Copyright clause: Elephant in the room

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Plans for Melbourne Zoo’s 150th birthday celebration are under review following complaints from artists and their representatives with regard to a copyright clause, The Age reports today.

Senate passes “Raising the Bar”

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The much anticipated “Raising the Bar” Bill was passed by the Senate last night without amendment. It is expected to go to the House of Representatives later this week, with Royal Assent to follow shortly thereafter.

Optus Sing(tel) loudest: NRL is fair game

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The AFL and NRL, ‘the rightholders’, joined forces (and vast resources) accusing Singtel Optus Pty Ltd, ‘Optus’, of breaching copyright by airing games broadcast by the respective competitions free-to-air partners on the internet and across its 3G network (Singtel Optus Pty Ltd v National Rugby League Investments Pty Ltd (No 2) [2012] FCA 34).

G-Star jeans damages claim fades

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The owners and distributors of the “G-star” brand of jeans (collectively, “G-Star”) have developed a reputation in Australia not only as sellers of fashionable jeans, but also for being willing to take court action against infringers.  This trend continued in the recent case Facton Ltd v Mish Mash Clothing Pty Ltd [2012] FCA 22.

POF Sponsors Cleantech Forum

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Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick is proud to sponsor the 8th Annual Australasian Cleantech Forum. Additionally, as an associated sponsor, we pleased to offer discount registrations to this important event.

No Copyright in White and Yellow Pages

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The Full Court of the Federal Court in Telstra Corporation Limited v Phone Directories Company Pty Ltd [2010] FCAFC 149 (15 December 2010) held that there was no copyright in either of Telstra’s White or Yellow Pages.

Latest figures of counterfeit items seizures in the European Union

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The European Commission released its latest statistics for goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights intercepted in 2009 by EU Customs. The most frequently detained articles include cigarettes (19%), labels (13%) and medicines (10%). As in Australia, more and more of the products detained by customs are consumer goods and not just luxury goods like …
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Kookaburra © owner claims 50% royalty, Court corrects to 5%

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The Federal Court has today determined the damages payable as a result of the earlier finding (reported here) that the flute riff in the Men at Work song Down Under infringed copyright in the musical round known as Kookaburra. Interestingly, the decision of Jacobson J in Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia …
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And then we were one…NZ & Australian courts move closer

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In November 2009 the Australia Government introduced legislation implementing the Agreement between Australia and New Zealand on Trans-Tasman Court Proceedings and Regulatory Enforcement. The Trans-Tasman Proceedings Bill 2010 was passed by both Houses of the Australian Parliament and is now awaiting Royal Assent. The New Zealand Government introduced parallel legislation on 24 November 2009. The …
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