2021
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01 August 2023 08:04In the case Gerner v State of Victoria [2020] HCA 48, a small business owner who experienced a dramatic change in revenues from his restaurant and bar business sought to have the 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown Directions in Victoria, and their supporting legislation, declared constitutionally invalid.
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01 August 2023 07:56One of the most common and effective means of a party acting to protect its intellectual property (IP) is by sending (or having a lawyer send) a letter of demand, with such letters forming a key part of the day-to-day practice of many IP lawyers. However, these letters, and other communications that put potential infringers on notice of an IP right, run the risk of contravening the unjustified threats (or groundless threats) provisions found in each of the pieces of IP legislation. These provisions are an oft-cited but little understood area of law that is unique to IP. This article will consider the three elements required to make out an unjustified threat action and attempt to paint a clearer picture of those elements by providing some practical examples.
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19 November 2021 05:51It’s becoming increasingly obvious that in order to mitigate cyber security risk, companies need to train their staff in how to identify and respond to IT threats. When over 90% of IT breaches are via staff, it would be prudent to accept this as major risk.
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19 November 2021 00:00We are living in a very complex world filled with vulnerability and uncertainty, where anyone, externally or internally, can cause harm to you and your organisation. When a person with authorised access to organisational resources becomes an adversary, they are deemed an “insider threat”, which refers to an insider who wittingly or unwittingly does harm to the organisation. Examples are sabotage, espionage, terrorism and unauthorised disclosure of information. Insider threats may be caused by negligence or criminal acts.
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18 November 2021 18:09The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting economies all over the world and GDP growth among OECD countries slowed to 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2020. In that time, the Group of Seven economies (Japan, Canada, the United Sates, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France) experienced GDP growth of only 0.8% and in an even worse result, GDP contracted by 0.4% in the euro area and the European Union.
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18 November 2021 18:06The implementation of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) program is picking up its pace, after a slow start. The MBR program originated in the 2016 National Business Simplification Initiative, which had the aim of reducing the burden of unnecessary regulation and improving, centralising and streamlining access to government information and services. Following extensive consultation, the Government rolled out the MBR program in 2019 with a suite of 5 pieces of legislation, the operative one being the Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Act 2020 (Cth) (MBR Act).
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18 November 2021 18:06“Analytics”, “Artificial Intelligence”, “Machine Learning” – these have become the ubiquitous catch cries of our world, the fear mongering we hear at conferences about what is about to hit our firms. They describe a future wholly different from the present, where the very fabric of the law firm is irreparably changed.
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18 November 2021 18:06“There’s no such thing as anonymity anymore” quotes Nathan Scudder of the University of Technology in a recent article inside the Privacy Law Bulletin. He asks, “…are we now at a point where — if enough investigative time and effort is applied —can almost any suspect can be identified from their discarded DNA?”
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18 November 2021 18:04With the impending rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in Australia and across much of the world, the business and legal community is beginning to look forward to the resumption of the so-called ‘new normal’. It is clear, however, that the aftershocks of the pandemic will be felt throughout 2021 and beyond, and that law firms will need to adapt to accommodate the lasting impacts of the virus on the legal industry. While these impacts will be felt across the industry, civil litigators should be especially prepared to reckon with several trends that may inform the conduct of litigation and dispute resolution in Australia and around the world.
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18 November 2021 18:03Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will hand down this year’s Federal Budget on Tuesday 11 May, solidifying Australia’s plans for the next phase of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pundits forecast this will be another stimulus-driven budget, dodging the traditional “tighten the purse” Coalition modus operandi.
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18 November 2021 18:01The fires at the Grenfell Tower in London in 2017 and the Lacrosse building in Melbourne in 2014 have resulted in new laws for buildings with external combustible cladding. New South Wales has experienced issues with defective buildings at Erskineville, Mascot and Sydney Olympic Park. There have been various approaches to dealing with these issues in different state jurisdictions.
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18 November 2021 18:00Here at LexisNexis our tailored in-person training and dial-in webinars are built around your annual plans, allowing you to map out your training strategy over a 12 to 24-month period. However, 2020 posed new challenges and our training sessions needed to adapt quickly to a completely virtual training experience. Here we talk to Jaya Ralph, Law Faculty Librarian at Curtin University about her experience and the unique challenges faced by Australian University libraries last year.
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18 November 2021 17:58Amid headlines listing COVID numbers & quarantine mishandling incidents across the states, Australia attracted global attention earlier this year with stories emerging from Parliament that detailed sexual harassment, assault, inappropriate behaviour, bullying and unequal treatment of women dedicated to careers in politics.
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18 November 2021 17:58Marrying the business and the practise of law is hard. You need to produce quality work, to a tight timeline, and often with a client who expects perfection at a low price.
