Susan Corbett

Profile

Susan Corbett is an Adjunct Professor of Commercial Law in the School of Accounting and Commercial Law, Wellington School of Business and Government, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Susan's research interests focus on intellectual property law and cyberlaw and she has published extensively in both these areas. The impact of copyright law on the GLAM sector and on educational institutions is a particular interest. She is also a founder member, former President and currently, a member of the Executive Committee of the Asian Pacific Copyright Association. Susan studied law in England and practised as a solicitor there before entering academia in New Zealand. She is also admitted as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand.

Selected Publications

Authored Book

Corbett S (with Sims A), E-Commerce and the Law (2014) (2nd edn, 2020) Thomson Reuters New Zealand Ltd.

Edited Book

Corbett S (with Lai J C) (eds) Making Copyright Work for the Asian Pacific? Juxtaposing Harmonisation with Flexibility (2018, ANU Press) (https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/making-copyright-work-asian-pacific).

Edited Book Contribution

S Corbett “Orphan Works” in Encyclopaedia of Intellectual Property Law P Torremans, J Jütte, I Stamatoudi & P Yu) (eds) (2023, Edward Elgar) forthcoming.

Corbett S “Re-conceptualising the country code top level domain name as a sui generis intellectual property right” in Is Intellectual Property Pluralism Functional? S Frankel (ed) (2019, Edward Elgar) pp 153-177.

Corbett S “Free Trade Agreements with the United States, rulemaking and TPMs: Why Asian Pacific nations should resist increased regulation of TPMs  in their domestic copyright laws” in Corbett S and Lai J C, (eds) Making Copyright Work for the Asian Pacific? Juxtaposing Harmonisation with Flexibility (2018, ANU Press) 133- 160, at  https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/making-copyright-work-asian-pacific.

Johnson M, Wright R and Corbett S “Harmony and Counterpoint: Dancing with Fair Use in New Zealand and Australia” in Corbett S and Lai J C, (eds) Making Copyright Work for the Asian Pacific? Juxtaposing Harmonisation with Flexibility (October 2018, ANU Press) pp 163-196.

Corbett S and Sims A “Sui generis protection for sporting emblems and words:  A triumph of pragmatism over principle” in The Internet and the Emerging Importance of New Forms of Intellectual Property S Frankel and D Gervais (eds) (2016, Kluwer Law International) pp 117-138.

Corbett S “Digital v Analogue: Reconceptualising the Orphan Works Problem for Cultural Heritage Institutions” in Intellectual Property and Access to Im/material Goods J Lai and A Maget (Eds) (2016, Edward Elgar) pp 289-314.

Corbett S, “Out of Time?  Copyright Law and the Australasian Judiciary in the Digital Age” in S Frankel and D Gervais (eds) Evolution and Equilibrium: Copyright for the 21st Century (2014, Cambridge University Press) pp 161-179.

Refereed Journal Articles

S Corbett and JC Lai “Intellectual Property Policies of New Zealand’s Universities: Ownership Claims and the Relevance of Consumer Law”  (2024) Intellectual Property Quarterly  (forthcoming)

S Corbett & JC Lai, “To Have and To Hold: Intellectual Property as Relationship Property” (2022) 30 New Zealand Universities’ Law Review, pp 169-200.

S Corbett, “Hyperlinking from New Zealand-hosted websites: should the right to freedom of expression and information trump copyright?” (2022) 9 NZIPJ pp 53-61.

V Samoylov & S Corbett, “The implications of introducing a ‘Spare Parts Exception’ into New Zealand Copyright Law” (2020) 26(2) New Zealand Business Law Quarterly, pp 69-82.

S Corbett, “Archives, Museums and Copyright Law: Reconciling the Traditional with Contemporary Practices” (2019) 50(4) Victoria University of Wellington Law Review, pp 587-607.

S Corbett, “Computer Game Licences: the EULA and its Discontents” (2019) 35(4) Computer Law & Security Review, pp 453-461.

S Corbett, “Immaterial cultural property and the private owner: How copyright and trade law might address access & preservation” (2019) 9(3) Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property, pp 262-281.

S Corbett, “Videogames and their clones –how copyright law might address the problem” 32 (2016) Computer Law & Security Review: The International Journal of Technology Law and Practice, pp 615-622.

S Corbett, “Top Level Country Code Domain Names: Is it Time to Revisit the Open Governance Model?” (2016) 22 New Zealand Business Law Quarterly, pp 31-45.

S Corbett, "Search engines and the automated process: Is a search engine provider “a publisher” of defamatory material?"(2014) 20 New Zealand Business Law Quarterly, pp 200-216.

S Corbett, “The Case for Joint Ownership of Copyright in Photographs of Identifiable Individuals”, (2013) 18 Media and Arts Law Review, pp 330-349.

S Corbett, Copyright Norms and Flexibilities and the Digitisation Practices of New Zealand Museums”, (2013) 29(1) Law in Context, pp 55-73.

S Corbett, “The Retention of Personal Information Online: A call for international regulation of privacy law”, (2013) 29 Computer Law and Security Review: The International Journal of Technology Law and Practice, pp 246-254.

S Corbett, “Māori Cultural Heritage and Copyright Law: A Balancing Exercise” (2012)  6(9)  New Zealand Intellectual Property Journal, pp 916-921.

S Corbett, “The Digital Museum and Copyright Law: Can there be Reconciliation?” (2012) 6(8) New Zealand Intellectual Property Journal, pp 882-888.

S Corbett and M Boddington, “Copyright Law and the Digitisation of Cultural Heritage”, (September 2011) Centre for Accounting, Governance & Taxation Research, Working Paper Series, WP No 77.

