News

Copyright in compilations and databases - "more than just numbers"
A recent decision of the Federal Court re-iterates the difficult path copyright owners must take to protect commercially valuable compilations and databases.
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Lessons from the United States - Green building alarm bells
To date, there does not appear to be any useful case authority in Australia that deals directly with the legal consequences of a failure to achieve a green rating or a failure to comply with "green obligations" in a commercial construction project. For the time being we can draw upon a recent case in the United States dealing with green building risk.
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Proposed 'Plain English' disclosure requirements for franchisors
The expert panel appointed by the government to report on strengthening the unconscionable conduct provisions in the Trade Practices Act and further regulation of the franchising sector issued its report on 3 March 2010. Its a mixture of good and bad news for franchisors.
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Risk management in contracts as it relates to insurance
An often overlooked part of contract negotiation is the area of risk management as it related to insurance. Sometimes, template contract precedents are rolled out for the procurement of goods or services without much consideration being given to the inclusion of appropriate provisions dealing with insurance.
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Will challenge by neighbour succeeds
A neighbour was awarded $200,000 out of an estate valued at $1.7 million, in the recent Supreme Court case of Unger v Sanchez.
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States refer IR law making powers
All states (excluding Western Australia) are now covered by Federal industrial laws. This has significant consequences for sole traders, partnerships and trusts operating businesses in states which previously had their own independent system of industrial laws.
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Live music industry hits accord with State Government
Live music venues have made some progress in their efforts to soften the application of liquor licensing laws through the signing of an accord with the State Government.
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Purchasing a business? Don't forget to transfer your customer and supplier contracts
One of the most important considerations when a business is being sold is the treatment of its existing contracts with customers and suppliers. However, this tends to be an issue that purchasers do not pay sufficient attention to getting right.
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Company directors to have more protection
The Federal Government reforms to Australia's corporate insolvency legislation in 2010 will have some additional protections for company directors.
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Plant Breeder's Rights - growing from strength to strength
Plant Breeder’s Rights (“PBR”) are a distinct category of intellectual property rights available to owners of new plant varieties. Following a recent review of PBR enforcement in Australia it is likely that the rights of PBR owners will grow from strength to strength, increasing the commercial value of investing in plant breeding.
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Bullied to death
A recent and horrifying example of workplace bullying is that of a 19 year old café worker Brodie Panlock who was, in the words of a newspaper headline, "bullied to death".
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Retailers haggle for a better modern award
Retailers have recently succeeded in achieving a number of important amendments to the modern Retail Award. While the modern Retail Award does continue to place limitations on how employees are able to work within a business, a number of flexibilities have now been incorporated into this key area.
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Copyright infringement - Slipping through the iiNet
The widely reported iiNet case has significant ramifications in relation to the concept of being deemed to have "authorised" copyright infringement. In this article we review the implications of the case on not just ISPs, but other providers of online services which permit users to communicate and share content.
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Corporate Governance and family business
Two thirds of the 2 million businesses in Australia are family owned. Directors of family businesses can struggle with the complexity of corporate governance which in recent times has resulted in greater responsibilities. Family Business Australia presents the first ever Family Business Directors Course.
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Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement shuts shop on supermarket pharmacies
The Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement has been finalised, and will take effect from 1 July 2010. The Federal Government has agreed to maintain the ban on supermarkets operating pharmacies within their stores, but at the expense of a $1b funding cut.
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