Knowledge

On 24 September 2019 the Australian Minister for Industry revoked anti-subsidy duties applying to a Chinese exporter of aluminium extrusions.[1] The outcome is a reminder that the rule of law holds sway over the policies of protection that are presently impacting heavily on regulators the world over. 

Those watching the recent National Rugby League Grand Final staged in Sydney on the weekend saw that the rub of the green did not go the way of Canberra’s “Green Machine”.

In 2018 Canberra was Australia’s second-fastest growing city, pipped by Melbourne by 0.3%, with Brisbane in third. That trend continues. Shouldn’t be a problem to keep on expanding, the Australian Capital Territory is pretty big? Actually, it is a problem.

Kim Kardashian is again brewing up a social media storm – this time over her application to trade mark the word “Kimono” for her new range of shapewear.

3D printers, memory devices – you would be excused for thinking that these were pretty standard products these days. But this is not necessarily the case, as the continuing debate about the dividing line between “benign” and “malign” goods, and the people who trade in them, tell us.  The concern of governments around the world extends further, to any new technology that is “uncontrolled” in cross-border trade.

The Australian start-up Rokt Pte Ltd (Rokt), now a global marketing technology force, has succeeded in its Federal Court appeal against IP Australia. The triumph offers much-needed clarity around the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, and is a promising result for innovators in the software space.

Reports last week about the hacking of the political think-tank Lowy Institute and of the question-and-answer website Quora were met with different responses by the affected parties. Reportedly, the Lowy Institute declined to comment, citing a policy of not doing so on security matters. 

The ACCC’s spotlight on businesses who make false or misleading representations to consumers about their rights under the Australian Consumer Law (“ACL”) continues with two more recent wins before the Courts. 

Following the implementation of the Safe Harbour protections introduced last September, new changes to the Corporations Act 2001 come into force on 1 July 2018, significantly limiting the ability of parties to rely on insolvency as a means to terminate a contract. 

The phrase “without prejudice” regularly appears in communications between parties in a dispute as it is often seen as a blanket protection against all things said, or admitted, to the other side. However, this phrase is easy to use incorrectly, leaving parties with the mistaken belief that their statements are protected by privilege.