General Principals of Good Advocacy

Andrew Barker was a contributing speaker at an ADLS seminar "Advocacy & Courtroom Etiquette for Junior Practitioners" held on 30 August 2011. In his paper, Andrew discussed the basic principles of effective advocacy in the civil jurisdiction in its different forms (written and oral advocacy). As well as considering the general "rules" of advocacy, he also discussed more practical considerations and "tricks of the trade" that are used by effective advocates. Andrew's paper can be read here.

(2/02/12)

When the force is not with you: copyright in Star Wars costumes

Kevin Glover has had an article published in NZ Lawyer on the UK Supreme Court's decision in Lucasfilm v Ainsworth [2011] UKSC 39, which concerns copyright in costumes featured in the original Star Wars film. The article can be found here.

(1/08/11)

Section 92A revisited - Kevin Glover

Kevin Glover discussed the controversy over s 92A of the Copyright Act in his article "Section 92A revisited" published in the NZ Lawyer Issue 121 (18 September 2009).

Section 92A was enacted in April last year but has not come into force yet. Kevin briefly describes and reviews the policy proposal released for public consultation by the Ministry of Economic Development. The proposal describes the proposed s 92 process for rights holders to follow if they suspect that internet users have infringed their rights.

Kevin's comments include the appropriateness of the Copyright Tribunal assuming jurisdiction and the lack of appropriate safeguards for users who are accused of infringement under the proposed procedure.

Kevin concludes that the proposed policy would provide a lower-cost alternative to court proceedings for rights holders in copyright infringement cases. However, Kevin warns that such expediency could come at the expense of the rights of those accused of copyright infringement. While the framework set out in the consultation paper appears broadly acceptable, he notes that a proper assessment of the fairness of the procedure can only be made after the details in the proposal have been worked out.

(Anna Zhou, Editor, 29/10/09)