YPG IP LIMITED & ANOR V YELLOW BOOK.COM.AU PTY LTD AND ORS HC AK CIV 2007-404-2839

YPG IP LIMITED & ANOR V YELLOW BOOK.COM.AU PTY LTD AND ORS HC AK CIV 2007-404-2839

The Court held it has exclusive jurisdiction to determine claims based on New Zealand statutes and territorial rights; plaintiffs raised serious questions to be tried on copyright in the compilation/database, trade mark infringement and misleading or deceptive conduct, and damages would be inadequate while defendants could likely be compensated if wronged; balance of convenience favors plaintiffs; interlocutory injunctions restraining defendants from hosting or using the specified directories insofar as they reproduce the plaintiffs' ontology and database were granted pending judgment.

Citation
openlaw-107c80eb_d042_4acf_8a07_39f1cab38474.pdf
Parties
First Plaintiff: YPG IP LIMITED; Second Plaintiff: YELLOW PAGES GROUP LIMITED; First Defendant: YELLOW BOOK.COM.AU PTY LTD; Second Defendant: DAVID KHOURY; Third Defendant: ROBERT G COLES
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
New Zealand
Judgment Date
13 July 2007
Procedural Posture
Civil: Intellectual Property (copyright, Trade Mark) and Fair Trading Act Interim Injunctions / Interlocutory Hearing and Judgment on Interim Injunctions and Jurisdiction
Outcome
Interlocutory judgment: jurisdiction upheld; defendants' challenge dismissed; interim injunctions granted in favor of plaintiffs; costs reserved to plaintiffs
Legal Topics
Interim Injunctions, Ownership of Copyright in Databases, Copyright Infringement (compilation), Trade Mark Infringement Likelihood of Confusion, Misleading or Deceptive Conduct, Jurisdiction and Territoriality, Forum Non Conveniens, Website Scraping and Copying, Damages and Adequacy of Remedy, Case Management
Copyright Law Trade Mark Law Fair Trading Act Civil Procedure Jurisdiction/forum Non Conveniens Internet Law Interim Injunctions Ownership of Copyright in Databases Copyright Infringement (compilation) +7 more

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Parties

YPG IP LIMITED

First Plaintiff

YELLOW PAGES GROUP LIMITED

Second Plaintiff

YELLOW BOOK.COM.AU PTY LTD

First Defendant

DAVID KHOURY

Second Defendant

ROBERT G COLES

Third Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil: Intellectual Property (copyright, Trade Mark) and Fair Trading Act Interim Injunctions / Interlocutory Hearing and Judgment on Interim Injunctions and Jurisdiction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether New Zealand Courts have jurisdiction over alleged infringements accessible in New Zealand
  2. 2 Whether forum non conveniens required dismissal in favour of Australia
  3. 3 Whether plaintiffs established serious question to be tried on copyright infringement of compilation/database

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held it has exclusive jurisdiction to determine claims based on New Zealand statutes and territorial rights; plaintiffs raised serious questions to be tried on copyright in the compilation/database, trade mark infringement and misleading or deceptive conduct, and damages would be inadequate while defendants could likely be compensated if wronged; balance of convenience favors plaintiffs; interlocutory injunctions restraining defendants from hosting or using the specified directories insofar as they reproduce the plaintiffs' ontology and database were granted pending judgment.

Court Disposition

Interlocutory judgment: jurisdiction upheld; defendants' challenge dismissed; interim injunctions granted in favor of plaintiffs; costs reserved to plaintiffs

Orders

  • Pending judgment or further order, first defendant and second defendant restrained from hosting, using, publishing, promoting or otherwise dealing in the electronic business directory at www.yellowbook.co.nz which features or comprises the name "YELLOW BOOK" and/or an ontology of business classifications and/or a...
  • Pending judgment or further order, first defendant and second defendant restrained from hosting, using, publishing, promoting or otherwise dealing in the electronic business directory at www.yellowduck.co.nz which features or comprises an ontology of business classifications and/or a database of business listings...