Corbett S “Creative Commons Licences, the Copyright Regime and the Online Community: is there a fatal disconnect?” (2011) 74 (4) The Modern Law Review, pp 503 -531.

Corbett, S “Mediation of Intellectual Property Disputes: A Critical Analysis” (2011) 17 New Zealand Business Law Quarterly, pp 51-67.

Corbett, S “Regulation for Cultural Heritage Orphans: Time Does Matter” (2010) 2 (1) The WIPO Journal: Analysis and Debate of Intellectual Property Issues, pp 180-196.

Corbett, S (60%) and Van Roy, Y (40%) “Events Management in New Zealand: One Law to Rule them All?” (2010) 4 Journal of Business Law pp 338-362.

Corbett S “Orphan Works” New Zealand Law Journal, April (2010), pp. 88-90.

Starkey, L., Corbett, S, Bondy, A., & Davison, S. “Intellectual property: What do teachers and students know?”   International Journal of Technology and Design Education. Vol.20, Issue 3 (2010), 333- 344. Also available on SpringerLink http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s10798-009-9088-6

Corbett, S “Sunlec International v Electropar:  Copyright in a slogan: Literature for Marketers?” (2009) 15 New Zealand Business Law Quarterly pp 227-235.

Corbett S “Creative Commons Licences: A Symptom or a Cause?” Centre for Accounting Governance and Taxation Research Working Paper Series, WP 67, 2009 pp. 1- 23.

Corbett S, Van Roy Y, “The Major Events Management Act” New Zealand Law Journal, June (2008), pp. 211-216.

Corbett S “What if Object Code had been Excluded from Protection as a Literary Work in Copyright Law? A New Zealand Perspective” Michigan State Law Review, (Spring 2008) Issue 1, pp. 173- 197.

Corbett S “Digital Heritage:  Legal Barriers to Conserving New Zealand’s Early Video Games”, New Zealand Business Law Quarterly, 13, 1 (2007)  pp 48-71.

Corbett S “A Human Rights Perspective on the Database Debate”, European Intellectual Property Review, 28, 2 (2006) pp 83-91.

Corbett S “Organization and Community Concepts of Intellectual Property in the Knowledge Economy”, International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, 5, 2 (2006) pp. 47-52.

Corbett S “Educating the Community about Intellectual Property- a lesson for New Zealand”, New Zealand Intellectual Property Journal, 4, 6 (2005) pp. 128-134.

Corbett S “Copyright versus Commerce: The Business Database as a Commercial Asset in New Zealand – Much Ado About Nothing?” Journal of Business Law, (March 2005) pp. 209-230.

Corbett S “Copyright law in Australia: What price free trade?”  New Zealand Intellectual Property Journal, 4, 1 (2004) pp. 5-10.

Corbett S “Going grey: the copyright debate”, New Zealand Law Journal (2004) pp. 386– 387, 390.

Corbett S “The database as a business asset: The anomalous position of the database in New Zealand copyright law and implications for knowledge management”, International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management 3 (2003) pp. 313-321.

Corbett S “Harnessing data: The intellectual property in a racing database” New Zealand Intellectual Property Journal 9, 12 (2003) pp 194-202.

Corbett S “The Female Inventor: What Price Intellectual Capital?”  New Zealand Intellectual Property Journal 3, 5 (2002) pp 91-101

Corbett S “The Digital Photograph: Intellectual Property of Whom? Tolley’s Communications’ Law: Journal of Computer, Media and Telecommunications Law 6 (2) (2001) pp. 46-49.

Corbett S “The Worth of a Picture: Photography, the Media and the Law of Copyright”, New Zealand Intellectual Property Journal 2, 7 (2000) pp. 201-207.

French S “Recent Impacts of Copyright Law Upon Distance Education”, Journal of Distance Learning, 4, 1 (1998) pp. 3-10.

French S “Copyright Law and Distance Education in New Zealand: An Uneasy Partnership”, Australia and New Zealand Journal of Law and Education 2, 1 (1997) pp. 69 –88.

Reports

Corbett S “Archiving our culture in a digital environment: copyright law and digitisation practices in cultural heritage institutions” December 2011, New Zealand Law Foundation Report, Wellington.

Community Engagement

Corbett S,  “How to protect our national ‘.nz’ identity online” IdeasRoom in NewsRoom 11 April 2019 at https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/04/11/530913/nz-should-follow-australias-lead-on-domains#

Corbett S,  NewstalkZB Interview, “United States Copyright Term Expiry: What does it mean for New Zealand?”, 4 January 2019, 7.35 am.

Other Publications

S Corbett and J Barrett (by invitation) Foreword in V Samoylov “Protecting Product Designs Today and Tomorrow” (2022) (Springer, Australia) forthcoming.

Conference Presentations

S Corbett and JC Lai “To Have and To Hold: Intellectual Property as Relationship Property” (NZULR accepted paper) Presented at the 6th Annual Conference of the Asian Pacific Copyright Association (APCA), National University of Singapore, 14-15 November 2022.

S Corbett “To Have and To Hold: Intellectual Property as Relationship Property” (Working paper) Presented at the 12th Annual Conference on Innovation and Communications Law (CICL), Danube University, Krems, Austria, 19-20 May 2022.

S Corbett (by invitation) “Reflections on Australasian IP scholarship, the History of AIPA and on the theme of 'sustainability’” Presented at the Australasian Intellectual Property Academics Conference (AIPAC), UTS Law School, Sydney, 16 & 18 February 2022.