Knowledge

On Monday 23 August 2021, the Senate passed the Customs Amendment (Banning Goods Produced by Forced Labour) Bill 2021. The Bill, if made into law, would prohibit the importation of goods manufactured using forced labour.

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 is one of the marvels of administrative law. It is based on the simple proposition that every person has a right to obtain access to documents held by a government agency or a Minister.

In a globally groundbreaking decision, the Federal Court of Australia has held that an artificial intelligence (AI) system can be named as the inventor on a patent.

Sporting events need officials to umpire/referee the competition. Inevitably, not everyone will agree with all decisions made by these officials. From professional football codes to the local sporting field, there are ‘controversial’ decisions made every weekend around the globe.

Court proceedings are underway here in Australia between Epic Games Inc (Epic) and Apple Inc (Apple) are well worth watching. Epic, maker of popular ‘battle royale’ game Fortnite, alleges that the App Store user contract by which Apple makes Fortnite available for internet download contains terms and conditions that ‘misuse’ Apple’s market power.

Within the same week, the Tokyo Olympic Games finally got underway after a 12-month delay, and Brisbane were awarded the rights to host the 2032 Olympic Games. Olympic fever (often called five ring fever) is in full flight.

Lego has taken action in the United States of America to prevent sales of an ‘irresponsible’ customisation kit for making real guns resemble children’s toys.

From 1 July 2021, more consumers will benefit from the statutory protection of the Australian Consumer Law with the upper limit for consumer rights protection increasing from $40,000 to $100,000.

The Australian Capital Territory Government has published our review of gas laws and legal frameworks for Canberra’s uptake of hydrogen energy.

For the most part, tangible signposts guide decision making on Australian export controls by the government agency that has that responsibility, Defence Export Controls (DEC). The most significant of these is the Defence Strategic Goods List (DSGL).