DIAS Studios v. Petro - computer software copyright litigation
We successfully represented programmer Ben Petro and his employer, University of Queensland, who were accused of misappropriating trade secrets and infringing copyright of a previous employer. Mr Petro re-used JavaScript computer code modules, available on the Internet, to write an Internet computer program. The court decided that there was no infringement.
This is now the leading Australian case on what is a “computer program” under the Copyright Act, and defines how small a copyrightable work may be to obtain copyright protection.
John Fairfax Publications v. Reed International Books Australia (Lexis Nexis)
This test case brought against our client, LexisNexis, will determine whether a headline of a newspaper article is protectible by copyright.
This case will also determine the boundaries of the Australian “fair dealing” exception to infringement for reporting the news.
Telstra Corporation Ltd v Premier Media Group Pty Ltd and News Digital Media Pty Ltd
This was the first copyright dispute in Australia concerning the scope of fair dealing in relation to sports footage on the Internet and over mobile phones. Intellectual property lawyers and commentators in Australia and around the world closely followed each stage of the dispute. More broadly, the dispute had significant commercial implications, not just for Telstra as to the scope of its exclusive rights, but also the NRL (in relation to the value of such rights), the respondents (in relation to how much footage they could use), and the media generally (which would have been impacted by a final decision). The litigation attracted very significant media attention and featured on the front and back pages of newspapers on a daily basis for a number of weeks.
Telstra Copyright Tribunal Proceedings with APRA/AMCOS
We are acting for Telstra in the Copyright Tribunal proceedings concerning APRA/AMCOS's proposed licensing scheme for digital music downloads. APRA/AMCOS is the copyright collecting society responsible for collecting certain royalties for music publishers, composers and lyricists. It has recently sought to raise the licence fee payable on all music downloads from a standard rate of 8% per track to 12% per track - an increase of 50%. Telstra is seeking to have the licence scheme amended to reduce the licence fees payable for music downloads, as well as to address a number of other aspects of the scheme that Telstra considers unreasonable.
These proceedings will have substantial implications for the long term viability and operation of the online music industry in Australia.
Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft Corporation v Gu
We acted for Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft in a joint action for trade mark and copyright infringement against Wen Bin Gu, a website operator offering a large selection of counterfeit PlayStation and Xbox computer games. We successfully obtained freezing orders against Gu’s assets to ensure the recoverability of any damages judgment against him. The case was settled favourably with the pirate website shut down and compensation of $190,000 paid to Sony and Microsoft. The case is part of a broader campaign by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) against piracy of computer games in Australia. Mallesons were appointed IEAA’s lawyers in 2006.
“Clients return to the practice here time and again for its ‘responsive and accommodating advisers’, who are just as at home whether dealing with contentions or non-contentious matters.”
Chambers Global Guide 2006-2007