In the journals

Insider Trading Reform
One of the more controversial changes to the securities law landscape is the new insider trading regime introduced in the latest round of the Government's securities law reform programme. In this article, Roger Partridge looks at the key changes to insider trading and provides some background to the new provisions, together with a discussion on some outstanding issues.

Information trading in Australia and New Zealand: Information that is "generally available"
New Zealand's new insider trading regime is largely based on Australia's insider trading provisions and includes the adoption of the term "generally available" as part of the test to determine whether information constitutes "inside information". In this article the authors background how the Australian courts have addressed the term "generally available" and explore how it is likely to be interpreted in New Zealand.

Mind the gap: director indemnified for costs of own action
A recent New South Wales Supreme Court decision has highlighted potential gaps in Directors' and Officers' Liability insurance policies. This article looks at the case and discusses the potential ramifications for companies, their insurers and their shareholders.

Evaluating New Zealand's Evolving Corporate Governance Regime in a Comparative Context
This article provides an interesting account of the relevance of New Zealand's emerging corporate governance regulatory regime. The author explores the possibility that it may not be necessary for New Zealand to wholeheartedly embrace the increasingly complex corporate governance principles being adopted in other jurisdictions. To do so may, rather than encourage the development of our securities markets, lead to more New Zealand companies seeking funding from private equity sources.

Of Arsenic, Antitrust and Agreed penalties for Price Fixing
In the wake of the recent wood chemicals cartel cases where record penalties have been awarded for price fixing, Chris Noonan reviews the basis on which penalties for price fixing are calculated and finds that a more principled approach is required if deterrence is to be the primary outcome.

Personal Liability of Directors under the Fair Trading Act
Following a recent Court of Appeal decision, the authors of this article question the appropriateness of the basis for establishing a director's statutory liability for breaches of the Fair Trading Act over conduct engaged on behalf of a company.

Parallel importing and trade marks
The 2003 amendment to the Trade Marks Act 2002 was to ensure that registered trade marks could not be used to prevent parallel importing. In this article Alexandra Sims discusses how a recent court's narrow interpretation of the new provisions may frustrate the Government's parallel importing policy.

Enquiries and information

For more information on any of the cases, articles and features in Commercial Quarterly, please email Diane Graham or call her on 64 9 916 8849.