A doyen of NZ literature has compared plagiarism to drug cheating in sport because of the unfair advantage it gives over contemporaries.

CK Stead has criticised Auckland University for minimising the seriousness of the Witi Ihimaera plagiarism controversy.

Most copies of Witi Ihimaera's The Trowenna Sea, which contains plagiarised passages, are set to be taken off bookstore shelves.

Author Witi Ihimaera was last night presented with a prestigious arts award - a week after he was caught up in a plagiarism row.

Witi Ihimaera has been named an Arts Foundation laureate and will receive a $50,000 award - days after admitting plagiarism in his new book.

Britons who illegally download music from the internet also spend more money on music than anyone else, according to a new study.

A trademark used by some of Maoridom's elite artists will be scrapped, a move criticised by some of those who set it up.

Apple has mounted a legal challenge against retailer Woolworths over its corporate logo claiming it is too similar to its own trademark.

A top European designer says he's shocked and amazed that a motif almost identical to one that he designed has ended up on a Trelise Cooper top.

Fashion Week ends on an embarrassing note for Trelise Cooper with one of her designs identical to that at a British chain store.

Global Gaming Factory X's planned takeover of torrent tracking site The Pirate Bay could be on the skids, with reports of significant debts and a halt on trading its shares.

Fitness clubs are up in arms over a feared 40-fold increase in copyright charges for music at aerobics lessons and other classes.

Investigator hired to patrol public areas and report people playing music without paying licence fees.