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‘We want to send a message to the courts’: ACCC’s Sims flags importance of potential competition in merger review
The ACCC's recommended changes to the merger review framework that would require regulators to weigh whether a proposed acquisiton involved a potential competitor was a message to judges to rethink how they approached merger cases, the head of the watchdog said Monday.
After questioning funder’s cut, judge quietly approves KPMG class action settlement scheme
A judge has quietly given his seal of approval to a settlement distribution scheme in a class action against KPMG, after raising questions about Piper Alderman's legal bill and the litigation funder's "arguably excessive" cut of the confidential settlement.
Steel giant BlueScope could face criminal charges over alleged cartel
Prosecutors are weighing criminal charges over alleged cartel conduct the subject of a price-fixing case by the ACCC against BlueScope Steel and former general manager of sales Jason Ellis, a judge has revealed in rejecting a bid by the competition watchdog to suppress details of its case.
Groundhog day for privacy tort
The ACCC's recommendation in its digital inquiry report for a statutory cause of action for serious invasions of privacy has merit as a mechanism to safeguard individual's privacy where it is not protected by the Privacy Act or the patchwork of surveillance and related legislation. But it remains to be seen whether there will be any greater governmental impetus than on previous occasions to make the legislative changes required, writes Gilbert + Tobin partner Melissa Fai and lawyer Stephanie Essey.
Full Federal Court declines to clarify standard for patentability of computer-implemented inventions
A five-judge panel of the Full Federal Court has found two innovation patents by financial software company Encompass Corp. are not a manner of manufacture, but held back on providing more clarity on the test for the patentability of computer-implemented inventions.
Judge slams NRMA’s ‘intrusion’ on industrial jurisdiction with consumer suit
A judge has thrown out the NRMA’s consumer case against the maritime union over its Sydney fast ferry campaign, ruling that a verdict in favour of the motoring body would have brought the “the entire field of industrial relations within the operation of consumer legislation”.
Ex-Tennis Australia directors lose bid for ASIC chats with witnesses
Two former directors of Tennis Australia can't access chats between ASIC and other executives from the tennis body, with a judge finding the documents recording the communications with the potential witnesses were created in anticipation of litigation and were therefore privileged.
Vittoria roasts Lavazza over ‘oro’ trade mark
A simmering battle over the 'oro' trade mark has bubbled over, with Australian coffee giant Vittoria filing Federal Court proceedings alleging Italian competitor Lavazza has knowingly violated its trade mark for the Italian word gold.
State Street can use evidence from Maurice Blackburn case in US suit against Fearless Girl artist
State Street Global Advisors has been given the go-ahead to use evidence unearthed in its trade mark and copyright action against Maurice Blackburn over the iconic Fearless Girl statue as evidence in a related US lawsuit against the sculpture's creator.
Lindsay Fox, Max Beck lose high-stakes valuation case over Essendon Airport
Billionaire Lindsay Fox and property magnate Max Beck have lost a dispute over the valuation of land at their jointly operated Essendon Airport, with a judge siding with the Federal Government's method that calculated the site's value at $349 million, not $7.1 million as claimed by their expert.