Legal perils to avoid when using social networks

Sharon Givoni Consulting Consumer Law, Copyright, Intellectual Property, Internet Law

This article considers copyright for businesses in relation to social media. Issues explored include: Who legally owns a business’ social networking account? Recommendations for drafting social media policies and what they should cover Resolving other issues that can arise from social media use such as bad publicity Social media can both help and hurt businesses. […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Avoid having your ideas ripped off: Be proactive not reactive
Feb / 01

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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Social media trade promotions – tips and traps

Sharon Givoni Consulting Retail and fashion Law

Online promotions and competitions can be an effective way to boost exposure to your brand and engage with your target market. When it comes to the area of window furnishings, this principle equally applies. You may want to run a competition like: “Caption this photo for a chance to win” “Tell us in 50 words […]

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Social Media - Trade Promotions Tips & Tricks by Sharon Givoni
Jul / 20

Social Media – Trade Promotions Tips & Tricks

Sharon Givoni Consulting Internet Law

Online promotions and competitions can be an effective way to boost exposure to your brand and engage with your target market. You may want to run a competition like: “Caption this photo for a chance to win” “Tell us in 50 words or less why …” “Like, comment or share this to be in the […]

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