panel of the 9th Circuit of the United States Court of Appeal. > Read More> View PDF
The Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act: Dragging Copyright Into The 21st Century May 2008 Following our article in the March edition of xtech ("The Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Bill: Delayed by Individual and Big Business Interests?"), we can report that New Zealand's copyright law has finally been brought into the twenty first century with the passing of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act (Act). > Read More> View PDF
Anti-Spam Unit Sends a Strong Message to Spammers Mar 2008 It has been approximately six months since the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 (Spam Act) came into force on 5 September 2007.
To date the Department of Internal Affairs' Anti-Spam Compliance Unit (Anti-Spam Unit) has reported on two anti-spam investigations. One investigation involved the Anti-Spam Unit working with international enforcement agencies by sharing information and gathering evidence on an international spamming operation. The second investigation highlights the fact that an organisation must ensure that it has obtained the consent of a person before sending promotional messages to that person and be able to establish how that consent was obtained. > Read More> View PDF
With the current speed of technological advancements, and some items of technology becoming as much accessory as they are necessary, the rate at which people upgrade is increasing. What may have been the latest and greatest mobile phone, MP3 player or other item two or three years ago may not even be manufactured anymore, having been superseded by an even later and greater model. But technology items are not cheap and consumers expect products to be able to be repaired if necessary. Manufacturers are required under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) to provide spare parts and repair facilities for their products for an appropriate period of time after those products are supplied. > Read More> View PDF
Reversing Software Rights in the Copyright Act May 2007 A typical software licence agreement will prohibit the licensee’s right to copy, decompile and reverse engineer the software without the licensor's prior written consent. Following the Ministry of Economic Development's recommendations to the Government in the Digital Technology and the Copyright Act Position Paper in 2002, the enactment of the Copyright (New Technologies and Performer’s Rights) Amendment Bill (Bill) will, to a limited extent, override such provisions. In this article, we examine the proposed rights and restrictions on software users in the Bill in respect of copying, decompiling and reverse engineering software programs.
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Top Tips For Escrow Arrangements May 2007 When acquiring software, or equipment that relies on software for its operation, a key issue for a licensee to consider is the protection they can obtain against the licensor being unable to provide them with the agreed levels of software support and maintenance.
In some cases, it is appropriate for a licensee to be able to access the source code and relevant materials for the software, under a software escrow arrangement.
This article outlines what a software escrow arrangement involves and the types of situations in which the release of source code and materials to the licensee from escrow may be appropriate.
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Spam Act Set To Come Into Force In September - Is Your Business Ready? May 2007 The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 ("Spam Act") will come into force on 5 September this year. This legislation represents New Zealand's contribution to a global movement towards preventing spam, bringing us into line with other jurisdictions such as the UK and Australia. While this may be seen as a positive step, the Spam Act does impose various requirements on senders of commercial electronic messages that are likely to have a significant impact on many business organisations. Businesses will need to implement changes and systems prior to 5 September 2007 to ensure that they are compliant when the Spam Act comes into force.
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Software; Hard Fall: When Implementation Goes Wrong Apr 2007 New systems incorporating new software typically promise greater efficiencies to your business. Greater efficiencies ideally lead to increased profits, so it can be tempting to push through the implementation of a new system before all the necessary pre-implementation steps have been taken. > View PDF
Blogging - Recent Controversy and Guidance for ISPs Apr 2007 The issue of websites that "name and shame" individuals and the legal responsibility of internet service providers (ISPs) who host such websites has hit the news headlines again with the recent controversy surrounding the online "CYFSwatch" website. > View PDF
Will Copyright Infringement Kill the Video (Sharing) Star? Nov 2006 Copyright infringement taking place on content and/or file sharing websites, such as YouTube.com, is now commonplace. YouTube, founded in a Silicon Valley garage in 2005, hosts a website which allows users to upload videos onto its website to share with the entire online community, and it has been reported that YouTube shows more than 100 million video clips each day with 65,000 new videos uploaded daily. Whilst it is proving difficult for the website to police such a vast amount of content, increasingly, it is not just the websites themselves, but also their end users, which are in the firing line. > View PDF
Telecommunications Amendment Bill 2006 Oct 2006 The Telecommunications Amendment Bill 2006 was introduced amidst controversial circumstances in May when a confidential cabinet paper was leaked to Telecom. It has attracted much debate and attention since then and is currently at select committee stage. In this articel we summarise the background to, and the key aspects of, the Bill. > View PDF
Spam Bill One Step Closer to Becoming Law Oct 2006 This article highlights some of the key changes that the Commerce Select Committee has recommended be mae to the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill in its recent report to Parliament. > View PDF
Rated E Sep 2006 In the last five years, a unique industry has developed in the United States which specialises in the sale of DVD versions of
Hollywood movies, such as Titanic or The Godfather. Yet, in these versions, digital corsets cover Kate Winslet’s nudity
and Don Corleone lips occasionally move without sound. When a film is altered, a directors' reputation, vision and unique
presentation to audiences may be compromised. To protect their work against unauthorised editing, film directors in the
US have turned to copyright law. As this article will explain, copyright law in New Zealand may also provide recourse for
directors who feel that their works have been mauled in a new editing suite. > View PDF
Key Steps to Ensure Delivery of a Successful Major IT Project Sep 2006 There is no doubt that technology has become an integral part of the operations of most businesses. A failure of a key IT
system, or performance issues with an IT system, can have a significant impact on the operations of an organisation. This
applies whether the system is the barcode scanning technology in a retail store, a distribution system used for a
warehouse, or an organisation's financial system or ERP system.
