Articles
David vs Goliath: Trade mark battle with ZARA
Sharon Givoni Consulting Intellectual Property, Trade marks
ZARA vs ZARY On the 19th of April 2018, Sharon Givoni was interviewed for A Current Affair over a trade mark battle with ZARA. As you would all know, ZARA is possibly one of the largest fashion distributors in the world, selling clothing, accessories and the like. ZARA also owns several trade marks for the […]
Can You Protect Your Book Title? Copyright and Trade Mark
Sharon Givoni Consulting Intellectual Property, Protecting ideas
How to Protect Your Book Title In our law firm, we often get asked by authors whether and how they should protect their book title. Sometimes the problem is that two people in the world have the same book title for a different book. Other times authors just wish to exercise caution. In order to […]
Unfair contract terms – how could they affect you?
Sharon Givoni Consulting Consumer Law
On 2 November 2016, a new law, Treasury Legislation Amendment (Small Business and Unfair Contract Terms) Bill 2015 (Cth), came into effect. The aim was to protect small businesses from unfair terms in business-to-business standard form contracts. This law applies to standard form contracts that are either entered into, varied on or after, or renewed […]
Copyright your Craft: An event held by Craft Victoria
Sharon Givoni Consulting Copyright, Intellectual Property
On Thursday, 17 May 2018, as part of Law Week, Craft Victoria held a panel discussion to bring craft makers and legal professionals together to discuss copyright and intellectual property. The theme was copyright your craft. Our law firm attended the discussion. The purpose of this update is to share some of the useful […]
Pet Food Packaging: Legal Requirements in Australia
Sharon Givoni Consulting Intellectual Property
Starting a pet food business in Australia? Over the years we have had a number of clients come in to see us to review their pet food packaging and to make sure it is compliant with all pet food labelling regulations and standards. One of the issues that can be problematic is when people make […]
Replica furniture – is it legal?
Sharon Givoni Consulting Copyright, Intellectual Property, Protecting ideas, Trade marks
Unsurprisingly, the growth of replica furniture industry has grown over the years. An example of this is the replicas of the Tolix chair, which was designed by Xavier Pauchard, in 1934 in France. In light of this clients often ask us: is it legal to copy a furniture design? We have covered the issue of copycat products here. […]
Furniture Suppliers Beware! Protecting your designs in Contracts
Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design, Copyright, Intellectual Property, Protecting ideas
Beware of hidden traps in trading terms and conditions There is a major industry issue faced by many furniture suppliers. Some larger furniture retailers have snuck some clauses into their trading terms which are disadvantageous to suppliers, particularly when it comes to protecting your designs from being copied. One of these clauses purports to give […]
Register or lose it! Protecting your furniture designs in Australia
Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design, Copyright, Intellectual Property
Have you ever wondered how some retailers can sell replica furniture and not get into trouble? Have you ever wondered if there is anything you can do in Australia to prevent your designs from being copied? Fear not, if you are a furniture maker in Australia then rest assured there are things that you can (and should!) […]
Stranger things have happened – Netflix writes funny cease and desist letter
Sharon Givoni Consulting Consumer Law, Copyright, Entertainment Law, Film, Intellectual Property
When Sheriff Hopper knocks – Netflix cease and desist letter gets media attention The words “cease and desist” letters often get used in intellectual property matters. We think of bigwigs in Hollywood going after fans and creators of fan fiction, sending cease and desist letters threatening legal action if people are using content without appropriate […]
Interview on Intellectual Property Law and Fashion Design for the ABC
Sharon Givoni Consulting Intellectual Property
Sharon Givoni was recently interviewed for the ABC in relation to how IP laws in Australia protect fashion designers. Sharon takes some time to answer some burning questions on copyright, designs and fashion, looking at the adequacy of protection in Australia and overseas. How big an issue is copyright infringement in Australia? I think […]