Copyright Tribunal: Appointment of Chair

Associate Minister of Commerce Judith Tizard today announced the appointment of Judge David Harvey of Auckland as Chair of the Copyright Tribunal for a five-year term.

“I am delighted Judge Harvey has agreed to serve as Chair of the Tribunal. He brings an impressive range of skills and experience to the position,” said Judith Tizard. “Judge Harvey’s legal background and knowledge of the impact of technology on copyright issues gives him excellent credentials to lead the Copyright Tribunal.”

Judge Harvey is published on digital copyright issues and the future direction of copyright law in the digital age. More broadly, he is widely published on the use and relationship of technology in all aspects of the Courts system.

Judge Harvey practised as a barrister and solicitor for 17 years before being appointed a District Court Judge since 1998. He participated in the official Duty Solicitor Scheme in both Hamilton and Henderson and was on the list of assigned Counsel for Legal Aid cases from 1973 - 1984, both for the High and District Courts. In 1991 he was designated to exercise jurisdiction of a Youth Court Judge and in 1997 was warranted to Exercise the Criminal Jurisdiction of the District Court. During 1996 he was a Visiting Judicial Fellow of the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland. Since 2001 he has been a part-time lecturer in Law and Information Technology. During 2002 Judge Harvey has sat on the Editorial Board of Butterworths Technology Law Forum. Judge Harvey has been a member of Auckland District Law Society Sub-Committees and the Judicial Information Consultative Committee.

In 1980 Judge Harvey won the TVNZ Mastermind title and went on to win the International Mastermind title in 1985. His specialist topic was “The Lord of the Rings”. He is a published author of two books - Dragon Smoke and Magic Song, a book of children’s stories (1984) and The Song of Middle-Earth (1985).

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