Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Les technologies de l’information et de la communication impactent largement de nombreuses branches du droit. Le droit des obligations n’y fait pas exception et de nombreux contrats sont désormais conclus en ligne, quel que soit le terminal utilisé. Le recours à ce moyen de communication n’est pas sans influence sur la perfection du contrat, en particulier sur les modes d’expression de la volonté dans l’univers numérique. En effet, ce dernier offre de vastes perspectives en termes d’instantanéité, d’immatérialité et d’automatisation de l’expression du consentement contractuel, conduisant à s’interroger sur la validité des contrats formés par voie électronique. L’observation des pratiques qui se sont installées sur l’internet permet de mesurer aujourd’hui le net impact du numérique sur l’expression du consentement contractuel, c’est-à-dire sur les volontés des internautes cocontractants, ainsi que sur le mécanisme de rencontre de celles-ci. Les volontés individuelles se sont ainsi vues soumises à un processus constitué d’une série d’étapes obligatoires, supposées limiter les cas dans lesquels la perfection de la convention interviendrait par erreur. Ce découpage ouvre toutefois la voie à l’automatisation de l’expression des volontés et de leur rencontre, annonçant alors l’ère de contrats conclus voire exécutés en un trait de temps grâce aux récentes avancées de l’intelligence artificielle appliquée au domaine juridique. La traditionnelle dichotomie entre formation et exécution du contrat révèle alors ses limites, et la théorie de l’autonomie de la volonté, envisagée comme seul fondement de la force obligatoire du contrat, se heurte à l’apparition de modes inédits d’expression du consentement.

This chapter identifies major categories of situations, events and institutions in which or through which questions of international investment law have been dealt with before African courts. The chapter is selective in nature and aims at showing tendencies instead of exhaustivity. A noteworthy tendency that becomes apparent through the chapter’s analysis is that the prevailing narrative of bypassing African courts and tribunals seems declining in importance as an increasing number of national investment law instruments foresee African judicial and arbitral institutions for the settlement of investment disputes.

This article engages with the recently adopted agreement for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in the area of services. While services trade had heretofore stood at the queue of African trade pacts, the AfCFTA breaks new grounds by negotiating goods and services concurrently, signalling a paradigm shift and a commitment to a deeper integration of the continent. Upon Members’ implementation of the Protocol on Trade in Services, whose aim is to establish a single market in services, the region will be the largest economic integration agreement ever concluded since the birth of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This paper sets out to analyse the provisions of the Protocol and how they contribute to achieving the objective of attaining a single market where services (alongside goods, people and capital) move unrestricted.

The Competition Act 89 of 1998 applies equally to all firms with regard to anti-competitive behaviour regardless whether it is privately or publicly owned. Therefore it applies to stateowned enterprises (SOEs) if their actions fall short of the Act. There is however one aspect relating to SOEs which is not covered by the application of the Competition Act but may have a significant impact on free and fair competition and can be of big concern for private competitors of SOEs. Since discriminatory policies during Apartheid have created a huge inequality gap in post-Apartheid South Africa, the government has to be actively involved in the economy to address the inequality. Therefore the government uses SOEs as vehicles to achieve its developmental goals. As a result SOEs in South Africa which are active market participants may always rely on the financial support of the state. They may do so purely because of their crucial governmental mandates regardless of financial mismanagement, poor corporate governance and deep seated corruption in almost every SOE. Even though the fundamental need for the existence of SOEs in South Africa is acknowledge, it is argued that state financial aid could qualify as a state-initiated constraint on competition in South Africa as it creates an uneven playing field between SOEs and their private competitors, which is always skewed in favour of the SOEs. It may create warped incentives and SOEs may not compete efficiently if they know that they are protected by a state sponsored safety net. This dissertation asks the question whether the time has not arrived in South Africa for state aid to SOEs to be subjected to a certain degree of scrutiny in order to bring about a level playing field between SOEs and their private competitors. It is recognised that privatisation of SOEs is not always the better option as it could threaten the delivery of basic services and goods to poorer South Africans. Hence, the dissertation investigates whether a state aid control model, based on the European Union state aid rules, is not perhaps a solution to address the potential distortion of free and fair competition by state financial aid. It proposes a customised state aid control regime for South Africa which provides for an active role by the competition authorities in state aid decisions and it presents draft legislation which could be used as a basis for the implementation in South Africa of a regulated system of state financial aid to SOEs (and even private enterprises where applicable).

