The Justice Centre Free Article Submissions

The Australian Federal Court has recently handed down a decision in the matter of Nutrientwater Pty Limited v Baco Pty Limited [2010] 2 FCA 2. This is a case about products that look similar to each other. | read more...

“Intellectual Property” is a phrase that is often thrown around these days. Most people understand that it can be valuable, that it can be an important element especially in today’s highly competitive markets. However, most people do not understand what it actually consists, and what rights go with it. | read more...

Managing and dealing with your cash flow is very important for anyone in business, but a failure to manage bad debts may be highly damaging to a small business. As a small business, you must be always mindful of this situation, especially in the current economic climate. | read more...

We all prefer to decide for ourselves how we live, where we live, what kind of medical treatment we should be receiving, or what kind of services we should get. Unfortunately life sometimes throws us into unexpected situations and may render us unable to make those decisions for ourselves.

An enduring guardian is someone you choose to make personal or lifestyle decisions for you when you are unable to make these decisions for yourself. You can specify what kind of decisions your guardian can make and you can also direct your guardian how to carry out those decisions. | read more...

In Australia, your credit records are not collected and maintained by the Government – instead they are collected by credit reporting companies. | read more...

If you’re starting out your own business or you work from home, one of the things you may consider at some point in time is to establish a commercial presence by leasing out an office or a retail shop.

A commercial lease is different to a residential lease, so don’t assume that you can deal with it on your own! To do so would be a grave mistake. If you are in any doubt at all you should seek legal advice regarding your lease.

Retail Leases Act
The Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW) applies to leases which are considered to be “retail shop leases”. A retail shop is defined in the act to cover any shop which is in a shopping centre or any shop which is to be used for retail purposes. There are exceptions, for example, shops which are in excess of 1,000 square metres, leases in excess of 25 years, or offices which are not in a shopping centre. | read more...

Recently the Federal Court handed down an interim decision for a case involving the classic Australian song, “Kookaburra sits in the Old Gum Tree”. The plaintiff, Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd (“Larrikin”) has brought proceedings against the composers of the song “Down Under” and the owner and licensee of “Down Under” (“EMI”). Larrikin claims that the song “Down Under” was written using a substantial part of “Kookaburra”, and this infringes on their copyright.

The composers and EMI argued that Larrikin did not own copyright in the song. They argued that Ms Sinclair, the composer of “Kookaburra” had entered the song into a competition by the Girls Guides Association of Victoria. A condition of the competition was that all matter entered was to become the property of the Guide Association. | read more...

Do you run a business? What sorts of legal issues do you normally encounter when running your business? For that matter, when was the last time you saw a solicitor? Would it be before you started your business – or only after you encountered a problem?

Solicitors are a little bit like doctors. You usually only ever see a doctor when you are sick – when something has gone wrong with your body. In the same vein, businesses usually see solicitors when something has gone wrong. That shouldn’t be the case. | read more...

It is always frightening to be involved in a Motor Vehicle Accident. Regardless of how it happened, the situation does not call for you to lose your cool. Be calm, consider the circumstances, and attend to the situation.

Practical Steps
If you are involved in an accident, you should do the following (not necessarily in order): | read more...

1. Check if the driver of the other vehicle is fine.
2. Get the details of the driver and the owner of the other vehicle. Remember – the driver is not necessarily the owner! In addition to this, get details about the other driver’s licence number, the other vehicle’s registration, and if the other vehicle is insured.
3. If the accident is serious, you must call police immediately.
4. Otherwise, you should call the NSW Police Assistance Line – 131 444 – within 24 hours.

The Web 2.0 era is characterised by the fundamental shift in how people interact with information. No longer does information flow in one direction – opportunities now exist for the consumer of information services to contribute, provide feed back, criticise, or determine if the content is newsworthy. This high level of interaction is typically considered a boon.

However, as with anything, when engaging in such activities one must be mindful of the potential risks that come along with it – and this is doubly true for hosts of content or webmasters. In addition to considering if content is potentially defamatory, or libellous, one must also consider issues such as copyright, privacy, and control.

If you are a webmaster or a service provider or some sort, these risks can often be managed by a combination of: | read more...

• having a clear and effective Terms of Use;
• actively policing your user base for breaches of the terms; and