by Mark Johnson | Jul 7, 2012 | Uncategorised
In a judgment handed down on 20 April 2012 in Roadshow Films v iiNet, the High Court unanimously found that iiNet did not breach copyright when its customers carried out illegal downloading via their iiNet accounts because, while iiNet may have known of the illegal downloading, it did not “authorize” that conduct by its customers. Well, of course it didn’t and the Court, which, with great respect, is made up of eminently sensible men and women with better than room temperature IQs was not fooled for a moment by the tortured arguments advanced by the copyright owners.
So, the copyright owners continue in a terrible flap about illegal downloading. … Read More
by Sara Burnheim | Jun 30, 2012 | Uncategorised
Relocation is a term used in family law proceedings when one parent wants to change where they live and take the children with them. For the Court to determine whether the children can move with that parent to a location sometimes hundreds of kilometers away from the other parent, the Court needs to consider many issues. One of the primary considerations that they take into account is whether the children can still continue to have a meaningful relationship with the other parent.
The recent decision of Lorreck & Watts [2012] FamCAFC 75 is one such case whereby the mother wanted to move from Canberra to Cairns and the Court had to determine whether this would be in the best interests of the children.… Read More
by Lesley McDonnell | Jun 23, 2012 | Uncategorised
The NSW Treasurer has announced changes to State taxes and grants which are being heralded as “the most generous scheme in Australia”. Let us examine three key changes.
Firstly, from 1 July 2012, the New Home Grant of $5,000 will be provided to buyers of new homes, whether off the plan or newly built, up to the value of $650,000. The same grant will be available to buyers of vacant land up to the value of $450,000 upon which a new home is to be built. This incentive is open to non-first home buyers and investors alike.
A new home is a home that has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, and includes a home that is a substantially renovated home.… Read More
by Clint Coles | Jun 16, 2012 | Uncategorised
What happens if you enter into a contract on the basis of some representation made by the other party, and you later find that representation to be untrue?
If the representation is included as a term of the contract, the remedy is straightforward, as an action for breach of that contractual provision will usually lie.
If the representation was not included as a term of the contract, but instead existed as a statement made prior to, and separate from, the contract document, the legal rights arising are a little more complicated.
If a false statement is made about a material fact and the purpose of that statement was to induce the other party into entering the contract, then the principal of misrepresentation arises.… Read More
by Mark Johnson | Jun 9, 2012 | Uncategorised
The starting point is that restraint of trade clauses are prima facie invalid because they infringe public policy, which holds, quite understandably, that a person should not be able to stand in the way of another person earning a living.
However, under the Restraints of Trade Act 1976 (NSW), a restraint clause will not be invalid if it was reasonable in all the circumstances at the time that it was made.
When deciding the validity of a restraint clause, the Court will ask whether the person seeking to impose the restraint (usually an employer or the incoming purchaser of a business) has a legitimate interest to protect and whether the restraint amounts to reasonable protection of that interest.… Read More
by Rebecca Greenland | Jun 2, 2012 | Business
Have you developed a great product, logo, brand, design or process? Are you a wannabe “inventor”? Do you have a unique target market?
If this description fits you or your business, you should be considering intellectual property (IP) protection.
IP protection comes in various forms, depending on what you are wanting to protect:
Trademark: a valuable marketing tool which identifies your “brand”. Commonly used to protect a word, logo, letter, number, phrase, picture or shape (but can extend to sound and smell too!). By registering a trademark, you have a legally enforceable right to exclusive use of the trademarked item.… Read More
by Jessica Simmonds | May 26, 2012 | Employment
There are a number of valid reasons to terminate employment. These include:
Capacity
Capacity relates to the employee’s ability to perform the inherent requirements of the job. To rely upon capacity as a reason for termination, the core duties of a position should be compared against the employee’s ability to perform those duties. Evidence should exist to attest to the lack of capacity, and reasonable alternatives considered to termination.
Conduct
Reasons related to conduct can range from serious contraventions of workplace health and safety obligations to serious misconduct. There must be evidence that the conduct occurred. You should then assess whether termination is fair or whether a lesser form of disciplinary action is more appropriate.… Read More
by Jennifer Blissett | May 19, 2012 | Family
An application was made before the District Court of NSW in late 2011 to trace the name of the biological father with the name of a former lesbian partner of the birth mother.
This application was made by a former lesbian partner of the mother of a ten year old child. The former partner and the mother chose to have a child by artificial insemination. The mother and the former partner met the sperm donor via a newspaper advertisement. The mother was inseminated. A child was born thereafter. The sperm donor was registered on the child’s birth certificate. Indeed, the sperm donor had a close relationship with the child and contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the child’s welfare.… Read More
by Mark Grady | May 12, 2012 | General
Privilege in legal circles or legal professional privilege is a lawyer and client’s right to maintain confidences.
This means that any oral or written communication between a client and his or her solicitor cannot be disclosed. This has the effect of allowing the client to be open and frank with his or her solicitor without fear of incriminating themselves.
This right of a client is protected by both legislation and the common law. The Evidence Act 1995 provides that a confidential communication between a client, lawyer and/or third party is privileged, if the communication was bought into existence for the dominant purpose of providing legal advice and/or litigation.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | May 5, 2012 | Business, Superannuation
Many business owners involve their self managed superannuation funds (“SMSF”) in their business as owner of or part owner of their business premises.
There can be benefits in doing this but there are also costs associated particularly with –
- transferring the asset into the SMSF; and
- the complex ongoing compliance regime for SMSFs
In the past month I have come across good examples of both points.
A client had heard of the benefits of transferring his business premises into his SMSF and better still, that it could be done for only $50 stamp duty. As usual, the devil is in the detail.… Read More
