Fair Trading Act and Partnership Act Case Study

Question 1: Fair Trading Act and BA Ltd

Question 1                                                                                                              

 

Bujitso Appliances Limited (BA Ltd) is a company that manufactures and sells heat pumps in New Zealand. Recently the company has been advertising a new more expensive range of heat pumps with slogans such as “Your pocket will thank you! So will the environment!” BA Ltd’s advertisements include claims such as “NZ’s most energy efficient heat pump range” and “our pumps deliver $5 worth of heat for $1 of power”.

 

Jane is in need of a new heat pump for her bedroom. She is a student and her main source of income is her part-time job but she cares a great deal about the environment and tries to live an eco-friendly life. When she sees the advertisements for the new BA Ltd heat pumps being energy efficient and good for the environment, she decides to invest in a rather expensive product with the hope of saving money on the power bill. After a few months, she does not notice any changes in her power bill even though she has been using the new heat pump for the same number of hours as before. One day, she has a conversation with her classmate, Mary, who has taken up a marketing internship at one of BA Ltd’s offices. Mary tells her that they designed the marketing campaign for the new heat pump range based on the popularity of the new trend around eco-living and the energy-efficiency of the pumps was only tested once by BA Ltd’s scientists.

 

With reference to the Fair Trading Act (FTA) 1986:

 

A. Identify the sections of the legislation that BA Ltd has likely breached and explain why.

 

B. Examine the orders that a court may make if the court is satisfied that BA Ltd has committed an offence or engaged in conduct in breach of the FTA 1986.

 

You must answer BOTH Question A and Question B in this section.

Question 2                                                                                                            (20 marks)

 

Little Nest (LN) is a firm of partners that specialises in property design and development in New Zealand. The firm is run by 3 old friends; John, James, and Jonah. John is in charge of finding and purchasing suitable land and getting all the necessary permits. James liaises with architects and developers for planning and cost estimates. Jonah is the person on the ground that works closely with the builders and oversees the progress and completion of the projects. Since business is good, the firm decided to hire an accountant, Tim, with an office in the firm’s place of business.

While Jonah is on holiday with his family in Fiji, he saw an advertisement for a piece of residential land next to one of the most popular beaches. The land owner was in need of cash and willing to sell his land well below the market price. To seize what he thought was a great opportunity, Jonah signed a contract for the purchase of the land on behalf of the firm without notifying the other two partners.

Meanwhile in New Zealand, Tim attended LN’s annual function where he met the owner of a plumbing business that the firm has been working with. At the function, James introduced Tim to everyone present as “one of us in LN” and as someone who “has his hand in all aspects of the business”. The following week, Tim was contacted by the plumbing business for a new contract for one of LN’s projects. Tim signed the contract.

With reference to the Partnership Act 1908 and the Law of Agency answer the following questions:

A. Is the firm bound by the contract of the purchase of the land in Fiji? Provide reasons for your answer.

B. Is the firm bound by the new plumbing contract signed by Tim? Provide reasons for your answer.

(Cite the relevant sections and subsections of the legislation and provide a clear definition of different elements relevant to partnership and agency.)

Question 3                                                                                                             

 

With reference to the relevant legislation, identify the types of work copyright law protects in New Zealand, and for how long. (Provide at least 5 examples). Explain, with reference to legislation, the criteria for protection of an invention under patent law and what they each mean.