Business Venture Competition: Mole ventures in copyright tussle

By PAULA OLIVER

A company which won $60,000 this week after being declared the joint winner of one of the country's top business competitions is locked in a copyright battle with a rival venture.

Lawyers for Mole Snap, whose melanoma detection device was labelled a "wonderful, exciting business idea" by the judges in the Great New Zealand Business Venture competition, were in the High Court at Auckland yesterday defending claims by the rival company.

It is understood Mole Snap is facing a challenge from the operators of an existing melanoma detection method launched by a group of dermatologists more than a year ago.

Two of Mole Snap's members are believed to have been involved with the previously launched technology, known as Molemap.

John Katz QC, representing Molemap, would only say yesterday that the dispute was an example of two groups developing the same technology.

He directed inquiries to dermatologist Elizabeth Baird, a director of Molemap, but she could not be contacted for comment.

Competition chief executive Bridget Wickham said judges had no idea a case was pending, but they still believed the winning idea had huge potential.

"Obviously we would love to see these things tidied up before it gets to this stage, but these little things do happen with start-up businesses when people are in a rush to get going," she said.

The prizemoney, handed out on Tuesday night, would remain with Mole Snap.

Other competition entrants contacted by the Business Herald said they were not aware of the legal dispute.

The Mole Snap team is made up of engineer Adrian Bowling, dermatologist Mark Gray and accountant Rob Nichol. They refused media interviews after winning the competition, citing commercial sensitivity.

Companies Office records show that Mr Bowling and Mr Gray were part of Molemap, along with Elizabeth Baird and fellow dermatologist Nicholas Birchall, when it began in 1997.

Competition media releases describe Mole Snap's entry as an innovative camera and supporting technologies that accurately screen for melanoma.

They claim that a client's visit to a general practitioner's clinic for a mole check would take no longer than 15 minutes and would cost half the price of visiting a specialist.

The existing Molemap technology takes 45 to 60 minutes and costs $175, according to its website.

Images, taken by a professional with experience in radiography or medical photography, are compared over time.

There are two Molemap clinics in Auckland and others in Whangarei, Tauranga, Hawkes Bay and Christchurch. Neither Mr Gray nor Mr Bowling could be reached for comment.

The Mole Snap team shared the Great New Zealand Business Venture award with Bookrite, a company that has developed real-time internet booking software for the tourism industry.

The Herald is one of several sponsors of the competition.