Lawyerly’s Litigation Firms of 2020 delivered significant victories for clients last year in bet-the-company matters, thriving in a tumultuous year that saw courts and litigants adapt to virtual trials and other new norms that are sure to outlast the COVID-19 pandemic.
ASIC will not appeal a Federal Court decision tossing the majority of its case against former Tennis Australia director Harold Mitchell and accusing the regulator of “confirmatory bias” in bringing the case, but has foreshadowed fresh claims related to allegedly inconsistent statements given during its investigation.
The Federal Court has ordered former Tennis Australia director Harold Mitchell to pay a $90,000 penalty after a “narrow” win for ASIC in its case over the domestic broadcast rights to the Australian Open.
Billionaire Clive Palmer has claimed that he wrote the lyrics to ‘Australia’s Not Gonna Cop It’ in the early hours of the morning while “deep in contemplation” at his bedside, telling the Federal Court that the song was inspired by the Peter Finch film ‘Network’ and not Twisted Sister’s rock anthem.
Heavy metal singer Dee Snider has admitted under cross-examination that ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ influenced Twisted Sister’s rock anthem ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ but denied that he had “borrowed” elements of the Christmas carol for the 1985 hit.
Universal Music has accused Clive Palmer of “burning, notorious” copyright infringement by using a rewritten version of Twisted Sister’s smash hit We’re Not Gonna Take It in a series of “grating and annoying” political ads.
Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer has lost his bid to vacate a trial scheduled to start next week in a high-stakes lawsuit alleging he committed copyright infringement by using Twister Sister’s 1980s rock anthem ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ in campaign ads for his United Australia Party without a licence.
A judge has issued a broader injunction barring Air France from using the song ‘Love Is In The Air’ than the one proposed by the airline, after finding an Oregon electronic duo’s song which was licenced to Air France copied the 1977 disco hit.
US drug company Merck Sharp & Dohme has settled trade mark litigation brought by German drug maker Merck KGaA alleging it violated a 1970 agreement by using the “Merck” mark in Australia.
ASIC’s case against GetSwift and its founders Joel Macdonald and Bane Hunter makes accusations against both directors but relies on alleged conduct by only Hunter, a lawyer for Macdonald has told a court on the last day of trial in the corporate regulator’s case.