In Australia, the concept of free speech, although not enshrined in our Constitution, is a fundamental principle that many individuals seek to exercise. However, this principle is not a licence to make statements that ruin a person’s reputation in the eyes of the community. The case of Voller v Nationwide News Pty Ltd.; Voller v …
Read more
Australia’s copyright laws, enshrined in the Copyright At 1968 (Cth)(the Act) are designed to protect original, tangible material. For example, you can protect things like artistic or literary work, articles, photographs, maps, broadcasts and other pieces of multimedia. Despite there being no registration scheme in Australia like there is for trademarks, copyright material is said …
Read more
Carly: How was your run this morning? Jane: How did YOU know I ran this morning? Carly: Don’t you remember? You shared all your health data with me. I get alerts every time your heartrate goes above 120! Jane: I did what?!? Had Jane read the Privacy Policy from the company behind her fitness app, …
Read more
Federal Court makes ruling on licensing of unregistered trade marks in Peanut Butter dispute. You may have noticed a change in the branding of your favourite peanut butter recently. In 2017, the Kraft peanut butter business was purchased by Bega Cheese. Central to the Kraft products is their instantly recognisable, bright yellow packaging design which …
Read more
It is no secret that as a trademark owner you have the right to protect your intellectual property and preserve your business identity. A great benefit of having exclusive legal rights over your brand is that it enables you to stop other people from using it. For example, it is common practice in the IP …
Read more
The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018. We have now seen 12 months since the commencement of the GDRP. Though a revolutionary regional instrument, it imposes obligations on businesses across the globe. In its one year of application, the GDPR has drastically changed the data protection and privacy …
Read more
Griffin Legal is a proud supporter of Safe Internet Day. From cyberbullying to social networking, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and chooses a topic reflecting current concerns. This year the focus is raising awareness to help ensure that our children and young people can explore the internet …
Read more
For most businesses its website and email systems are its life blood. These can both be compromised if you lose control of your domain name, the “x.com.au” or “y.net.au”. Recently Scott Morrison provided an example that this can happen to anyone, even a well-resourced digital media team. During the Wentworth byelection they lost control of …
Read more
Welcome to 2018! It is set to be another interesting year ahead, as the Australian Open kicks off this week, we head towards the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, we see the 2018 Commonwealth Games hosted in the Gold Coast, and we await the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. It’s also the year …
Read more
It is the Bill that has done the rounds of Parliament and been the subject of much anticipation and commentary. Privacy nerds everywhere (read: Griffin Legal staff) were waiting with bated breath to see if the latest amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) would be passed. On 13 February 2017, the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable …
Read more