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Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ CategoryWebsites black out to protest SOPAWednesday, January 18th, 2012 In response to harsh new anti-priacy laws proposed in the USA, many websites have gone off line or are displaying black out pages in protest at SOPA. SOPA is the Stop Internet Piracy Act, which has been championed by Hollywood producers, who claim it is the only way to stop piracy, much to the anger of the internet community. Even some IP Lawyers are opposed to the proposed regime, claiming that it is a step to far. The proposed introduction of SOPA is seen as a serious threat to free speech on the internet, with US lawmakers proposing to give law enforcement powers to shut down websites almost anywhere in the world, through a variety of mechanisms such as web filtering. Major websites such as WordPress.org and Wikipedia.org are blacking out in protest.  Tags: copyright infringement, intellectual property lawyer, IP lawyer, SOPA, Stop Internet Piracy Act iiNet acquires InternodeThursday, December 22nd, 2011 National ISP iiNet has today announced the acquisition of competitor Internode in a $105 million deal. The acquisition will see iiNet add a further 190,000 broadband DSL subscribers and 260,000 active services. Internode has forecast FY12 earnings of $180 million. Internode founder and MD Simon Hackett will remain as part of the executive team at Internode. The acquisition by iiNet will solidify its position as the second largest Australian ISP in the residential broadband DSL market. The acquisition is due to be completed on 29 February 2012.
Tags: iiNet, Internode, isp law, ISP Lawyers, telecommunications law auDA releases governance review of .auThursday, December 15th, 2011 .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA) the regulator of the .au domain name space today released a review of governance undertaken by Westlake Consulting Ltd and Argo Pacific. The report is a 107 page report which was prepared after consultation with a broad variety of stakeholders in the .au space including government, and Cooper Mills Lawyers. The report made 15 recommendations to the board including limits on the tenure of Directors and the publication of an Accountability and Transparency Framework. The issue of Accountability and Transparency has featured prominently in the report, most likely as a result of the perception that auDA was secretive. Of particular note in the report is a call for improvement in the relationship between government and auDA – earlier this week we reported that the Prime Minister had taken responsibility for Cyber Security from the Attorney General’s Department. We hope to publish a more comprehensive analysis of the report shortly. Tags: .au governance, auDA, Cooper Mills Lawyers, domain law, domain lawyers, domain name law, domain name lawyer Cyber Security Moves to PM’s OfficeTuesday, December 13th, 2011 Yesterday saw the Prime Minister reshuffle her cabinet, but in amongst the reshuffle was a one line comment which carried great significance, that is, Cyber Security Policy is now the responsibility of the Prime Minister and no longer that of the Attorney General’s Department. In her speech the Prime Minister said: ‘Responsibility for cyber security policy will move from the Attorney-General’s portfolio to my portfolio.‘. This marks an escalation in the importance of cyber security, especially in light of the compromise of the parliamentary email system in March this year. While responsibility for the area has moved, it is not clear what impact this will have on Cyber Security Policy and whether a shift in focus is planned. Tags: Cyber Security, Internet Security, IT Lawyer, technology law, technology lawyer Samsung free to sell Galaxy TabFriday, December 9th, 2011 The High Court has today refused Apple’s special leave application to appeal against an earlier Full Federal Court of Australia decision, which lifted an interlocutory injunction original obtained by Apple against Samsung. Earlier this year, Apple had sought and obtained an interlocutory injunction in the Federal Court against Samsung preventing the sale of its Galaxy 10.1 Tablet computer, a serious competitor to the Apple iPad. On appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court, the injunction was overturned. Apple then made a special leave application (which is the process by which the High Court determines whether it will hear an appeal from the Full Federal Court) to overturn the Full Federal Court’s decision. While Apple was originally granted a reprieve, with the High Court maintaining the injunction until its decision today, the injunction was ultimately lifted when Apple failed in its bid to have the High Court hear the matter. The effect of today’s decision is that:
