The Kidfluencers phenomenon raises an array of legal questions, ranging from social media account ownership issues to compliance with privacy, anti-bullying and child labour laws. We explore some of those issues.
If you want to know how to protect your next big idea, have a listen to us chat with the wonderful Veronica Milsom on her Full Blown Adult podcast. We discuss all things intellectual property protection.
The Australian government is introducing anti-troll legislation that seeks to identify the troll and empower victims to take action for cyber defamation.
Terms of your privacy policy are not enough for consent - from the Australian Information Commissioner. How NOT to rely on your (and your contractor’s) privacy policy.
Caterpillar Inc (Caterpillar), the world’s largest heavy equipment manufacturer, has successfully appealed against the Trade Marks Registrar’s decision to dismiss its opposition to Puma SE’s (Puma) PROCAT trade mark (no. 1803303) (PROCAT mark).
Intellectual property can be broadly classified into four types: Copyrights, Patents, Trade Mark, and Designs. Every type of IP deals with a distinct, tangible asset and cannot be used interchangeably.
HIGH COURT PUTS MUZZLE ON FACEBOOK TROLLS
Website Operators Beware: Copyright in third-party content
CROCS Shape Up to Bite in Trade Mark Scrap
A Victorian brewer was banned from advertising one of its beers after a child mistakenly drank it, thinking it was chocolate milk.
What could go wrong when a gun maker sells a pistol cover that makes a real Glock pistol look like a Lego toy?.
From literary work to computer programs, you have the right to protect your intellectual property. That being said, laws pertaining to patents, trade marks, copyright and so on are not straightforward.
From Taylor Swift fighting the good fight to owning her master recordings to CJ Hendry burning her artwork to comply with copyright infringement, even popular artists are not immune from intellectual property claims.
It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but not when someone is profiting from it. Is someone copying your artwork and passing it off as their own?
Did you know that Thoma Edison did not invent the light bulb? It was actually invented by Heinrich Goebel, who tried to sell it to Edison but was turned down.
Additional Damages are awarded as a punishment in Copyright Infringement cases, as businessman Clive Palmer’s eye watering $1.0 million Additional Damage fine has shown.
Effective service in the Federal Court is a critical step in litigation. The recent decision in Freshfood Holdings shows the dangers of getting it wrong.
In 1 week the auDA rules are changing for .au Domain Names. The changes will cost people .au Domain names. Should .auDA introduce a domain amnesty?
Australia has a solid practical legal response to moves in Europe to seize AstraZeneca vaccine factories under the Crown Use exception to the Patents Act/
The trade mark burger wars are heating up again with a move by a Brisbane company to register the business name In-N-Out Aussie Burgers.
Harry and Meghan have a trade mark dispute on their hands, with a businessman who wants to use the name ARCHEWELL for cosmetics. He says if Meghan wanted to use ARCHEWELL on cosmetics she should have asked first.
With Australia now embarked on the Covid vaccine programme, anyone thinking of jumping the queue to get the jab should beware of fakes and scams. People need to be patient and not be tempted to queue jump with any so-called vaccine deals offered online. You do not always get what you pay for.
The auDA, which governs the .au domain name space, is changing the domain name licensing rules on 12 April. The changes will significantly affect sole traders who have restructured their business and businesses which sub licence domain names to other users.
Jeff Geaney purchased the domain magicmillions.com two-and-a-half years ago and is accused of cybersquatting. Is it cybersquatting or a legitimate purchase?
Many Australian law firms and their clients could find themselves facing extortion by online hackers after reports of a major security breach of an Australian legal services firm.
With multiple brands renaming, opportunistic traders may be tempted to adopt the name of a disused Trade Mark. The result may not be pleasant.
Australia’s High Court has delivered a stunning mortal patents blow to industries that manufacture items with inbuilt designed obsolescence.
Only two weeks until close of submissions on the Australian Government's review of the Privacy Act 1988..
Small businesses providing Wi-Fi to their patrons could face serious charges if people use their internet is used for nefarious means.
For the sake of clarity, we are Queensland Commercial, Technology and Intellectual Property Law Firm EAGLEGATE Lawyers.
In a clash of the gaming titans, Japanese mobile developer Gree has won a lawsuit against Finnish developer Supercell and has been awarded at least $8.5 million.
If your product brand name is so entrenched in the public’s mind it becomes a descriptor of the product, how do you protect that trade mark?
Watch out for the Photograph Shakedown Fraud. Book a free 30min consultation with EAGLEGATE Lawyers.
Brisbane cyber lawyer Sandy Zhang says media reports of fears that Tik Tok, owned by a Chinese company, is being used by the Chinese Communist Party to track users is heightening fears amid a stand off between Australia and China and a deteriorating relationship between the countries.
It’s the sort of news that cracks up trade mark lawyers- how the United States’ military Space Force may have been trumped in a trade mark move by a Netflix streaming comedy series of that name.
There’s a fear burglars could benefit from a Government requirement for cafes and restaurants to compile lists of customer names and addresses in case Covid-19 contact tracing is needed.
A Victorian Supreme Court decision holding Google liable for a defamation action over search results is a strong wakeup call that could see search engines now become wary of what search results they display.