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18 November 2021 17:57State and territory Governments throughout Australia responded to the economic downturn wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing temporary relief to commercial tenants from their rental and trading obligations last year
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18 November 2021 17:56Two models of adjudication exist across Australia, with NSW, Victoria and Queensland following the ‘East Coast Model’ and Western Australia and the Northern Territory following the ‘West Coast Model’. Whilst similar protections exist across the various schemes in each state and territory, differences in operation, process and timeframe requirements cause unnecessary complexity and confusion for parties.
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18 November 2021 17:55The Morrison Government has pledged nearly $1.8 billion in energy and emissions reductions in recent weeks, an investment that is expected to form a plank in the upcoming May Budget.
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05 November 2021 06:27Today’s lawyer must contend with a wide variety of distractions. Context switching, in particular, is mentioned time and time again as one of the most hated time sappers. Carrying out legal work on computers and other internet connected devices brings valuable efficiencies for law firms, not least fast client communication and effortless access to relevant legal intelligence.
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11 October 2021 07:02Significant reforms and temporary relief measures in response to the pandemic have alleviated the pressure on company officers in three areas: Electronic signing, virtual meetings, and continuous disclosure. This article discusses the current state of play and progress on permanent reform.
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21 September 2021 03:08Legislation effective 1 September will substantially change the courts that administer family law. Broadly speaking, the substantive law will not change, although there will be changes of practice and procedure.
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09 September 2021 02:24The foundations on which law firms and organisations have operated successfully across the globe for many years are shifting at a fast pace. Clients are facing business changes and transformation like never before – and the legal market needs to not only keep up, but also lead the way, to assist clients and maximise business and productivity opportunities.
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20 August 2021 06:34Business as usual disruptions aside, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown significant challenges in the face of Australian companies and their capacity for compliant corporate transactions and daily practices. Rolling lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing measures make it difficult to execute documents that require ‘wet ink’ signatures, or to hold AGMs and other binding meetings in person.
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19 August 2021 13:09Many entities operating online acquire large quantities of data through various means, whether it be through payment details, subscriptions or online surveys. A lot of this data is acquired by entities online. This article discusses a recent determination made by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) against Flight Centre which demonstrated the costs of human error against the backdrop of a growing e-commerce market.
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27 July 2021 04:20This article examines the topic of reviews from apparent third parties from two angles: what legal recourse a trader has in relation to false and dishonest reviews that denigrate their person and/or their business; and on the other hand, the obligations traders have in relation to falsely complementary reviews.
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23 July 2021 10:19Background checks of proposed directors is essential for prudent and diligent companies that understand the need to minimise their risks. Download the complimentary checklist to ensure appropriate background checks are conducted on proposed directors
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02 July 2021 02:57The NSW Supreme Court has held that the sale of a hotel business was not frustrated by COVID-19 public health orders restricting its ability to trade. The case demonstrates the limits of the frustration doctrine in the context of economic shocks arising from COVID-19. What needs to be included in a contract to exit a transaction?
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28 June 2021 07:00The NSW Court of Appeal has overturned a Supreme Court decision ordering specific performance of a heads of agreement for a business sale, finding that board approval was a condition precedent that had not been satisfied. The case is a reminder of the importance of clear drafting when entering into preliminary transaction documents.
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24 June 2021 09:09Substantial amendments to the environment protection statutory framework in Victoria commence on 1 July 2021. The amendments to the Environment Protection Act 2017 replace the statutory framework of the Environment Protection Act 1970. The new statutory regime represents the largest change to environment protection laws since the introduction of the 1970 Act.
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21 June 2021 06:38In July 2019, almost 4 years after the filing of the first infringement suit, a nine-member jury rendered its verdict in favor of Marcus Gray’s claim that Katy Perry, a pop megastar, had improperly copied Gray’s song “Joyful Noise” in her hit “Dark Horse”.
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20 April 2021 00:33Over the last 18 months, there has been a rise in ransomware attacks, impacting businesses both domestically and globally. Dudley Kneller, Partner at Gadens, defines what is ransomware, outlines what does an attack look like, cites recent examples and concludes with some tips and takeaways on how to reduce risk to your organisation from ransomware attacks.
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10 February 2021 04:14The NSW government introduced new disclosure requirements for developers entering into off-the-plan contracts for residential developments from 1 December 2019. A Disclosure Statement is now required to be attached to a contract for sale that includes information such as sunset dates, whether development approval has been obtained and details of any strata scheme, community precinct or neighbourhood scheme the lot may form part of. The developer is also required to attach a number of prescribed documents, including a draft plan prepared by a registered surveyor, any proposed schedule of finishes and draft strata by-laws. In other states, there are varied requirements for attachments to the contract.