Privacy concerns have plagued the introduction of the COVIDSafe app (App). In response, strict privacy protections for users of the App have now been enshrined in law via The Privacy Amendment (Public Health Contract Information) Act 2020 (the Act) which introduces...
IP Licences and Shareholder Agreements: A commercial legal perspective
IP licensing is growing in complexity as digital solutions involving Internet of Things (IoT), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) become more prevalent. A shareholders agreement is a key cornerstone for protecting, and ultimately realising,...
How can you avoid unfair contract terms?
By Brad Vinning and Ruby Mackenzie-Harris Business is booming, however... Have you heard about Prospa? This startup shot to Australian Financial Review fame in early June this year. It is an online lender which offers unsecured business loans to small businesses which...
Digital Platforms Inquiry: What does it mean for you?
By Peter Karcher and Jake Reid What is it? In December 2017 the Federal Government directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to conduct an inquiry to examine the impact of digital search engines, social media applications and online digital...
Bang for your buck: trade marks and domain names
By Ruby Mackenzie-Harris and Brad Vinning Have you thought about whether you need to register your business’ domain name as a trade mark? Depending on your circumstances, this may or may not be a necessary step to protect your intellectual property (“IP”). Getting...
7 steps to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations
By Ruby Mackenzie-Harris and Brad Vinning Did you know that if your business uses or collects the data of customers, clients or users who reside in the European Union, you will have to comply with the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”) as of 25 May...
Beyond the glamour: Amazon Brand Registry and brand protection online
By Peter Karcher and Elle Zhang You are a successful beauty product expert, blogger, entrepreneur, Instagram sensation and most importantly, a hard working business owner. You sell your popular products (these life-changing little bottles of face oil) through online...
Hey, that’s not fair! Contract renewed automatically – when did that happen?
By Peter Karcher and Elle Zhang If you are a supplier (of services or products) or just a hard working business owner, chances are, you have tried to sneak in an automatic renewal clause in your standard terms and conditions (or have, in fact, successfully...
Data Breach: Where and how are data breaches really occurring?
By Peter Karcher, Partner and Jake Reid, Lawyer Six weeks after the commencement of the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) published its first quarterly report on mandatory data breach...
Are online contracts enforceable?
By Ruby Mackenzie-Harris and Brad Vinning Do you have a website or app through which you sell goods or services? We have all accepted terms and condition online in one form or another, but as a website owner have you questioned whether they are all enforceable, or is...
Who gets a slice of the IP pie? Pitfalls of owning IP jointly
In an increasingly interconnected world where “collaboration” is a buzzword, jointly created intellectual property (IP) will become more commonplace. It may sound like a good idea at the time to say everyone involved in the collaborative process gets a piece of the...
Five practical things you need to know about Mandatory Data Breach Reporting
After 10 years and numerous Federal Governments Australia has finally caught up with the rest of the world in terms of mandatory data breach notification (the US first introduced mandatory data breach reporting over 15 years ago). To mark the commencement of the laws...