Full Court dismisses Volkswagen $125m penalty appeal

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noreply@blogger.com (Mike Terceiro)

Wow! I didn’t see this coming. The Full Federal Court has dismissed what was effectively a joint appeal by Volkswagen and the ACCC to reduce Judge Foster’s $125 million penalty to the agreed Volkswagen / ACCC penalty of $75 million. The Full Court held that the $125 million penalty was

Full Federal Court's decision on the Quantum unconscionability case

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noreply@blogger.com (Mike Terceiro)

As expected the Full Federal Court has overturned Colvin J’s incorrect intepretation of unconscionability in the Quantum case.

The Full Federal Court found that Colvin J was in error by holding that the taking advantage or exploitation of some vulnerability, disability or disadvantage of the person or persons to whom the

Just One More Thing For Swatch and Apple to Fight About

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Liz Bodey

Since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2015, Apple and Swatch, a well-known Swedish watch manufacturer, have been involved in a number of trade mark disputes in their now overlapping product markets.

These disputes have concerned the marks ‘I-WATCH’ and ‘I-SWATCH’, ‘TICK DIFFERENT’ and ‘THINK DIFFERENT’ and, more

ACCC authorises Queensland Dairyfarmers' Organisation to implement 'Fair Go Dairy' licensing scheme

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noreply@blogger.com (Mike Terceiro)

Not too sure why the ACCC authorised this scheme – I can’t see any public benefit. Given there are no public benefits and clearly some public detriment in terms of excluding non-Queensland dairy farmers from the market and setting a miniumum gate price for milk, I don’t think the scheme

A Fair Use Tale, or All’s Well That Ends: the U.S. Supreme Court Holds Google’s Use of Java Code to Be a Fair Use under U.S. Copyright Law

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Lorie Lambert

By: Mark H. Wittow, Paul J. Bruene, Trevor M. Gates

On 5 April 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a major copyright dispute that had wound through the federal courts for over a decade. In a 6-2 decision written by Justice Breyer, the Supreme Court held that Google’s copying of roughly 11,500

Restrictive Covenants in Victoria–theory and practice

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Matthew Townsend

The attached paper is an updated presentation to the University of Melbourne’s undergraduate Property Law class in April 2021. It provides a relatively comprehensive overview of the law in relation to restrictive covenants in Victoria. Comments are welcome townsend@vicbar.com.au

Amendments to China’s Copyright Law

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Liz Bodey

The first substantial amendments to China’s Copyright Law in 20 years were passed in November 2020 and will come into effect on 1 June 2021 (the Amendments). The Amendments primarily focus on enhancing protections for copyright owners, better aligning China’s Copyright Law with international standards, and implementing the Beijing

The findings of two significant Coronial Inquests

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ABC Radio

NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan has found that the murders of teenagers Jack and Jennifer Edwards by their father were preventable. The Coroner identified a series of serious systemic failures which contributed to the crimes. Also, Victorian Coroner Paresa Spanos has recommended the adoption of pill testing after investigating

Are You Influencing Responsibly?

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Liz Bodey

A recent UK Advertising Standard’s Authority (ASA) study has revealed that many social media influencers are routinely breaking consumer and advertising laws.

The findings of the study are important for social media influencers, who should ensure that they are fully transparent about when they are posting advertising content and

Full decriminalisation of sex work on the cards in Victoria

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ABC Radio

The Victorian government is set to consider fully decriminalising sex work this year. Guest producer Carly Godden traces how, over the eras, the law in Victoria has regulated the commercial sex and adult industries.  *Note there are sexual references in this program

Residential Tenants Get a Boost in Victoria

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New rental laws in Victoria that are part of long overdue reforms come into effect at the end of March. The reforms set minimum standards for rental properties, together with a host of other changes.

