Chand v Zurich Insurance

In a judgment handed down in the NSW Supreme Court, the Court was asked to determine whether an action for recovery of repair costs may be sought by an insurer, under its right of subrogation, after the settlement of recovery of rental car costs had been already finalised by consent judgment.

The introduction of tablets, smart phones and other mobile devices is driving down the use of personal computers and printers and making life tough for businesses who service these peripherals. For two rival distributors of printer cartridges the increased competition in a declining market has made it all the way to the Federal Court in a case involving a copyright breach when one of the distributors made use of material from its competitor’s website.

Finding a competitive edge over rival organisations is essential to any organisation’s success - and the loss of sensitive information used to achieve that advantage can severely damage a business.

Sexual harassment is an all too common and lamentable act that can damage an employer’s credibility and, to a degree, destabilises an organisation’s commercial goals. A recent case involving a software company and a consulting manager employed there, highlights the absolute importance of giving due attention to detail in policies, as the company was ultimately held responsible for an employee’s conduct because it failed to clearly state that sexual harassment is unlawful.

The ACCC had claimed that sponsored links displayed by Google between 2005 and 2008 had conveyed misleading and deceptive representations.  The case involved searches using keywords such as Harvey World Travel and Honda, which were redirected to competitors websites.

Treasury has announced that implementation of the unrelated commercial activities tax will be further delayed to 1 July 2014.  The tax remains retrospective for those unrelated commercial activities that commenced after 7:30 PM on 10 May 2011, subject to passing the enabling legislation.  This leaves charities with uncertainty regarding the tax status of their commercial activities.

Cloud computing is already a big part of our lives; though, often, we don’t realise we are using it. Partly, no doubt, that is the intention. The name itself encourages fuzzy thinking and its users are blissfully unaware of what lies behind the image on the screen.

Cloud computing has been around, as an idea, for decades – since the 1950s, in fact – and has been used widely in practical popular services such as Hotmail, Facebook, YouTube, Gmail and Dropbox for many years now. By definition, a cloud computing service is any service that allows you to load information into a cyber locker that is located elsewhere from the computing hardware you operate.The new services have brought with them new ways of copying and storing text, photos, films and music. All acts capable of infringing the Copyright Act, if done without permission or authorised without permission. When you load information into a cloud, do you still own the copyright on that material? By loading it, are you already infringing copyright? And, more precisely, can the person who stored it for you make copies of that material? And who is legally responsible for any infringements associated with the upload and sharing of that material?

When the next financial year begins, entities registered with the new Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit Commission (ACNC) will be subject to six proposed governance standards and new reporting obligations in three categories depending on their annual revenue. If your organisation is going to be affected by the new regime, you can let Treasury know your thoughts by way of a written submission, applications for which close on the 15th of February.

A good general manager is an asset to any organisation.  They will keep the Board apprised of any changes, will be proactive and will implement the directions provided by the Board in an efficient and timely manner.  Boards can sometimes, however, place too much reliance upon that person and detailed systems of checks and balances, specific authority limits and close monitoring are essential at all times.

Articles on managing "difficult employees, an update on the Patel case, guidance on causation under the Civil Liability Act, practical transitional issues of the National Health Reform and an update on the Clinical Trial Reform in Australia.