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Hot off the Press: the Federal Government announces reforms to Media Industry
13/3/2013
The Federal Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, yesterday announced the Government’s long-promised suite of reforms to media regulation.
The High Court Google Search Result: Google is not liable for Misleading or Deceptive Sponsored Links
6/2/2013
In its first judgment of the year, the High Court of Australia this morning unanimously allowed an appeal brought by Google against a decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court.
The Tweet Stops Here: US Court Determines that Users own their Tweets and Third Parties copy them at their Peril
23/1/2013
A US court has recently held two media organisations, Agence France Press (“AFP”) and The Washington Post, liable for copyright infringement for the unauthorised use of images which had been uploaded by a photojournalist onto his Twitter account. The photographer also has a claim against Getty Images which will be heard, along with some aspects of the claim against AFP and The Washington Post and determined by a jury at a later date.
PM all a-Twitter... Federal Government Announces Agreement with Major Social Networking Sites on Cyber Bullying
17/1/2013
Earlier today, the Federal Government announced that it had established a protocol targeting online anti-social behaviour such as cyber-bullying and “trolling”.
Royal Invasions: A Forum to Consider Australia’s Laws Relating to Breaches of Privacy
20/12/2012
The Royal Family are rarely far from the front end of a news bulletin and 2012 has proved no exception. It was not all that long ago that the publication of compromising photos of a ‘festive’ Prince Harry in Las Vegas raised for discussion the privacy rights of individuals, involving members of the Royal Family.
Getting the Deal Through
12/9/2012
Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research. This article was first published in Getting the Deal Through - e-Commerce 2013
Gambling Law & Regulation - August 2012
17/8/2012
This issue of Addisons’ Gambling Law & Regulation newsletter is issued in connection with the Australasian Gaming Expo and Gaming, Racing and Wagering Australia 2012 Conference.
High Court Googles Itself: Google Granted Special Leave to Appeal Finding That it is Liable for Misleading Search Results
22/6/2012
The High Court of Australia today has granted special leave to Google, Inc to appeal the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court which found Google liable for publishing misleading search engine results.
Sub Judice Contempt 2.0: When and How a Court May Make Orders Requiring Online Content Hosts to Remove Material From Their Websites in Order to Prevent Prejudice to the Administration of Justice
15/6/2012
In its judgment delivered this week in Fairfax Digital v District Court the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal explored the limits of orders made under section 7 of the Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act on the grounds set out in section 8(1)(a), namely that such an order is necessary to prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice.
Convergence Review: Delivering Single Platform Simplicity or Simply More Regulation Under a Different Name? - Summary of the Final Report of the Convergence Review Committee
1/5/2012
On 30 April 2012, The Australian Government publicly released the Final Report of the Convergence Review. After considering in excess of 340 detailed submissions, participating in public forums across Australia and meeting with media industry representatives, the Convergence Review Committee has proposed fundamental changes to how the Australian media is regulated as it moves further into the digital age – the so called age of convergence.
Optus TV Now No More: AFL and NRL Copyright Appeal Succeeds
27/4/2012
The Full Federal Court has overturned the decision of Justice Rares delivered on 1 February 2012 which legitimised the time shifting recording technology used by Optus’ “TV Now” service. TV Now allowed Optus subscribers to record and watch free to air television coverage on their mobile and other devices.
ACMA’s Ruling on Kyle Sandilands – Toothless Tiger or the Kitten Who Roared?
5/4/2012
Last week, the Chairman of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), Chris Chapman, took the unusual step of holding a press conference to announce the findings of the ACMA’s investigation into complaints made about on air comments broadcast by Kyle Sandilands on 2DayFM in November 2011. The ACMA found that the licensee of 2DayFM had breached clause 1.3(c) of the Commercial Radio Codes of Conduct which requires the licensee not to broadcast content which would offend generally accepted standards of decency. The ACMA found that Sandilands’ comments about a female journalist, including calling her a “fat slag” and saying “watch your mouth or I’ll hunt you down” were deeply derogatory, offensive and out of line with community standards. However, the ACMA investigation found that the comments did not breach other provisions of the code relating to inciting contempt or serious ridicule on the grounds of gender, or inciting violence.