La réflexion sur les fonctions pénales du paiement au Cameroun présente un double intérêt. En effet, ce mode d’exécution de l’obligation quel que soit l’objet apparaît d’une part comme un moyen d’arrêt des poursuites non encore engagées notamment devant certaines administrations spécialisées et devant un agent verbalisateur lorsque l’infracteur exécute l’obligation de paiement. En outre, il permet d’arrêter les poursuites déjà engagées. Il en est ainsi du paiement intervenu dans le cadre de la transaction et de la restitution du corps du délit. D’autre part, le paiement apparaît comme un mode d’exécution de la peine. Cette exécution peut être volontaire dans le cadre du paiement des dommages et intérêts et du paiement des amendes et frais de justice ; ou forcée. L’exécution forcée prive le condamné de sa liberté d’aller et venir. The reflection on the criminal functions of payment in Cameroon presents a double interest. Indeed, this mode of execution of the obligation whatever the object appears on the one hand as a means of stopping the prosecutions not yet initiated in particular before certain specialized administrations and before a reporting agent when the offender executes the 'payment obligation. In addition, it makes it possible to stop the proceedings already initiated. This is the case with the payment made in the context of the transaction and the restitution of the body of the crime. On the other hand, payment appears as a mode of execution of the sentence. This execution may be voluntary in the context of the payment of damages and the payment of fines and court costs; or forced. The forced execution deprives the condemned of his freedom to come and go.

L’assurance pour le compte de qui il appartiendra en abrégée assurance pour compte ou clause pour compte est une modalité de transfert de la qualité d’assuré au tiers. Ce tiers qui est devenu assuré pour compte connait une situation normale. Il peut accepter ou refuser la clause pour compte Il peut connaître aussi et surtout une situation anormale. Celle-ci est créée non seulement par le législateur, mais également par le souscripteur et l’assureur fictif ou en difficulté. The insurance on behalf for another or insurance for another or clause for another is a method of transfer of the quality of ensured to the third party. This third party who became the assured person faces the normal situation. He can accept or refuse the clause for another. he can also face an uncomfortable situation. This one is created not only by the legislator, but also by the subscriber and the fictitious insurer or in difficulty.

The last few years have been marked by the increase in power of IFRS international accounting standards. From the full or partial adoption to the gradual convergence, many countries have displayed a strong preference for these standards. Meanwhile, the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS standard) in the context of developing countries is not trivial. We are witnessing an unprecedented clash between the authors who support the interest of these standards for developing countries, and those who conversely demonstrate that these norms are not well adapted to the context of those countries. Falling within this problematic, this thesis analyses the issues and determinants of the convergence of the Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA) accounting system towards IFRS international accounting standards in view of the reforms introduced by the last revision. From a sample of 10 companies, among which two local firms, two international firms, three publicly traded companies, and three not listed other companies, we show that the current convergence towards international accounting standards follows an effect of coercitive and mimetic isomorphism. In so doing, the timely implementation of these standards in the context of Cameroon is contingent with a number of structural and environmental factors that call their pertinence into question.

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L’objet de cette étude est d’analyser l’impact des caractéristiques de l’organisation comptable sur la qualité de l’information comptable et financière produite par les PME. Une analyse de régression logistique binaire, une régression linéaire simple et un test de khi-deux sur les données recueillies par administration du questionnaire auprès d’un échantillon de73 PME constitué par choix raisonné permettent, d’une part, de constater que les PME camerounaises mettent en place une organisation comptable aux fins de produire non seulement des informations comptables obligatoires, mais également des informations comptables destinées à leur propre usage. D’autre part, les conclusions empiriques de cette étude renseignent que le recours à un prestataire dans le cadre d’une externalisation de la fonction comptable et le degré d’informatisation de l’activité comptable influencent positivement et significativement la qualité de la production comptable et financière des PME. A contrario, la féminisation de la fonction comptable se trouve être une des caractéristiques de l’organisation comptable sans influence sur la qualité du produit comptable et financier des PME. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the characteristics of the accounting organization on the quality of the accounting and financial information produced by SMEs. A binary logistic regression analysis, a simple linear regression and a chi-square test on the data collected by administering a questionnaire from a sample of 73 SMEs constituted by reasoned choice allow, on the one hand, to observe that the SMEs Cameroonians are setting up an accounting organization in order to produce not only mandatory accounting information, but also accounting information intended for their own use. On the other hand, the empirical conclusions of this study show that the use of a service provider in the context of an outsourcing of the accounting function and the degree of computerization of the accounting activity positively and significantly influence the quality of accounting production. and finance for SMEs. Conversely, the feminization of the accounting function is found to be one of the characteristics of the accounting organization without influencing the quality of the accounting and financial product of SMEs.