Ask any Aussie what the letters VB mean and chances are they would not think of former Spice Girl warbler Victoria Beckham.
People working from home or surfing the Internet in a coronavirus home isolation need to be super aware of predatory cyber scammers who are very active right now.
The Queensland Government’s offer of loans to small business of up to $250,000 as a lifeline in the COVID-19 pandemic has a serious loop-hole. Only some businesses are eligible for the loan.
The probability of Australian police using mobile phone tracking technology to track contacts of people infected with the coronavirus should not be seen as an intrusive Big Brother erosion of privacy rights.
While Australian scientists and medical researchers race to find a cure for the coronavirus, a Brisbane intellectual property and patents lawyer says the Crown could use any patent rights to a locally- devised proven vaccine.
It’s the lawsuit shaking up the tech world - Facebook is suing an American domain name registrar Namecheap and its proxy service Whoisguard.
Prince Harry and Meghan were actively preparing to quit the Royal Family months ago by filing trade mark applications to commercially protect their brand.
A cautionary tale for trade mark holders in Australia - there’s a new trend in legal cases to bring a cross claim to declare the trade mark invalid based on it being filed in the wrong name.
Every so often there’s a story in the media that beggars belief, like the idiot in America who tried to steal an internet domain name at gunpoint.
Cyber criminals are now so rampant on the Internet trying to rip off victims that it’s becoming safer to adopt a “trust nobody” attitude toward online transactions.
Foreign companies that may think they can weasel out of being liable for contracts with Australian clients can thank our computer gamers for a hard won lesson in life.
Whistleblowers who report misconduct about companies can now access stronger rights and protections under law changes to the Corporations Act.
It sounds like a no-brainer if staff offer to use their own laptops or portable devices for work, but employers should realise it’s actually a very bad idea.
Executives at some prominent Australian organisations who falsely claim to have university degrees could be using the Privacy Act to protect them from being found out.
Why your WIPO TradeMark registration in Australia might be invalid. The International Trademark system administered by the WIPO provides an easy process of filing trademark applications in Madrid Protocol countries.
Can you Register a Trademark for a Song or a City? Liverpool FC vs The Locals Liverpool Football Club, one of the oldest and most storied football clubs in the world
A nine-person Los Angeles jury has found that Katy Perry’s 2013 song Dark Horse infringes the copyright in Marcus Gray a.k.a Flame’s 2009 song Joyful Noise.
They used to say you could make a fortune from real estate but the big bucks now are in cyber real estate- buying and selling domain names, and the industry is booming.
Patents and the Right of Repair – Ink dries on Re-making patented goods in the Full Court
A USD$12M Lesson in trademark registration - Wawona-ship of Majestic Yosemite TradeMarks returned to National Park We all learn through bitter experience.
We recognise that the value of a brand to a business is important. Global brands like McDonald’s, Red Bull and celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Cardi B and Paris Hilton invest significantly in their brands.
IP Australia has recently launched a new tool to search Design registrations. The tool is based around the image recognition software already used by IP Australia.
What do Kim Kardashian, rapper Cardi B and Paris Hilton have in common? – all have come unstuck over moves to try and trade mark common words. B
Australian entrepreneurs trying to trade mark a popular word as their business brand should take heed of the legal stumble by American celebrity Kim Kardashian.
Today the LNP is learning a good lesson on protecting domain names. They let LNP.COM.AU expire and someone grabbed it up and it is now redirected to Bill Shorten's Labor website.
Slater & Gordon is attempting to trade mark a phrase that is common in the legal industry and the EAGLEGATE news article discussing the attempt is getting a run in Australasian Lawyer.
Protect your trade mark online - don't let the domain name drop Learn lessons from Bill Clinton himself. Don't fall asleep at the wheel.
Trade Mark Tips - Controlling Use EAGLEGATE's trade mark tips advert has been published on 4KQ. Listen to the trade mark tips below.
We all learn through bitter, bitter experiences. Occasionally we get to learn through the bitter experience of other people - today is such a day.
Google has been slapped with a fine of US$57M by French authorities -the first penalty for a U.S. tech giant under new European data privacy rules (GDPR) that took effect last year.
Dominos has suffered a Court loss in America over its failure to properly tag its images with appropriate names.
Remember that scene in Pulp Fiction where Vince (John Travolta) tells Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) what they call McDonald's quarter pounders in France?
A former junior solicitor, has been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for stealing almost $10 million from a client’s accounts.
Glencore is taking the ATO to the High Court to stop it using stolen information.
Listen in to EAGLEGATE's very first Podcast on Lawyers Weekly - Nicole talks all things cyber for lawyers and how lawyers can be proactive in cyber security in their own firms.
Canadian officials are considering granting Canada’s generic pharmaceutical firms the right to copy, sell and potentially export into the US patent protected drugs.
The United Nations is the latest organisation to experience a privacy breach. Again, the privacy breach has occurred through a third party provider and a lack of proper configuration.
If you are looking to register your trade mark in Australia, prior to filing the trade mark application you should ensure your application is valid, the trade mark is registrable and you know the fees and charges which apply.
Contact us for an appointment with one of our experienced Technology and IP Lawyers today.
