Articles
Superfood or superfool – the legal lowdown on using this name
Sharon Givoni Consulting Consumer Law, Food Law, Packaging
Blueberries, goji berries, chia seeds, acai berries and of course, kale! These are the superfoods which are going to make you healthier, happier, smarter and just all round better, or so they say. However, before you start spruiking your new superfood from the pristine Amazon rainforest, stop to make sure you do not make yourself […]
Use it or lose it – what happens if you do not use your Trade Mark?
Sharon Givoni Consulting Consumer Law, Intellectual Property, Packaging, Retail and fashion Law, Trade marks
If you are a small business and looking to restructure, this article is a must-read to ensure you do not inadvertently put your trade marks at risk. Key points: Even if you have a registered trade mark this may not be fool proof A registered trade mark can be potentially removed by a third party, […]
Why being ‘pretty sure’ is not enough to justify threats of copyright infringement
Sharon Givoni Consulting Copyright, Intellectual Property
Takeaway tips Don’t take matters into your own hands if you think someone has copied your work. Don’t make your copyright infringement claims public. If you think your copyright has been infringed, seek legal advice right away. In 2015, a copyright infringement dispute arose 6 years after a British woman, Sarah Scurr, entered a photo […]
Avoiding the Gaps in the Copyright/Design Overlap
Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design, Copyright, Intellectual Property
Takeaway tips The copyright/design overlap aims to deal with and eliminate dual protection under copyright and design law. Don’t assume your designs are protected by copyright. Consider design registration before you publicly disclose your design. Recently, our firm assisted a client who sold unique handmade jewellery through an online store. He shockingly discovered that another […]
Copyright or Wrong – Ownership Issues
Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design
This article considers copyright considers for photographers including how long copyright lasts for, what can be protected and how. Firstly, what is copyright? Copyright is a generic term that covers the rights of creators of ‘works’ including photographs, drawings, painting and artworks, literature, music, films and written works. A clear distinction exists between the copyright […]
Ensuring your Soft Drink Brands Sparkle not Fizzle
Sharon Givoni Consulting Food Law
This article examines some dos and don’ts when it comes to trade mark protection for beverages considering real life cases concerning brands such as “Cranberry Classic”, “Crantastic”, “Ruby’s Red”, the “NES” family of Nestle trade marks and Boost juice marks. The strongest form of legal protection you can have for your brand in Australia is […]
Avoid having your ideas ripped off: Be proactive not reactive
Sharon Givoni Consulting Protecting ideas
Imagine that you have designed a new fabric pattern. You are getting ready to release it to the market. You know it will be a great seller and need to take steps to ensure it is not copied by a competitor. Understanding how intellectual property laws in this area work is critical for you to […]
When the wet paint is protected by copyright
Sharon Givoni Consulting Street art
Sharon Givoni has recently authored an article on Street Art and Copyright for Lexis Nexis’s Inhouse Counsel newsletter. In this article, Sharon considered the legality surrounding the creation of street art and how copyright subsist in it. She has explored questions such as how does copyright regime apply to street art and should illegal street […]
Copyright And Wrong?
Sharon Givoni Consulting Copyright
Copyright or Wrong? You work it out with this short introduction to the rules, by Sharon Givoni*. Content on the internet is not ‘public domain’ and intellectual property rights exist in the technological age. Potentially serious consequences exist when it comes to using and appropriating content found online without permission. In this blog post, Intellectual […]