On 1 July 2017, the Commission of the European Union (Commission) announced that investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) was dead. Apart from the fundamental public distrust of ISDS, its rejection by the European Union (EU) is a symptom of several underlying causes, the foremost of which is the need to protect the autonomy of the EU legal order and its right to regulate public policy objectives, as well as to avoid jurisdictional conflicts. With this backdrop EU state aid law, which enjoys public policy status, has emerged as a major example of the conflict between investor protection and the right to regulate. As state aid law imposes measures on the EU Member States that conflict with these states’ international obligations to foreign investors under bilateral investment treaties (BITs), they have become subject to claims and substantial liabilities. This dilemma can arise in any setting that involves the EU or one or more of its Member States. It also includes relations with non-EU countries, as the web of international investment agreements (IIAs) operates, in different forms, on an international scale. Therefore, this dilemma and the EU’s responses to it is analysed through the different forms in which EU state aid law appears, dependent on the EU investment policy aspect utilised as a platform for analysis. Utilising a doctrinal analysis by studying, discussing and analysing the impact of EU state aid law on the EU Member States’ BITs and EU Trade Agreements, this dissertation provides an insight into the function and logic behind international treaties involving the EU’s competition and investment policy. This is done by utilising the research question: How does the European Union (EU) state aid law affect the future of EU investment policy in a global context? Further, this thesis puts forward three arguments in which EU state aid law is affecting the future of EU investment policy in a global context. First, state aid law applies in the EU’s incorporation of clauses promoting fair competition and state aid policy in international trade agreements. Second, state aid law and policy has contributed to recent EU internal development, which led the EU Member States to terminate their bilateral agreements with each other (intra-EU BITs) by the end of 2019. Third, the EU has been working towards replacing the existing BITs between the EU’s Member States and third countries (extra-EU BITs) with the EU’s own trade agreements, which are aligned with EU legislation. Essentially, this thesis golden thread is a debate on who gets to decide on the scope of state aid law now and in the future. In other words, is it the EU that sets the borders and the status of state aid law and policy law regarding investment protection or the international investment tribunals by their legal practice? Hence, this thesis offers a glimpse of a conceivable future of EU investment policy in a global context. An analysis of the relevant literature, and observation of recent policy changes on its subject matter, as reflected in the Commission’s policy documents, the EU’s international agreements and declarations by the Member States, leads to the findings of this dissertation. A conflict situation that originated from legal conflicts within the EU, the EU experience of investment protection and state aid regarding intra-EU BITs, provided some lessons to learn for the EU organs. These lessons learned have found expression on a global scale. By incorporating fair competition and state aid policy in international trade the EU is reasserting that it is the EU that decides on state aid law and policy law regarding investment protection. Indeed, the EU is attempting to tame investment protection in such a way that fair competition and investment protection can peacefully coexist in international trade. Ultimately, the interplay of state aid and the EU’s investment policy within the internal market reflects on the external trade relations of both the Member States and the EU through this practice. Thus, state aid law affects and will continue to affect the future of EU investment policy in a global context.

Defining the applicable standards for proving and measurement of damages constitute one of the most significant issues under the law of damages. In principle, an aggrieved party, who claims compensation for damages based on contractual liability is responsible for showing the existence and the amount of losses suffered or to be suffered. Due to great importance of the issue, transnational instruments of contract law, such as UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC), Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) have set out, explicitly or implicitly, special standards such as reasonable certainty, reasonably likely to occur and so on for proving damages; By contrast, the Iranian laws and regulations including the Civil Code do not set out such standards. The legal scholarship and jurisprudence have also failed to address the issue. Therefore, a comparative study of the issue with particular look at international instruments and arbitral awards could provide a reliable source of guidance. This paper analyzes the general and specific standards for proving damages and those situations that fall outside of ambit of the standards such as late payment damages. By doing so, the paper tries to open the debate in Iranian law. یکی از موضوعات قابل توجه در حوزه حقوق خسارت، تعیین استانداردهای قابل اعمال برای اثبات خسارات و میزان آن­ها است. علی القاعده، زیان‌دیده­ای که به استناد مسئولیت قراردادی برای مطالبه خسارت اقامه دعوی می­کند، بایستی اصل و میزان خسارتی را که متحمل شده یا خواهد شد، به اثبات برساند. نظر به اهمیت موضوع، اسناد فراملی مربوط به حقوق قراردادها از جمله اصول قراردادهای تجاری بین­المللی، اصول حقوق قراردادهای اروپا و پیش­نویس طرح مشترک مرجع، به صورت صریح یا ضمنی، استانداردهای مشخصی مانند قطعیت متعارف، وقوع محتمل متعارف و غیره را برای اثبات خسارت پیش­بینی کرده­اند. در مقابل، مقررات موضوعه ایران از جمله قانون مدنی؛ چنین استانداردهایی را تنظیم ننموده و موضوع نیز مورد بررسی حقوقدانان و رویه قضایی قرار نگرفته است. بنابراین، مطالعه تطبیقی موضوع با نگاهی ویژه بر اسناد بین­المللی و آرای داوری می‌تواند منبع قابل اتکایی برای طرح بحث باشد. این مقاله، استانداردهای عام و خاص اثبات اصل خسارت و میزان آن و نیز مواردی مثل خسارت تأخیر تأدیه را که خارج از قلمرو شمول این استانداردها هستند، مورد تحلیل قرار می­دهد و در نهایت تلاش دارد تا باب بحث را در حقوق ایران بگشاید.

