Geostel Vision Ltd v Oraka Technologies Ltd

In Geostel Vision Limited v Oraka Technologies Limited, the Court of Appeal of New Zealand considered an appeal against a High Court decision that awarded $510,000 in damages for copyright infringement. The appeal was brought by the defendants, Geostel Vision Limited and Oraka Technologies Limited, who were found to have infringed the copyright in the designs for a cup assembly used in a machine that sorts and grades asparagus. The Court of Appeal found that the High Court had made several errors in its assessment of the evidence, which led to an erroneous assessment of damages. The Court of Appeal concluded that the notional licence fee should have been based on the 25 per cent rule, adjusted for relevant factors, and that the damages award should be reduced to $47,000. The Court of Appeal also set aside the costs award in favour of the plaintiff in relation to the 2017 High Court hearing, and remitted the issue of costs for that hearing back to the High Court to be reassessed in light of the Court of Appeal's judgment.