There has been a significant amendment to the Trade Marks Act 1995 which further entrenches the legality of parallel imports in Australia. Until recently, s123 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 provided a defence to parties (including importers) using a trade mark to sell or import goods where the trade mark had been applied with…
While most of the Australian population (and its media) are fixated on the Royal visit or the AFL player trade, those in the industry have had a similar level of interest in the movement towards Australian domestic ratification of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP-11) (aka the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)) and…
Source: https://www.reuters.com The legal position of the UK within the WTO is not in doubt: the UK has always been a full Member of the WTO and will remain so post-Brexit – the problem lies in determining the exact terms and conditions of its membership. It is unlikely that any issues will arise regarding the…
A SENIOR trade lawyer says the Trans-Pacific Partnership still will be subject to a transparent review process before being implemented by the government. The Maritime Union National Council recently passed a resolution describing the TPP-11 as enabling corporations to seek “unfettered access to Australian government contracts” and something that would “destroy Australian jobs”. Partner for…
The networked society as a new landscape for obligations The neighbour principle On 26 May 1932, the UK’s House of Lords, released its decision in Donoghue v Stevenson. This decision has been influential for tort law in the common law world. Often referred to in less austere terms such as the ‘snail in the bottle…
We wanted to draw your attention to some interesting articles about the topics of the Regulating for Globalization blog that appeared in the European Foreign Affairs Review Volume 23, Issue 3, 2018, edited by Jörg Monar & Nanette Neuwahl. Han Dorussen, Emil J. Kirchner, Thomas Christiansen, ‘Security Cooperation in EU–China Relations: Towards Convergence?’ (2018)…
INFRINGEMENT Notices (INs) were once a relatively minor nuisance in industry, largely associated with speeding or parking fines. However, since the introduction of the Infringement Notice Scheme (INS) to the Customs Act 1901 (Customs Act), INs have taken on much greater significance. That significance may escalate again following a recent media release by the Australian…
Some readers will recall the final scenes of the original Jaws movie when the captain of the shark hunting vessel (Robert Shaw) finally sees the size of the monster shark and loudly announces “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” (and is then eaten by the shark). Much of Government and its agencies are explained by…
Please find below the journal abstract of “Brexit from a WTO/GATS Perspective: Towards an Easy Divorce?” by Rudolf Adlung, published in Journal of World Trade, Issue 5, Volume 52, 2018 edited by Edwin Vermulst. Virtually all studies dealing with the WTO-related aspects of Brexit, the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) envisaged separation from the European Union, tend to…
This the seventh post in a series of posts commenting on the NAFTA renegotiation process. For Part I click here, for Part II click here, for Part III click here, for Part IV click here, for Part V click here, for Part VI click here. The United States and Canada are continuing their meetings this week to try…
There have long been allegations that importers and their service providers here and overseas have been engaged (knowingly or innocently) in “circumventing” existing measures otherwise payable on imported goods. For some time, importers and their service providers have faced action by the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) and Australian Border Force (ABF) in relation to…
This the sixth post in a series of posts commenting on the NAFTA renegotiation process. For Part I click here, for Part II click here, for Part III click here, for Part IV click here, for Part V click here. The terms of the bilateral agreement reached by the United States and Mexico on August 27, 2018, as…
This the fifth post in a series of posts commenting on the NAFTA renegotiation process. For Part I click here, for Part II click here, for Part III click here, for Part IV click here. On August 27, the United States and Mexico announced having reached a preliminary agreement regarding the terms under which they would conclude…
As the deadline for Brexit is fast approaching, the UK government published guidance setting out the consequences of a No Deal with the European Union on its exit on 29 March 2019. While the announcement emphasised the priority to reach a deal with the EU, the government sought to provide advice to business and citizens…
Please find below the journal abstract of “Constitutionalizing Labour Rights: Informal Homeworkers in Global Value Chains” by Marlese von Broembsen, published in International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, Issue 3, Volume 34, 2018 edited by Guy Davidov. This article analyses, from a constitutionalism perspective, the ubiquitous ‘due-diligence human rights framework’ that aims to hold multi-national…
The idea of facilitating secure and compliant trade underpins many international agreements such as the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and WCO Safe Framework of Standards (SAFE) and is reflected in many “Authorised Economic Operator” programmes such as our own Australian Trusted Trader Programme (ATTP). Government and its agencies also provide further assistance to those…
Is the Commission stricter than the IAAF? The European Athletics Championships finished this Sunday. Some athletes “jumped the gun” by beginning a race before the official signal was given. Those athletes might debate with a referee whether they actually left before the starting shot or not, but no doubt they all know exactly what gun-jumping…
Australia passes espionage, foreign interference, foreign influence and critical infrastructure security laws. The concept of attempting to influence elected representatives, Governments and their agencies has been taking place forever – well at least as long as we have had these types of institutions. Seeking to influence the agenda The nature of the influence has changed…
In 1997, Fareed Zakaria wrote of illiberal democracies. His concern centred around the freedoms (such as speech, assembly, religion, property) that Zakaria termed ‘constitutional liberalism’. These natural rights held by human beings were to be respected by government. Illiberal democracies casually ignore constitutional limitations and undercut the aforementioned ‘basic’ rights. Zakaria’s observation has offered insight for…
On April 19, 2018, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) delivered a judgment dealing with the notions of abusive discrimination and competitive advantage under Article 102(2)(c) TFEU. The case concerned abusive price discrimination by a dominant company, between two customers competing in a downstream market (so-called non-exclusionary abusive discrimination). While ostensibly attempting to adapt the…
