Following the recent conclusion of Free Trade Agreement negotiations between New Zealand and both the EU and the UK, new intellectual property obligations for the Government have emerged. Hon Carmel Sepuloni, the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, has announced the establishment of the Artist Royalty Scheme.

Legal disputes between successful bands who have parted ways are not an uncommon occurrence. Such events are a cautionary tale, not only for musicians but to all individuals who band together on small-scale business ventures. Whether you are a musical group or your talents lie in a tech start-up, it is prudent to anticipate partners going their separate ways in the future.

 Henry Hughes IP has been recognised for its hard work this year by receiving a number of awards. Rankings were based on a number of attributes, including initiatives, achievements, longevity in the industry, points of difference, third party references and client service approach.

 The High Court of Australia recently handed down its decision in Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Patents [2022] HCA 29 regarding computer-implemented inventions in Australia.

 In the District Court of New York, an unusual dispute has recently unfolded involving Intellectual Property, Art, Crypto-currency and Fashion. We discuss the latest challenging of Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) called "MetaBirkin" - a series of digital images featuring furry renditions of Hermes' coveted and exclusive Birkin handbag.

On 30 June 2022, New Zealand and the European Union concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement (NZ-EU FTA, the Agreement).  The Agreement requires changes to New Zealand's law regarding copyright and geographical indications. 

 The High Court has delivered a rare verdict in the IP field: the granting of a permanent injunction on the grounds of breach of contract which involved the unauthorised use of a confusingly similar trade mark.

The concept of a ‘strong’ patent is difficult to define.  As with many things in patent law the answer is “it depends”.  Mostly it depends on what the patentee wants the patent to achieve.  A patent which does not support the business goals of the patentee is not strong. 

 The Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the United Kingdom (NZ-UK FTA, the Agreement) has been finalised and was signed on the 28^th of February 2022. This article focuses on provisions relating to intellectual property rights.