December

"Whose interest is it anyway?" The Personal Property Securities Act and IP security interests - Intellectual property owners and those who have security interests in their IP might not understand the full scope of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) and how it affects them. Mary Still and Brandy Tsang look at a recent case for a timely reminder for them to get their house in order.
ACCC v Cement Australia: another ACCC misuse of market power case turns to ash - Elizabeth Richmond and Alexia Smyth-Kirk tease out the implications from the Federal Court's recent decision on an alleged misuse of market power - and see what could be coming soon to Australian competition law.
ACCC's annual report 2012-2013: regulator follows through on stated consumer law priorities - The ACCC's new annual report shows how well it's done in tackling its enforcement priorities. Sara Dennis and Daniel Bolkunowicz pick through 300 pages for the highlights.
Advertising and the ACL: Fine print couldn't save TPG Internet in the High Court - In a decision with significant ramifications for advertisers, the High Court last week overturned the Full Federal Court's decision and found that TPG's broadband advertising campaign was misleading, as Matthew Battersby and Kirsten Webb explain.
Aristocrat copyright and trade mark case ends as a busted flush - The long-running dispute between the Aristocrat Technologies group of companies and Global Gaming Supplies has finally come to an end with one final surprise, as Timothy Webb and Alice Taylor discover.
Australia in a digital age: Are you cyber secure? - As more enterprises move online, more risks arise - risks they are often ill-prepared to manage. Alexandra Wedutenko and Lisa Keeling set out some of the basic consideration for an enterprise to protect itself from cyber attacks
Carbon tax repeal - the ACCC will be watching your prices! - New laws and new powers for the ACCC mean businesses will need to carefully review their contractual arrangements to determine how they respond to the repeal of the carbon tax, warn Paul Burton and Dan Howard
Changes to Queensland local government contracting arrangements - Recent amendments to the Local Government Regulation mean a change for the way Queensland councils establish their registers of pre-qualified suppliers and invite tenders, as Jamie Doran and Erin McCormick explain.
Clayton Utz acts for Joint Lead Managers on A$225 million Industria REIT IPO - Clayton Utz has advised Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited, UBS AG, Australia Branch, ANZ Securities Limited and Morgans Financial Limited, as joint lead managers on the A$225 million Initial Public Offering (IPO) of listed Australian real estate investment trust, Industria REIT.
Clayton Utz appoints new Chief Executive Partner to lead the Firm from 2014 - The Board of Clayton Utz has appointed Robert Cutler to succeed Darryl McDonough as the next Chief Executive Partner of Clayton Utz from 1 July 2014.
Clayton Utz appoints new partner in Melbourne Construction and Major Projects team - Clayton Utz has appointed Jonathan McTigue as a partner in the Firm's national Construction and Major Projects practice, with effect from 1 January 2014.
Clayton Utz congratulates INSW and SHFA on financial close of Darling Harbour Live precinct PPP project - The revitalisation of Darling Harbour is another step closer to being realised, with the Darling Harbour Live (DHL) precinct project reaching financial close on 5 December - another significant project milestone for Clayton Utz and our clients, Infrastructure NSW (INSW) and Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SFHA).
Collins Foods turns to Clayton Utz to snag Competitive Foods for $55.6 million - Clayton Utz has provided legal advice and support to our client ASX-listed Collins Foods Limited in respect of its strategic acquisition of KFC fast food restaurant franchisee, Competitive Foods Pty Ltd, for a purchase price of $55.6 million. The deal was signed on 28 November.
Comment on Coalition Agriculture White Paper - The release of the terms of reference for an Agriculture Competitiveness White Paper comes at an interesting time, say Karen Evans-Cullen and Adam Foreman.
Countdown to the Fair Work Commission's new bullying jurisdiction - Are you prepared? - The Fair Work Commission will soon have new powers to intervene and seek to resolve workplace bullying disputes. Christy Miller and Cassandra Heilbronn set out the steps employers should be taking now to get ready.
Court dismisses ACCC's price fixing case against ANZ - The ACCC/ANZ case is of interest for companies operating in multi-channel distribution and possibly for principal/agency relationships from a competition law perspective, say Alexia Smyth-Kirk and Michael Corrigan.
Draft NSW assessment bilateral agreement on exhibition - The Federal and NSW Governments are on the way to delivering on their proposal to streamline Federal environmental assessments and approvals in NSW, with the release of the draft NSW assessment bilateral agreement for public comment. Nick Thomas, Claire Smith and Kathryn Pacey pick apart the detail.
Employees' Facebook posts out of work hours can put them out of work for good - Michael Byrnes finds some guidance in a recent case as to what online behaviour is (and isn't) subject to workplace disciplinary processes.