A total of 132 reforms were originally set to come into effect on 1 July

The concept of ‘unconscionable conduct’ under the Australian Consumer Law, and the difference between sections 20 and 21

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Cameron Charnley

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) contains provisions prohibiting unconscionable conduct in the course of trade or commerce. Chief amongst those are sections 20 and 21. There are a number of differences between those provisions both in their text and in the way the common law responds to them. These differences

The concept of ‘unconscionable conduct’ under the Australian Consumer Law, and the difference between sections 20 and 21

This post was originally published on this site

Cameron Charnley

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) contains provisions prohibiting unconscionable conduct in the course of trade or commence. Chief amongst those are sections 20 and 21. There are a number of differences between those provisions both in their text and in the way the common law responds to them. These differences

Christian Porter no longer Attorney General. And eminent scientists petition for release of convicted killer Kathleen Folbigg

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ABC Radio

On advice from the Solicitor-General, the PM shifts Christian Porter to Minister for Industry, Science and Technology. And following the NSW Court of Appeal ruling that Kathleen Folbigg stay behind bars, the Australian Academy of Science issues a strong statement saying ‘there are medical and scientific explanations for the

THE NFT EXPLOSION – WHAT LAWYERS NEED TO KNOW

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Lorie Lambert

First there were CryptoKitties. Then came Digital art, CryptoPunks and NBA tokens. But when Beeple’s digital art piece sold at Christie’s for $69 million, the mania truly  began.  And as with any wave of media mania, also came the groundswell of negative media and hand-wringing about NFTs.   Of course,

How do ATO payment arrangements work?

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Although businesses have the responsibility to keep their tax obligations up to date, it sometimes happens that, due to unforeseen circumstances, they are not able to pay the tax owed to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The most important thing here is that businesses should not ignore the tax debt

Inside Thomas Embling Hospital, a Forensic health facility

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ABC Radio

For the first time a journalist is allowed to record in the Thomas Embling Hospital, Melbourne’s Forensic healthcare facility. Meet therapists, the psychiatrist in charge and some of the patients who have committed a serious crime but are deemed not responsible for their actions due to mental illness.

Think twice before agreeing to punt an appeal where you and the other side are unpaid in relation to round one

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Stephen Warne

In Carter v Mehmet [2021] NSWCA 32, the Court granted the respondents’  security for costs application in part because the appellant’s solicitors had much to gain from the appeal’s success and had agreed to do it no win no fee, and so were creditors associated with the proceeding, but the

Notices of default under a retail lease: some things to know

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Cameron Charnley

A landlord seeking to regain possession of retail premises where a tenant has breached the terms of the lease is required to follow certain steps in first giving notice to the tenant. Landlords should give proper notice not only in the interests of fairness to a tenant but also in

Relief against forfeiture: some things to know

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Cameron Charnley

A landlord seeking to regain possession of retail premises where a tenant has breached the terms of the lease is required to follow certain steps in first giving notice to the tenant. Landlords should give proper notice not only in the interests of fairness to a tenant but also in

Disability Royal Commissioner Ron Sackville. And legal win for Torres Strait native title holders

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ABC Radio

Ron Sackville QC, AO, the chair of The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has been hearing harrowing accounts of the experiences of people with cognitive disability in the criminal justice system. In a legal first, the Kaurareg people of Muralug island obtained

Convicted terrorist to stay in jail on continuing detention order. And sacked climate change skeptic to get his day in High Court

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ABC Radio

The High Court of Australia has upheld the Continuing Detention Order for convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika. Even though his fifteen year sentence is over, he is deemed to pose an ongoing threat and he remains in detention. Also, the High Court has agreed to hear the case of

Can I enforce an unregistered restrictive covenant?

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noreply@blogger.com (William Stark)

In Paragreen v Lim Group Holdings P/L [2020] VSCA 84, the Court of Appeal (Tate, Kaye and Niall JJA) examined whether the respondent could enforce an unregistered restrictive covenant over a laneway against registered proprietors of land which included part of the laneway. 

Background facts

The applicants were the registered proprietors of a property in

How itchy underpants created our consumer laws

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ABC Radio

If a consumer is injured by a faulty product, they can sue the manufacturer. In Australia, The law of Negligence or Torts forms a fundamental building block of our legal system. As reporter Carly Godden discovers, these laws owe much of their origins to a case from the 1930’s