Court of Appeal of Western Australia considered the extension of an insurance policy to a building-project subcontractor who was neither a party to the insurance contract nor mentioned by name in the policy. ...

In this case, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered when a contract is validly terminated if the termination clause provides for termination if a remediable breach is not remedied within a set timeframe. ...

Contracts often contain detailed provisions prescribing how parties must perform their obligations or exercise their rights under it. Frequently, such provisions are not strictly complied with. There will often then be a dispute about the consequences of that non-compliance. ...

Australia's modern slavery reporting regime was introduced one year ago, and 2020 will see the first set of modern slavery statements published by reporting entities. ...

With negotiations underway for the free trade agreement between Australia and the European Union (the A-EU FTA), Australian businesses that produce, buy or sell EU and non-EU food, agricultural goods and spirit drinks have to confront the possibility that Australia will agree to give much stronger protection to the names of hundreds of EU products that indicate their geographical origin. We look at some of the key issues in the EU's proposal that would impact Australian businesses' operations and IP portfolios, and consider some of the agreed compromise positions in the EU's other recent FTAs. ...

In the recent Federal Court decision of Pinnacle Runway Pty Ltd v Triangl Limited [2019] FCA 1662, Justice Murphy weighed into the Wayback debate: 'Are screenshots obtained from the "Wayback Machine" admissible as evidence?'. By admitting screenshots of this kind into evidence (on certain conditions), the court sanctioned further use of the Wayback Machine. It also made an important distinction between use of a sign as a trade mark and use of a sign as a style name. ...

In Technological Resources Pty Ltd v Tettman [2019] FCA 1889, the Federal Court decisively reversed yet another Australian Patent Office (the APO) decision to reject a patent application on the basis that it was not a 'manner of manufacture'. ...

Now in its 9th year, Linklaters' popular series brings together analysis, thinking and highlights from its lawyers around the world in the form of topic-specific and jurisdictional guides. These guides summarise a selection of the major developments you should be aware of from 2019, and those you should expect in 2020. They aim to give you a comprehensive overview, with links to more information where applicable. ...

The Australian Government has tabled the Crimes Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 (the 2019 Bill) in the Senate, and the Attorney-General's Department has released Draft Guidance on the steps a body corporate can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials for public consultation (the Draft Guidance). Like the 2017 version of the Bill that lapsed earlier this year (the 2017 Bill), if passed, the 2019 Bill will strengthen Australia's foreign bribery laws, including by introducing a new corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery by an associate, and will introduce a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) scheme for resolving serious corporate criminal matters. Partner Rachel Nicolson, Senior Associate Andrew Wilcock and Associate Lewis Winter report on the key differences between the 2017 and 2019 Bills, and the content of the Draft Guidance. ...

This Insight considers the regulatory effect of the grandfathering of the conflicted remuneration clause, 6½ years after it came into effect. ...