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Chips Down for US Online Gambling Sites Sep 2006 Online gambling websites in many parts of the world have seen rapid growth in the last few years, particularly as popular
poker games such as "Texas Hold 'Em" are becoming more mainstream. Despite strict regulation in many jurisdictions,
including New Zealand, the industry worldwide is now estimated to be worth US$12 billion each year, approximately half of
which is believed to be generated from punters based in the USA. > View PDF
Renewal of Rights for Cellular Services; Discussion Paper Released Aug 2006 August 2006: 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. > View PDF
Spectrum Allocation for Broadband Wireless Access; Discussion Paper Released Aug 2006 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. > View PDF
Our Rules of Email Jul 2006 Email, and other forms of electronic communication, can deliver significant benefits to most businesses. However, email also has the potential to cause employers headaches when employees misuse the company's facility. With business email use continuing to grow, it is more important than ever for employers to be proactive in controlling employee's email use. Republished with permission from IT Brief magazine.
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Judge Hands Down Harsh Sentence to Trade Me Hacker Jul 2006 Prior to the addition of specific computer crime provisions into the Crimes Act in October 2003, perpetrators of crimes involving the access and use of computers could only be convicted under traditional fraud, forgery and wilful damage offences. Increasing recognition of the inadequacy of these offences to deal with the growing sophisticated nature of computer crimes led to the computer specific offences being introduced. A recent case illustrates how once again the amended Crimes Act has been used effectively and the court has delivered its most substantial punishment yet. > View PDF
New Mandatory Rules for Government Procurement Jul 2006 The Government recently released new mandatory procurement rules for Government Departments. The rules are more prescriptive than previous Government policies. Government Departments (and other government agencies) and suppliers will need to consider them carefully when contracting for information technology and telecommunications goods and services > View PDF
STOP THIEF! Fighting for your Rights in Cyberspace Jun 2006 What can you do if a competitor is using a domain name similar to yours? In this article, we seek to answer this question by considering a hypothetical example involving two competing hair salon businesses, Cutz and Stylit. The example may seem far fetched to some, but has actually been fairly common and Simpson Grierson has dealt with many similar cases. > View PDF
.EU Domain Gathers Momentum Jun 2006 In this article we provide an update on the article in last November's x-tech e-zine (Sun Rises for .EU Domain Names). The four month priority "sunrise" period for registration for .EU domains came to an end in April 2006. Interest in the new European domain already appears to have been significant, but it is not too late for anyone doing business in Europe to obtain a .EU domain name. > View PDF
Confidence in Confidentiality Agreements Jun 2006 First published in IT Brief Magazine. In recent years, confidentiality agreements seem to have pervaded the IT and technology industries. People involved in IT contracting and technology development are constantly either being asked to, or asking others to, enter into confidentiality agreements. Just what are you signing up for? > View PDF
Contracting Out Of Copyright Law And The Commissioning Rule May 2006 The Ministry of Economic Development is currently seeking input on two copyright issues which affect the IT industry - contracting out of copyright legislation (for example by shrink-wrap licence) and the adequacy of the commissioning rule, which currently provides an exception to the general rule of first ownership of copyright. > View PDF
Domain Name Disputes Service May 2006 After a period of consideration, a formal domain name dispute 'expert panel' has been appointed to determine disputes over .nz domain name registrations, from 1 June 2006. > View PDF
Kapow! Marvel versus the Gamers Apr 2006 In 2004 Marvel Entertainment took the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit against the developer and publisher of the popular MMORPG, City of Heroes. Although the case settled, it may still hold important lessons for New Zealand creators and publishers of computer software. > View PDF
Are Patents a Risk to Your Business? Apr 2006 Patents were once the preserve of scientists and inventors. Now, however, all businesses should be aware of the benefits and risks they pose and the commercial advantages that a sound patent strategy can have, particularly for businesses reliant on technology or operating in the technology area. > View PDF
A New GNU Mar 2006 A consultation process was launched in January 2006 relating to the commonest form of open source software licence, the GNU General Public Licence. This article looks at the controversial features of the amended draft licence, which is known as GPLv3. GPLv3 seeks to address, in particular, the twin challenges facing open source software of digital rights management and software patents. > View PDF
Submissions Received on Draft Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy Mar 2006 In the July 2005 issue of FYI x-tech ("New Zealand follows the UK in choosing a domain name dispute resolution process"), we reported that InternetNZ had decided to adopt and implement a domain name dispute resolution procedure based upon the UK Nominet model. A draft policy was prepared and public comment was sought. Here are some of the comments received. > View PDF
Who Does What and When Mar 2006 Putting in place and carefully managing a suitable written agreement is critical for any IT system implementation project which involves an external supplier. It is important, from both the customer's and the supplier's perspective, to ensure that the responsibilities of each of the parties in relation to the implementation of an IT system are clearly scoped and documented. > View PDF
Blogging; Risks, Rewards and Regulation Feb 2006 The "web log" or "blog" is an online diary through which people publish their opinions, thoughts and photographs over the Internet. People usually blog about their personal life and in their personal time. However, organisations are quickly becoming aware that the personal blogs of employees can have a impact on their business, for better or for worse. This article addresses the risks and rewards associated with employee blogging and the steps an organisation can take to educate its employees on the good and the bad about blogging. > View PDF