La recherche a essayé d’affiner les phénomènes juridiques de la libéralisation des biens et des services, dite de première génération, en faveur d’une politique d’intégration économique régionale, sous l’emprise de la mondialisation, afin d’établir la Communauté économique de l’ASEAN. Cependant, la question de l’existence des règles substantielles de droit est sous-estimée au regard des juristes internationaux, et est pertinente pour l’Association ; autrement dit, l’ASEAN se fonde principalement sur le soft-law, ASEAN Way, qui a ralenti effectivement la réalisation de sa politique d’intégration économique. Afin de surmonter de ces défis, cette thèse a opté une approche de droit international public afin d’examiner le mécanisme d’élaboration des règles conventionnelles ainsi que non conventionnelles de cet Association. De plus, le droit international économique est également un choix méthodologique pour ce travail de recherche sur les questions techniques essentielles dans le processus de la création du marché unique de l’ASEAN. En résultat, nous avons découvert que le droit matériel de l’ASEAN est bien existé et continue à développer progressivement au sens propre du droit international. D’ailleurs, les mécanismes institutionnels administratifs ainsi que juridictionnels sont été observés dont leur fonctionnement est impliqué de manière pragmatique pour la mise en œuvre de ces règles matérielles en matière de la libre circulation des biens et services. Malgré que ces règles de droit connaissent les critiques tant à ses effectivité et efficacité à cause de sa caractère souple et non contraignant, l’harmonisation juridique sectorielle est achevée vers la direction de la construction du droit communautaire de l’ASEAN. En conclusion, la régionalisation économique de l’ASEAN se fonde effectivement sur son cadre juridique propre, en basant sur le pluralisme juridique et est conforme au droit international.

Il existe différents acteurs qui interviennent sur la place boursière CEMAC. Ces acteurs sont constitués de ceux qui ont un statut institutionnel et de ceux qui ont un statut des commerciaux. Parmi ces divers intervenants, une place de choix a été réservée aux intervenants commerciaux qui jouent des rôles importants dans le circuit de l’activité boursière. Les émetteurs, en tant que personnes morales de droit privé ou public, sont ceux qui offrent au public des Valeurs Mobilières ou autres produits de placement négociables ouvrant des droits à leur encontre. Lorsqu’ils procèdent à une opération par appel public à l’épargne, ils sont tenus de produire un document dénommé « Document d’Information ». Celui-ci doit contenir l’ensemble des éléments nécessaires sur le patrimoine, la situation financière, les résultats, les perspectives de l’émetteur et les droits attachés aux titres offerts. Il doit suffisamment préciser les caractéristiques des titres dont l’admission est demandée, le pourcentage en capital et en droit de vote qu’ils représentent et la répartition du capital avant et après l’opération. Tous ces éléments permettent aux investisseurs de fonder leurs jugements sur le patrimoine de l’émetteur, par voie de conséquence protégé son consentement. L’investisseur, quant à lui, est toute personne, physique ou morale, qui souscrit aux titres financiers émis par un émetteur. Il est lié à l’émetteur par un contrat d’investissement. Leurs droits à la protection se justifient en ce sens qu’ils confient la destinée d’une quote-part de leur patrimoine à la société émettrice. Or, il est naturel que celui qui donne mandat d’administrer un bien obtienne un compte-rendu de gestion aussi exact et fidèle que possible. On voit mal comment un investisseur mettra son fond dans une société sans être informé. Toutes ces personnes ont besoin d’un minimum d’information d’ordre juridique, économique ou financier pour défendre leurs intérêts catégoriels.

