Full Court Parks Trial Judge’s Decision in Carpark Patent Fight

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Jasmine Jesty

In a recent update to a lengthy battle over car parking technology used by the City of Melbourne, SARB Management Group Pty Ltd (SARB) has scored a partial win over rival company Vehicle Monitoring Systems (VMS) on appeal in Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia. 

At

Equitable set-off: what kind of connection do two claims need?

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Cameron Charnley

A version of this case note originally featured in the Commercial Bar Association’s blog, ‘Commbar Matters’. A link to the original article can be found here.— — —

The New South Wales Court of Appeal, in a split decision, has allowed an appeal against a judgment granting equitable set-off. The Court’s decision

Surrogacy Changes in ACT Happening Now

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Stephen Page

In this video, Multi-Award Winning Surrogacy & Fertility Lawyer Stephen Page provides updates on the two current surrogacy changes happening in the ACT. The first change is amendments to ACT surrogacy laws and the second is a bill to regulate IVF practices in the ACT.

The post

New USPTO Guidelines on AI-Assisted Inventions Leave Many Questions Unanswered

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Jasmine Jesty

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued what it labeled as Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions [Docket No. PTO-P-2023-0043].1 Despite its name, the document provides little in the way of certainty that one could not garner from reviewing recent precedent addressing the issue of artificial intelligence (AI)

New role – NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal

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noreply@blogger.com (Mike Terceiro)

Very excited to have been appointed as a part time General Member of the Consumer and Commercial Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

Looking forward to working with the rest of the NCAT team in seeking to fulfil the objects of NCAT – namely to resolve proceedings justly,

Do we have healthy industry competition in Australia?

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Do we have healthy industry competition in Australia? Do we have the right regulatory framework? Damien Carrick speaks to the chairwoman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

Anne-Marie Hutchinson Memorial Lecture

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Stephen Page

I have been given the great honour today of talking about my friend and colleague, the late Anne-Marie Hutchinson, OBE QC (Hons).

Speaking at the tail end of this meeting, I have to keep this interesting!

I am not going to talk at first about Anne-Marie, but two other inspirational

Battle of the Bags: UNIQLO Sues SHEIN in Japan Over Viral Handbag Dupe

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Jasmine Jesty

In January 2024, UNIQLO CO., LTD. (UNIQLO) announced that it had filed a lawsuit before the Tokyo District Court against Roadget Business Pte. Ltd., Fashion Choice Pte. Ltd., and SHEIN Japan Co., Ltd. (collectively, SHEIN Parties). UNIQLO alleges that the SHEIN Parties have infringed Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act

Judging the judges – Stradford a pseudonym v Judge Vasta [2023] FCA 1020

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noreply@blogger.com (Mike Terceiro)

Check out my recent video presentation entitled “Judging the judges – Stradford a pseudonym v Judge Vasta [2023] FCA 1020”. In this video I look at Justice Wigney’s Federal Court decision in which he found Judge Vasta, the Commonwealth and the State of Queensland liable for false imprisonment and ordered

Victoria overhauls property tax laws

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Several changes to Victoria’s property tax laws have been made after the State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023 received royal assent in December.

Vacant residential land tax (VLRT)

From 1 January 2025, VRLT will be expanded to apply to all residential land across the state that has

Govt closes loopholes in workplace laws

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There have been changes to workplace relation laws as the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 received royal assent in December.

Part one of the bill has been passed, with changes coming into effect from December onwards. Part two will be debated in early 2024.

Changes to the

South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The International Court of Justice has held the first public hearings in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. And there’s concern over the New Zealand government plan to wind back the principles of the country’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi.

High tech solutions to age-old crime of livestock theft

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

‘Facial recognition for cows’, GPS animal tags and DNA testing represent some of the technology being developed to help investigate and solve livestock theft and other farm-related crimes. This episode first aired in February 2023.

Justice, but not in my language: Aboriginal interpreter shortage in NT courts

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Lawyers in the Northern Territory say the shortage of Indigenous interpreters has become so critical that it’s significantly contributing to the over-representation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system. This is the first in a two-part special investigation into the impact of interpreter shortages in Australian courts.

Singing to the Sea

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

One year has passed since the Federal Court confirmed native title over more than 40,000 square kilometres of sea country in the Torres Strait region. For the first time the claim brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to achieve joint native title outcomes. Traditional singing provided crucial

Protect yourself against underquoting when buying property

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In November, CoreLogic’s home value index showed a 3% increase in property values in Melbourne. But as prices rise and the market becomes tighter, how can buyers be sure the price they have been told is not much lower than its likely sales price?

Underquoting is a method sometimes used

New fixed-term contract rules have come into effect

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The regulations that govern fixed-term contracts for employees have changed as of early December.

Starting 6 December, a fixed-term contract you have with an employee must now terminate at the end of a set period. This can include the date set in the contract or a period of time like

'Sovereign citizens' in the courts

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

We’ve all heard of ‘sovereign citizens’, a term referring to people who don’t believe the law applies to them. But how much do we know about this group and its impact on the courts? This episode first aired in May 2023. 

Australia’s consumer watchdog calls for new laws for digital platforms

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Australia’s competition regulator and consumer watchdog, the ACCC, has recommended new laws for digital platforms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon as it has identified “widespread, entrenched and systematic” consumer and competition “harms”.

The recommendation came as the ACCC released its fifth progress report on digital platforms since it began

Industry unhappy with new property tax amendments

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The government of Victoria has proposed several amendments to the state’s property taxation laws.

New amendments explained

Under the amendments, the revenue office hopes to expand vacant residential land tax to all vacant residential land in Victoria from the 2025 tax year. The amendments also expand the definition of vacant

How to follow the law when increasing rent

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A Melbourne landlord recently found themselves in hot water after their tenant pointed out an invalid rent increase. The tenant alerted the agent to the improper reasoning given for the increase and was subsequently back-paid for the invalid increase.

As a landlord, it is important you know the ins and

How to protect yourself during a building project

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A recent McKinnon survey showed that 50% of Australia’s workforce is covered by some form of a restraint of trade or non-compete clause.

But how airtight are these clauses and can they be enforced?

Types of restraints of trade

Common restrictions of trade include:

Confidentiality clauses Non-solicitation clauses Non-compete

How can I have a mortgage discharged if the lender has been wound up?

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noreply@blogger.com (William Stark)

In an unusual case, the Supreme Court of Victoria was called upon to order the discharge of 2 mortgages in circumstances where one of the mortgagees had been liquidated, and subsequently deregistered. The other mortgagee had become a bank but did not have records dating back over 30 years ago. 

Older

Are there any more recent cases about a mortgagee's duty of good faith in selling real estate?

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noreply@blogger.com (William Stark)

With interest rates continuing to rise in late 2023, it seems that we are likely to see more mortgagees taking steps to realise mortgaged property. 

On 2 June 2021, I posted about a Queensland decision (HSBC Bank Australia Ltd v Wang & Ors [2021] QSC 58) rejecting criticism of a mortgagee’s conduct of

Victoria Unveils Short-stay Levy

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Investors who rent their property out on short-stay accommodation platforms like Airbnb and Stayz will soon face an additional tax charge.

The Victorian government has announced it plans to introduce a 7.5% levy on short-stay rental platforms, effective from 1 January 2025. The fees collected will fund Homes Victoria, supporting

How to Protect Yourself during a Building Project

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Before starting construction or renovations, there are several legal aspects you should take note of. This will protect both you and your builder so that the project runs smoothly.

Signing a written contract

By law, you must have a written contract for work worth more than $10,000. This can include