Gambling Law & Regulation - April 2012
5/4/2012
This is an expanded edition of Addisons’ Gambling Law & Regulation Newsletter. It contains articles on current gambling issues, ranging from summaries of the current position relating to the regulation in Australia of pre-commitment in connection with gaming machines to the aftermath of last week’s High Court decisions relating to the constitutional validity of the race fields regime.
Federal Court decision on search engine marketing: sponsored links may be misleading but advertisers have only themselves to blame
17/10/2011
On 22 September 2011, Nicholas J in the Federal Court of Australia handed down his long awaited decision on search engine marketing in Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Trading Post Australia Pty Ltd [2011] FCA 1086.
Competition & Consumer Quarterly
17/10/2011
In this edition:
* Food Industry Beware - ACCC drawn to misleading and deceptive conduct like a bee to honey
* Federal Court decision on search engine marketing: sponsored links may be misleading but advertisers have only themselves to blame
* Slimming spray sales representations stopped overseas
Knock, knock. Who's there? - ACCC imposes infringement notices and accepts undertaking from a door-to-door sales company in respect of misleading representations made during in-home presentations
* ACCC issues surprising statistics about the first six months of the new mandatory reporting requirements under the product safety provisions of the Australian Consumer Law
Gambling Law and Regulation - September 2011
30/9/2011
In this edition:
* High Court Appeals in Sportsbet and Betfair
* Taxation Commissioner Ordered to Pay Multimillion Dollar Refunds to Australian Wagering Operator: Could You Benefit from the Federal Court Ruling Too?
* Federal Court Rules in Favour of Betbox: The End of Retail Exclusivity?
* DBCDE Reviews the IGA: Will the Federal Government Change the Law on Online Gaming?
* NSW Law Reform Commission Proposes New Laws on Cheating in Sport
* Copyright in Databases: Australia's High Court Refuses to Grant Telstra Special Leave. What does this Mean for Wagering Operators?
Going private: Government releases Invasion of Privacy Issues Paper
27/9/2011
On Friday, 23 September 2011 the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC) released an Issues Paper, A Commonwealth Statutory Cause of Action for Serious Invasion of Privacy (Issues Paper), inviting submissions to assist the Commonwealth Government for its pending consideration of whether a statutory cause of action, that is, a right to sue, for breach of privacy should be introduced in Australia.
English Court of Appeal the Sub Editor’s friend - A Finding in favour of copyright in newspaper headlines
25/8/2011
The recent decision of the English Court of Appeal in Meltwater Holdings BV & Ors v Newspaper Licensing Agency & Ors [2011] EWCA Civ 890 indicates a more generous attitude by the British Courts towards the authors of newspaper headlines than has recently been the case in Australia.
Rights and reputation in product look and feel - Full Federal Court finds that the sale of similar looking coffee plungers is misleading and deceptive and constitutes passing off
25/8/2011
Owners of distinctive and well known homewares and similar products can take great comfort from this month’s Full Federal Court decision in Bodum v DKSH Australia Pty Limited [2011] FCAFC 98.
Australia – Trade Marks - Protecting Intellectual Property: Seizure by Australian Customs of Goods that Infringe Australian Trade Marks
9/3/2010
Counterfeit goods are becoming available increasingly in many jurisdictions around the globe, including Australia, thereby depriving rights owners of significant income derived from their creative endeavours. In many circumstances, goods are brought into Australia without regard to Australian intellectual property rights. For Australian trade mark owners, a simple procedure is available under the Trade Marks Act which provides a practical and useful avenue to protect their trade marks. This involves working with the Australian Customs Service (Customs) to seize potentially infringing goods upon importation.
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