Latest publications
An IP Health Check could save the life of your business
The heart of your business may well be its intellectual property (“IP”). IP is simply the legal property in the innovation in your business and it is that innovation which drives your revenue and profit growth. Your IP needs a regular health check. It should be identified and protected so that the…
Do we have to do what we are paid to do?
In Oliver Stone’s film Platoon, we see the experience of a young recruit in Vietnam. His sergeant reinforces his intolerance for any deviation from the command and control management system at the core of the military in a conflict zone thus: “Now, I got no fight with any man who does what he’s told…
The Hunger Games have arrived: HR are now the hunted!
One of the purposes of someone forming a company is to enable an enterprise to trade to the extent of the resources of the company. The intention of this structure is to allow people to start an enterprise — be innovative — and if it doesn’t work, to be able to…
Trade mark quality control sorts the geese from the turkeys
In Brief The recent decision of the Full Federal Court in Lodestar Anstalt v Campari America LLC [2016] FCAFC 92 means that it is now not enough to simply have the existence of quality control provisions in a trade mark licence. The licensor has an additional obligation to actively monitor the performance…
Penalties in Contracts
Penalties in Contracts The basic principle of Australian contract law is freedom of contract. However, like freedom in general, freedom of contract is subject to limitations. One such limitation is that a provision in a contract that seeks to impose a penalty on a contracting party, is not enforceable. What is a penalty? In its basic…
Minimising employer redundancy obligations
A provision exists in the Fair Work Act, which enables employers to apply to the Fair Work Commission to minimise their statutory redundancy obligations to staff whom they retrench. The basis for such an application (which is made under s. 120 of the Act) is that the employer has found…
A Messi Patchwork of Image Rights
In Brief In the wake of international football star Lionel Messi’s recent fine and jail sentence associated with the earnings from his image rights, some may be curious as to whether image rights exist in Australia. In simple terms, image rights as they apply in Europe or the USA do…
ASX is making listing more difficult for SMEs
In Brief An ASX Media Release on 12 May 2016 set out a number of changes, both immediate and proposed, to the admission requirements to the official ASX list. The changes are intended to “maintain and strengthen the reputation” of the ASX. However one of the side effects is that the…
Inheritances in Family Law
Say you have recently separated and no property or financial settlement has yet been finalised. You have a very elderly great aunt who is wealthy and to whom you have always been close. Your former de facto partner or spouse now wants you and/or your great aunt to produce the Will…
Cannabis and Family Law
Cannabis. Marijuana. Pot, Dope. Mull. Yarndi. These are all names for the most commonly used illegal drug in Australia[1]. Pursuant to the Department of Health’s general factsheets on cannabis[2], some of the physical effects of using marijuana may include drowsiness, temporary loss of memory, risk taking behaviour and an impaired…