Confidentiality and IP Clauses: Practical Enforcement Strategies and Challenges (2025) (On Demand)

This On Demand was recorded on 5 March 2025.

In today’s competitive landscape, employee departures are no longer isolated events but can pose a significant risk for a business, particularly where entire teams move to rival firms, taking with them expertise, client relationships, and sometimes confidential information and valuable intellectual property (IP). This session addresses the complex intersection of employment and IP law when it comes to team departures.

Legal experts will explore strategies to safeguard against IP breaches, discuss challenges in achieving meaningful enforcement outcomes, and emphasise the importance of managing client expectations with realistic legal advice in cases involving breaches of confidentiality, IP theft, and unfair competition.

Join us as we delve into real-life scenarios, providing a nuanced approach to selecting the most effective jurisdiction and remedies when facing these challenges.

Learning Outcomes

Distinguish between know-how, confidential information and intellectual property rights, and understand the protections available under each.
Evaluate jurisdictional choices—Employment Relations Authority vs. High Court—and determine the most strategic approach based on case-specific factors.
Explore practical strategies for pre-emptive protection, including employment contract clauses on confidentiality, IP, and restraint of trade.
Gain insight into the scope and limitations of civil remedies, such as search orders and damages, and evaluate scenarios where criminal prosecution under the Crimes Act 1961 may be warranted in cases of team departures.

Who Should Watch?

Employment Lawyers, civil and commercial litigators

Presenters

Philip Skelton KC, Barrister, Bankside Chambers
Kevin Glover, Barrister, Shortland Chambers

Chair: Gillian Service, Partner, MinterEllisonRuddWatts

Philip Skelton KC

Philip has extensive litigation experience. He has been at the independent bar since 2006, and specialises in employment law and commercial litigation, including class actions. He took silk in 2013.

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Kevin Glover

Kevin Glover is a barrister at Shortland Chambers in Auckland who practises in the area of commercial disputes. He has specialist expertise in intellectual property disputes at IPONZ, trial and appellate levels, and is regularly instructed on cases involving interim injunction applications. Kevin was admitted in 2000, and has practised as a barrister sole since 2009. He is the author (with Rob Batty) of the leading text “Trade Marks in Practice” (5th edition, LexisNexis) and a contributing author to “Intellectual Property Law” (LexisNexis).

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Gillian Service

Gillian heads MinterEllisonRuddWatts Auckland litigation and employment team. A core aspect of Gillian's practice is the interaction between legal frameworks and the workplace itself. Gillian is passionate about the future of work and the challenges organisations face both locally and globally. She has deep experience with unionised workforces, advising clients and engaging with government on the role of unions in the workplace as concepts of the traditional workplace evolve.

Gillian is a thought leader on the future of work, flexible working practices, complex pieces of legislation such as the Holidays Act and AI in the workplace. She maintains her interest in future of work and different work models through her roles as a 4 Day Week Global Ambassador and a Trustee of The Warehouse Group's New Zealand Future Work Skills Fund (a trust set up by to expand the skill sets of workers into different areas including the digital economy).

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Details

CPD Hours: 1.50hr

Pricing Details

Ticket Price

Member: $155 plus GST
Non-Member: $220 plus GST

This On Demand includes the video and materials, and will earn CPD.

Click here to access materials only.