No more struggling artists?
By mid 2010, a new royalty resale scheme will be up and running for visual artists, thanks to the passing of the Resale Royalty Right for Visual Artists Bill 2008 by the Senate in late November. Under the scheme:
Way more than an everyday interest in IP
By mid 2010, a new royalty resale scheme will be up and running for visual artists, thanks to the passing of the Resale Royalty Right for Visual Artists Bill 2008 by the Senate in late November. Under the scheme:
On 1 December 2009, online retailer Topbuy was issued with a formal warning from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for breaching the Spam Act 2003 (see ACMA’s press release). Following investigations into three commercial electronic messages sent by Topbuy to consumers without their consent, ACMA concluded these messages represented a broader systemic problem. read more…
Hot off the press is the Federal Court judgment in Bitech Engineering v Garth Living [2009] FCA 1392 handed down on 26 November 2009. The case involved a patent for simulating flames in domestic room heaters. Foster J extinguished both Bitech’s claim that its patent had been infringed and the respondents’ cross-claim that the patent was invalid.
Back in July and September, we blogged on the controversy surrounding the practice of paying internet search engines for keywords to boost one company’s profile over another. A new instalment has since arisen in what will inev read more…
It is rare for a parent company to oppose the trade mark of one of its subsidiaries. Yet, as recently reported in The Age, (6/11/09, “Branson and Virgin Blue battle over name”) this appears to be the case in a trade mark opposition brought by Virgin Enterprises against an application lodged by Virgin Blue. At stake is whether Virgin Blue has the rights to use the “V Australia” trade mark and brand, the name of Virgin Enterprises’ trans-Pacific airline, on a wide variety of goods.
Earlier this month, USA registered company Evony initiated proceedings against UK blogger Bruce Everiss for defamation in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Everiss is the author of a popular blog called Bruce on Games. read more…
Be careful what you write on Facebook! Adelaide teenager Christopher Cross has recently been convicted for criminal defamation after posting material about a local policeman on a Facebook site. Cross said that he “didn’t realise you could get in trouble for things on the internet ”. Pleading guilty in the Kadina Magistrates Court to criminal defamation, Cross became only the second person in South Australia ever convicted of the rarely used charge. He now has a criminal record and was sentenced to a 2 year good behaviour bond.
From 1 December 2009, North America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (the US equivalent of the ACCC) wants bloggers, including Twitter users, to make it clear when they have received cash or products in exchange for writing positive reviews, endorsements and testimonials. The FTC’s new Guidelines Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising announced in October 2009 have proved very controversial.
IP Australia has announced a second round public consultation on IP rights reforms. The closing date for submissions is 12 February 2010.