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

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

Court declined to order the defendants' broad requests to dissect the plaintiffs' claimed works or to require naming of individual authors or wholesale discovery; held plaintiffs may claim copyright in the works as a whole and need not particularise component authorial contributions at interlocutory stage; ordered limited further particulars (Schedule 3 items 1,2,3(a),6–9), ordered answers to specified interrogatories (Schedule 4 items 1–9(a) and 10–16), ordered further discovery only of Schedule 1 items 2 and 4, and left inspection terms and certain matters for agreement or further submissions.

Citation
openlaw-4ea751cc_5807_4d3c_97ab_d235942d25b8.pdf
Parties
First Plaintiff: YPG IP Limited; Second Plaintiff: Yellow Pages Group Limited; First Defendant: Yellowbook.com.au Pty Ltd; Second Defendant: David Khoury; Third Defendant: Robert G Coles
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
New Zealand
Judgment Date
31 May 2010
Procedural Posture
Civil Intellectual Property (copyright, Trade Marks, Fair Trading) / Interlocutory Applications (discovery, Particulars, Interrogatories, Inspection)
Outcome
Defendants' interlocutory application partly granted in limited respects and otherwise dismissed; plaintiffs to provide limited particulars, answer specified interrogatories, provide limited further discovery; inspection terms reserved; costs provisionally for plaintiffs
Legal Topics
Originality, Subsistence of Copyright, Compilations, Authorship and Ownership, Discovery and Inspection, Particulars and Interrogatories, Computer‑generated Works, Confidentiality, Costs
Copyright Trade Marks Fair Trading Act Civil Procedure Database Law Originality Subsistence of Copyright Compilations +6 more

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Parties

YPG IP Limited

First Plaintiff

Yellow Pages Group Limited

Second Plaintiff

Yellowbook.com.au Pty Ltd

First Defendant

David Khoury

Second Defendant

Robert G Coles

Third Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Intellectual Property (copyright, Trade Marks, Fair Trading) / Interlocutory Applications (discovery, Particulars, Interrogatories, Inspection)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether copyright subsists in the plaintiffs' Yellow Pages compilations and databases
  2. 2 Whether plaintiffs must particularise authorial contributions and identify individual authors
  3. 3 Whether defendants are entitled to broad discovery and interrogation about creation, automation and contributors to the works

Ratio Decidendi

Court declined to order the defendants' broad requests to dissect the plaintiffs' claimed works or to require naming of individual authors or wholesale discovery; held plaintiffs may claim copyright in the works as a whole and need not particularise component authorial contributions at interlocutory stage; ordered limited further particulars (Schedule 3 items 1,2,3(a),6–9), ordered answers to specified interrogatories (Schedule 4 items 1–9(a) and 10–16), ordered further discovery only of Schedule 1 items 2 and 4, and left inspection terms and certain matters for agreement or further submissions.

Court Disposition

Defendants' interlocutory application partly granted in limited respects and otherwise dismissed; plaintiffs to provide limited particulars, answer specified interrogatories, provide limited further discovery; inspection terms reserved; costs provisionally for plaintiffs

Orders

  • Second plaintiff to provide further particulars in Schedule 3 items 1,2,3(a) and 6–9 inclusive
  • Second plaintiff to answer interrogatories in Schedule 4 items 1–9(a) and 10–16 inclusive