Tags: Apple, High Court Appeal, IP Law, IP lawyer, IT Law, Samsung, technology law 5 year sentence for stealing a domain nameWednesday, July 27th, 2011 Daniel Goncalves a Union County man has been sentenced to a term of 5 years imprisonment for the theft and sale of the domain name P2P.com, in what is believed to be the first domain name theft case of its kind. It was alleged that in 2006 Goncalves gained unauthorised access to an AOL email account operated by the registrant of P2P.com, in order to authorise a transfer of the domain name. Once the name was transferred Goncalves apparently sold the domain name on Ebay for $111,000. He was later arrested on 30 July 2009 and was indited for a range of offences including computer theft. He plead guilty to those charges in 2010 and was this week sentenced. The domain name has been returned to its rightful owners and the Court ordered that Goncalves pay an amount in restitution to the victims. Tags: domain law, domain lawyer, domain name law, domain name lawyer, technology lawyer R18+ on the waySunday, July 24th, 2011 All states and territories of Australia (except for NSW) have agreed to introduce a new adult R18+ category of classification for computer games. It is anticipated that current M15+ classified games, which are inappropriate for children will be reclassified to a new R18+ rating. Justice Minister Brendan O’Connor today said that the new classification was required to protect children from adult content, and that the existing refused classification system would be maintained to ensure that the most inappropriate content was not classified. There has been significant debate on the introduction of a new adult category for computer games, with strong lobbying from the computer games industry. The debate has been ongoing for approximately 9 years. It is expected that NSW will review and consider the agreement reached including amendments included in the draft proposal. Tags: classification of computer games, computer games, computer law, IT Law, IT Lawyers, technology law, technology lawyers Keeping it clean: trade mark owners and .xxx domainsMonday, July 11th, 2011 In September 2011, the adult industry will get its own internet ‘red light district’ when the new .xxx top-level domains become available for registration. ICM Registry, which has been approved by ICANN to administer the .xxx TLDs, has announced a pre-registration ‘sunrise’ period, starting on 7 September 2011 and running for 30 days. In Sunrise A, members of the adult entertainment industry will be able to pre-reserve their desired .xxx domain names. In Sunrise B, which will run concurrently with Sunrise A, trade mark owners in non-adult industries will be able to pre-emptively block the registration of a .xxx domain name that matches their trade mark. It’s a defensive measure that ensures that a brand is not associated with explicit or adult-oriented content by removing the associated .xxx domain name from the pool of domain names able to registered. The important points:
Sunrise B opens soon and will run for a very limited time. Contact us to take advantage of this one-time opportunity to pre-emptively keep your valuable brands out of the .xxx neighbourhood. Tags: domain law, domain lawyer, domain lawyers, domain name law, ICANN, technology law, trademark, trademark registration Privacy Awareness Week 2011Monday, May 2nd, 2011 Cooper Mills Lawyers is once again proud to partner with the The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to promote Privacy Awareness Week 2011. Privacy Awareness Week was launched today, with the aim of encouraging people to exercise their privacy rights and to take steps to make sure their personal information is handled in accordance with the law. As part of Privacy Awareness Week, The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has timetabled a week of events as follows:
Tags: IT Law, lawyers, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Privacy Law, Privacy Lawyers, Telecommunications Lawyers Business Sales – what to watch out forTuesday, February 15th, 2011 Business sales are part of most succession plans, and getting it right can make the world of difference. Most small business owners engage the services of a licensed real estate agent or licensed business broker. This is usually the first and only dealing with a business broker or agent. Key issues that you should consider when dealing with a business broker / agent: Term of Appointment All contracts with business brokers and agents will have a minimum period of appointment, with an additional period called a continuing period after this time. You should consider appointing an agent for a set period with no additional or continuing period, this will make your agent work harder and will help you avoid being locked into a relationship which isn’t working. Commissions Business brokers and agents almost always charge their commission on a variable basis, for example 5% of the sale price, but often charge additional fees / charges. You should be clear to find out, before signing an agreement, whether this is the total of the agent or business broker’s fee, or whether there are additional advertising and retainer fees payable. If you don’t ask this question, it can be a costly mistake. Remember, you can negotiate, you may offer a lower commission with an incentive payment where the broker/agent achieves target sale price – it pays to shop around. It’s not always about the commission, do your research, to make sure the agent you pick is selling. Contracts Finally when you find a buyer and the deal is ready to be done, you need to sign a contract of sale of business (and in some cases a share sale agreement). Many business brokers and agents use a standard form document, while these documents are generally suitable for a very small number of businesses, they can’t always address the complexities of each individual sale. You should never rely on a business broker or agent to prepare a contract for you, lawyers commonly see a number of mistakes that business brokers and agents make, for example:
Before you sell your business you should always speak to your lawyers and accountants to obtain the right advice – and before you appoint and broker/agent do your homework. Tags: business sale, commercial lawyers, contract law, lawyers, small business |
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