En décembre 2010, l'entreprenant faisait son apparition dans le droit des affaires de I'OHADA. L'AUDCG présente ce nouvel acteur comme un entrepreneur individuel qui, sur simple déclaration, exerce une activité civile, commerciale, artisanale ou agricole. C'est un professionnel qui exerce, en son nom propre, une activité civile ou commerciale. Comparativement aux autres entrepreneurs individuels, il est censé bénéficier de facilités aussi bien dans ses démarches administratives que dans ses obligations. C'est en s’inspirant de l'auto-entrepreneur (désormais appelé micro-entrepreneur) qui a connu un grand succès en France que le législateur africain a créé ce statut particulier. Il espère par ce moyen, séduire les opérateurs du secteur informel et les inciter à se formaliser. Pres d'une décennie après l'adoption du nouveau statut, très peu de pays de I'OHADA l'ont rendu opérationnel et, contrairement à l'auto-entrepreneur français, il est loin de susciter l'engouement des opérateurs du secteur informel. A cause de son accès conditionné et des innombrables règles auxquelles il oblige à se soumettre, ce statut est loin d'être avantageux pour des personnes habituées à I 'informalité.

La communauté maritime apparaît peuplée d'acteurs qui interviennent autour du navire mais aussi qui interagissent pour sa vente, sa future exploitation, et ses performances de navigation. Ces opérateurs sont stimulés par les enjeux logistiques et financiers, d'où cette diversité des recours qui démontre la complexité des liens concernant les contrats attachés au navire, depuis sa construction, sa vente jusqu'à sa mise en exploitation. Le constructeur naval est l'opérateur clé dans ce domaine. Les obligations du chantier naval, déjà lourdement obéré par le régime procédural de la garantie des vices cachés, sont multiples et contraignantes si bien qu'il est tenu de garantir la navigabilité du navire depuis sa recette jusqu'à son exploitation. La subtilité du régime juridique du navire réside dans son statut réel si particulier qui emprunte des règles issues à la fois du droit spécial et du droit commun si bien que le cadre contractuel révèle le particularisme du droit maritime. Ainsi, le navire représente une opération de grande envergure car il fait l'objet de grands enjeux économiques et financiers. L'on observe que le navire est plus sophistiqué, plus onéreux, et par conséquent, les opérations qui en découlent sont sources de litiges fastidieux qui appellent à des mécanismes procéduraux complexes dont les juridictions étatiques et arbitrales s'efforcent de maîtriser.

L'importance des secrets d'affaires dans l'essor de l'économie mondiale n'est plus à démontrer. Ils sont, selon les indicateurs les plus fiables, la partie la plus importante du patrimoine des sociétés qui détiennent les plus grandes fortunes du monde. Mais force est de constater que leur protection dans l'arbitrage commercial international est peu effective. Ils sont victimes de divulgations licites ou illicites qui les exposent. Pour une meilleure protection des secrets d'affaires durant une procédure arbitrale, des mesures correctives sont nécessaires. Ces mesures doivent concourir à redéfinir un cadre juridique pratique dont le fondement et la justification est la protection de l'information qui a une valeur commerciale et économique. Pour ce vaste chantier, la contribution des usagers et praticiens de l'arbitrage commercial international est indéniable mais celle des États est indispensable.

The Southern African Development Community's (SADC) colonial legacy which introduced foreign legal traditions and the consequences of the diversity heighten the urgency for unified commercial legislation to deal with cross-border disputes.Thus, the issue is whether the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) structure can serve as a possible model for the development of a uniform commercial law structure in the SADC .Despite the success of the OHADA, the author submits that the OHADA can only serve as a source of inspiration, or roadmap, providing guidance to the SADC drafters.The paper aims at demonstrating that the OHADA provides practical lessons for the development of a uniform commercial law structure in the SADC.The significance of this paper lies in the contributions it makes to the development of a commercial law structure in the SADC.

