IP RIGHTS MANAGEMENT & ENFORCEMENT

Jack has taken steps on behalf of domestic and international clients to enforce and defend against allegations of intellectual property rights infringement. In the patent field, in conjunction with senior counsel he has advised registered patent holders in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries on the likelihood of success of seeking interim relief from the High Court to restrain alleged infringers from distributing infringing articles. He has also authored detailed letters of advice on the validity of New Zealand patents, under both the new Patents Act 2013 and the previous legislation.

Jack has a range of experience of advising copyright holders. With Andrew Brown QC, he has previously acted on behalf of Recorded Music, the sound recording industry body for New Zealand in mediations and negotiations over licensing disputes. He has successfully acted in the High Court and Court of Appeal on behalf of international copyright holders to sue New Zealand distributors and retailers for secondary copyright infringement. Finally, he has regularly advised copyright owners across the creative industries on the possibility of taking action against primary and secondary infringers.

Jack has also advised international and domestic companies on obtaining and protecting trade mark and common law brand name rights. He successfully argued on behalf of Apple Inc in its New Zealand dispute with Swatch AG over registration of the mark IWATCH. He has also acted on behalf of plaintiffs suing to protect their goodwill and reputation in their brand names against misleadingly similarly named competitors.