The User Principle in New Zealand Copyright - 'the exercise of a sound imagination and the practice of the broad axe'?

摘要

New Zealand courts will continue to apply the user principle as a means of assessing damages where there is no normal rate of profit or established licence fee for the use of a plaintiffs property. However, bearing in mind the concept of the willing licensor and willing licensee, a close examination of New Zealand case law reveals substantial difficulties for any court taking on this hypothetical exercise.