[2010-11-17] - ACL Series – Part 2: Are your contracts enforceable?
The new Australian Consumer Law (ACL) prohibits standard form consumer contracts from containing terms which are deemed unfair. Such terms will be void and unenforceable.
[2010-11-11] - Asia Pacific Legal 500 recommends Blueprint Law
The 2010/2011 edition of Asia Pacific Legal 500, the legal industry’s peer review publication, has recommended Blueprint Law in the intellectual property as well as telecoms, media and technology areas of legal practice.
The Commercial Arbitration Act 2010 (New Act) came into force on 1 October 2010 and represents a major departure from the old Arbitration Act (1984) (Old Act). The New Act brings the domestic arbitration regime into line with the international arbitration regime.
[2010-10-11] - Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA): Tokyo round makes headway
The 11th and final round of negotiations on the ACTA took place in Tokyo this month. This round has lead to a significant breakthrough in the development of international standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights between member nations.
[2010-10-09] - Can you mislead by saying nothing? New authority provides clarity on section 52 Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (TPA)
A recent High Court decision has shed new light on the role that silence and non-disclosure play in relation to actions under section 52 TPA for misleading and deceptive conduct.
[2010-10-07] - Functions of NSW Fair Trading being transferred
The Business Names Register established under the Business Names Act 2002 (NSW) and the business licensing scheme are currently managed by NSW Fair Trading. From next year, this role will be taken out of the hands of state authorities in favour of a national system.
New
laws aimed at strengthening the investigative and punitive powers of the
Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) were introduced into Parliament on 29 September 2010.
[2010-08-27] - Use by advertisers of registered trade marks in Google AdWords: a good idea?
An important decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last month in the case of Portakabin Limited and Portakabin BV v Primakabin BV, has further clarified the question of liability in relation to the use of registered trade marks as part of ‘keywords’ used within Google’s AdWords service.
[2010-08-06] - Not the end of the road for Roadshow?
An appeal from the Federal Court decision of Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd handed down in February this year may go a little further in resolving the practical issues surrounding copyright infringement occurring through illegal movie downloads.
[2010-07-15] - Producer Offset Scheme for feature films
The Producer Offset scheme (Offset) was introduced in 2007 as a means of boosting the domestic film industry in Australia by providing a 40% rebate on qualifying production expenditure to production companies with qualifying feature film projects. The 40% rebate is also available for feature films produced as official co-productions but with different rules on calculating the Offset. For films that are not classified as feature films, such as television series and documentaries (also including official co-productions), the rebate is reduced to 20%. The Offset is administered by Screen Australia.
The new Australian Consumer Law (ACL) prohibits unfair terms in standard form consumer contracts. Such terms are void and unenforceable. This may have substantive undesirable consequences for the contract as a whole.
[2010-06-16] - Take genuine steps to resolve disputes
All potential litigants who wish to commence an action in the Federal Court or Federal Magistrates Court will soon be required to take genuine steps to resolve the issues they have before they commence court action.
[2010-04-01] - Australia joins the Hague Service Convention
Parties engaging in civil and commercial litigation in Australia now have available a more reliable, cost and time efficient method of serving and being served with judicial and extrajudicial documents in relation to disputes with overseas parties.