This thesis examines the impact of adoption of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) on two aspects of the operation of capital markets. Firstly, the impact of adoption of IFRS on financial reporting comparability, market liquidity, and cost of capital. Secondly, the impact of adoption of IFRS on seasoned equity offering (SEO) underperformance. To examine the impact of adoption of IFRS on financial reporting comparability, market liquidity, and cost of capital, the study used meta-analysis of empirical studies published since 2000. Meta-analysis provides an objective view of the empirical results, in contrast to narrative reviews, which offer subjective conclusions. From meta-analysis of 55 empirical studies with 1,259 effect sizes, the study finds that IFRS adoption has increased financial reporting comparability, market liquidity, and reduced cost of equity. For cost of debt, a decrease is observed only for voluntary adoption. The meta-regression analysis shows how the results differ across mandatory and voluntary adoption of IFRS and that the measurement choices, type of control variables, study design, and strength of empirical results explain the variation in the observed effect of adoption of IFRS. To examine the impact of adoption of IFRS on SEO underperformance the study analyses a large sample of SEOs from 51 countries over the period 1992-2017. Given that the empirical literature on SEOs has established that information asymmetry contributes to SEO underperformance, it is important to assess whether adoption of IFRS has reduced the uncertainties surrounding SEOs and, thus, subsequent underperformance. The study employs a control sample of non-IFRS adoption countries and applies a difference-in-difference (DiD) design to test for the incremental change for IFRS adoption countries over non-IFRS adoption countries. The study finds that SEO underperformance reduces for IFRS adopters relative to non-IFRS adopters in the post-adoption period. The reduction in SEO underperformance is influenced by increased disclosure, increased comparability, and number of accounting changes. The study also finds that the impact of adoption of IFRS on SEO underperformance exists only for firms in countries with strong enforcement, and is conditional on the implementation credibility of countries. The findings are robust to the application of a different measure of SEO underperformance. Overall, the study suggests that IFRS has had a positive impact on capital markets. However, increased disclosure, comparability, and credible implementation play important roles in realising the benefits of adoption of IFRS. Thus, policymakers of weak enforcement countries are encouraged to strengthen their institutional environment in order to reap the benefits that adoption of IFRS can provide to their capital market.

This study examines and critiques New Zealand intellectual property protection for industrial designs, taking into account that many New Zealand industrial design owners outsource manufacture of their designs to China. Industrial design, which refers to improving the aesthetics of products to increase their marketability, is evolving conceptually and practically. In New Zealand, copyright and registered design laws each protect, respectively, the visual expression and the “eye appeal” of an original design. As design practices evolve with advances in technology however, it is increasingly evident that industrial design is about more than just visual expression or “eye appeal”. Many designers are not focusing solely on product stylisation and decoration, but on the provision of a more holistic product experience for the consumer. The development process of industrial designs from concept to marketable product is also changing, with many New Zealand industrial design owners employing increasingly efficient design development strategies. The fast-paced, cost-effective infrastructure of China is often utilised by New Zealand businesses for the manufacture of industrial designs. This study therefore sought to determine how to appropriately protect New Zealand industrial designs, in light of: a. foreseeable advances in technology; and b. the fact that many New Zealand industrial designs are manufactured in China. To answer these questions, this study examined and analysed New Zealand’s copyright and registered design laws, taking into account not only existing protections, but also factors that are likely to be of significant relevance in the future, such as the impact on industrial design from developments in 3D printing and virtual reality. The Chinese intellectual property regime for industrial designs was also examined because China is a major trading partner and often, as noted, the locus of manufacture. The study included an empirical investigation, in the form of interviews with designers and design academics as well as legal practitioners specialising in intellectual property law. The input of the interviewees, together with the legal analysis, informed a series of suggestions and recommendations for New Zealand policy and its law-makers regarding how industrial design protection can be improved. A key finding of this study was that existing legal protections do not appropriately protect increasingly holistic designs, as well as new types of designs emerging from developing fields such as virtual reality. In assessing the appropriateness of protection, the interests of industrial design owners were balanced against the public interest in protecting the public domain. It is suggested that to achieve equilibrium copyright law should be expanded to protect design expressions for all senses. Moreover, new categories of copyright protected works should be introduced to accommodate emerging design. The definition of design in registered design law should also be reconceptualised in order to acknowledge new types of designs and evolving design practices. Industrial design owners who outsource manufacturing to China can protect their designs via copyright as well as design patent. However, enforcement of intellectual property protection is unsatisfactory in many areas of China. Therefore, New Zealand industrial design owners should also employ non-legal protection strategies. Interviews with successful businesses, in the course of the empirical investigation for this study, revealed that the leveraging of existing relationships of those with already established operations in China, and intentionally splitting an industrial design’s component parts for manufacture among several factories in different locations, are useful strategies to employ.