Federal Court extends the notion of competition between principals and agents - Distribution arrangements where principals sell direct in competition with agents should now be reviewed for potential breaches of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, warn Michael Corrigan, Ian Reynolds, and Shameela Karunakaran.
Financial services reform - where to now? - The previous Labor Government made a number of significant amendments to legislation governing the financial services industry. Graeme Howatson sets out their fate under the new Coalition Government, and what else is planned.
Financial System Inquiry: A root and branch review - The Financial System Inquiry is intended as a sweeping review that will tailor Australia's financial system to current and future challenges.
International Anti-Corruption Day 2013: A review of combatting corruption in 2013 - Peter Sise and Yudi New round up the anti-bribery and corruption highlights of 2013, and what we need to keep an eye on for 2014.
Looking for the silver lining: The future of cloud computing for the Australian Government - Governments across the globe are beginning to move into the cloud, and Australia is no exception. Alexandra Wedutenko and Lucinda Watson explain how Australian Government agencies can deal with privacy and data security concerns, and what they can expect in the future.
Methods of medical treatment patentable in Australia; infringement by cross-label use fact-dependent - The High Court's finding in Apotex Pty Ltd v Sanofi-Aventis [2013] HCA 50 that a method of medical treatment can be a "manner of manufacture" and thus a patentable invention, is not only consistent with the long-held view but demonstrates Australia's perspective that these patents bring demonstrated economic benefit.
Mining case reaffirms the importance of defining the case in merit appeals - Graeme Dennis, Nick Thomas and Joanna Zhou look for lessons from a recent case involving a coal mine seeking approval to expand its operations.
No tenure for tenants of liquidated landlords - The High Court has ruled that liquidators of lessors can disclaim leases, thus terminating the leasehold interests of tenants, in Willmott Growers Group Inc. v Willmott Forests Limited (Receivers and Managers Appointed) (In Liquidation) [2013] HCA 51.
Parliament's response to NSW Planning Bill signals a long summer - What will the Opposition's last-minute changes to the Planning Bill in the Legislative Council mean for the long-awaited reform of NSW's planning laws, asks Nick Thomas.
Preliminary agreements: to be or not to be? - Brian O'Callaghan and Justin Bernau show why parties to a preliminary agreement need to specify clearly what the agreement's effect is meant to be.
Productivity Commission's issues paper on public infrastructure poses some intriguing questions - The Productivity Commission's inquiry into public infrastructure is moving along briskly with the release of a very detailed issues paper, says Brad Vann.
Protocol for managing legacy boreholes announced by the Queensland Government - Following the Dalby bushfire caused by gas emissions from an abandoned coal exploration borehole, the Queensland Government has announced a new protocol for managing and responding to these legacy boreholes incidents. Mark Geritz, Ben Cansdale and Tuck Chung see how far the Protocol goes.
Redundancy vs redeployment in multinational companies - Michael Byrnes looks at a common problem which has so far received little attention from the courts: when must multinational companies consider overseas employment options for employees affected by redundancy?
Reform of the Queensland Planning and Development system - Melissa McKenzie and Stephanie Bashford set out the significant amendments and reforms made to the Queensland planning and development system.
Relocating to redeploy in unfair dismissal - A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission sheds further light on multinational companies' obligation to consider overseas employment options for employees affected by redundancy.
The ADM - GrainCorp decision: a fact-based commentary - Heath Lewis goes through some of the aspects of the ADM takeover proposal that tend to get lost in the politics-inspired public commentary.
The Coalition's Workplace Relations Policy: what has happened in the first 100 days of government? - After 100 days of the Coalition being in Government (albeit with an unchanged Senate) Dan Trindade and Ned Overend take a look at the Coalition's progress on these election promises/proposed changes.
Warsaw COP 19: From a Durban Platform to a Warsaw Mechanism (via a Doha Gateway) - International climate change negotiations continue their agonisingly slow progress, resulting in more decisions but few commitments. Time is rapidly running out to conclude a new legally binding agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol by 2015, warn Brendan Bateman and Ally Packham.
Will WA consultants face duty to report contamination? - Environmental consultants engaged to investigate or remediate sites in Western Australia could soon have a new duty to report known or suspected contamination. Claire Smith, Brad Wylynko and Mark Etherington see what this would mean for vendors and purchasers.

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Clayton Utz communications are intended to provide commentary and general information. They should not be relied upon as legal advice. Formal legal advice should be sought in particular transactions or on matters of interest arising from this communication. Persons listed may not be admitted in all States and Territories.