Depending on where in Australia you want to run this, the exact mechanic of the giveaway, the value of the prizes and various other factors, you may need permits for this. And you should have terms and conditions.

Contact me if you'd like assistance:

david.smith@gadens.com

Hi there. Australia’s copyright laws are set out in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) which ensures that people who create new material have a right to protect their work from unauthorised use by third parties.

Copyright law applies to text-based material, including written material published online. The owner of the copyright is usually the person who created the original material, such as the author of a written text or article. The owner of the copyright has a number of exclusive rights over their material, such as the right to reproduce the work and to communicate the work to the public. Anyone who does not own the copyright will generally need permission to use the material in one of these ways, otherwise they will be infringing copyright. Using part of the material without permission may also infringe copyright if it is an important part of the whole work.

News agencies that publish articles on their own websites will generally own the copyright to the written text. This means the news agency is able to control where and on what terms the material is reproduced. Copying or aggregating a substantial amount of this content on another website – either wholly, in part or by paraphrasing – is likely to infringe the copyright of the news agency. The copyright owner would have the right to commence legal action to stop the infringing conduct and/or seek a penalty, such as compensation.

However, there are some situations where republishing copyrighted material is allowed. For example, if the republication is for the purpose of news reporting and the use of the copyrighted material is objectively ‘fair’ in all the circumstances of the case, then an infringement may not arise. Similarly, and specifically in your proposed situation, news articles may be aggregated and republished on another website provided the new website does not introduce the material to a new audience (i.e. users of the aggregate website can also access the original website).

Lastly, most websites have ‘terms of use’ that set out the rules for using the website. It is possible for an aggregator website to display terms that disclaim liability for copyright and any other intellectual property infringement that may arise. However, these disclaimers may not be able to overcome a direct violation of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) or similar laws. It is therefore important that the website does not, by design, directly infringe the copyright of others.

Hi there. There are many things to consider when one is thinking of incorporating a company in Australia or offshore. You may like to first consider the following issues:

• Consider how corporations are regulated in Singapore. In Australia, incorporating a company means you agree to certain ongoing regulatory requirements such as reporting and accounting obligations. Knowing exactly what your regulatory burden will be when you incorporate is very important because keeping up with the obligations can be time consuming and costly (especially for a small company). This means that you will have to carefully weigh the differences in regulatory requirements between Australia and Singapore.
• Consider what the company tax rate is in Singapore. In Australia the corporate tax rate is 30%, while in Australia the corporate tax rate in Singapore is 17%. This seems like an obvious advantage. However, if you incorporate in Singapore but you are sourcing your income from Australia from Australian clients you may still have to pay Australian Tax.
• Consider your ability to communicate with corporations regulator in Singapore if issues with your company arise. The advantage of incorporating in Australia is that it will be very easy and accessible for you to find a lawyer if you need one. Should problems arise, navigating the Singapore legal system is probably not something you are equipped to do
• Consider whether incorporation is actually the right choice for your young business at this stage. If your business is small you may not actually be able to deal with the regulatory burden and cost of incorporating at this early stage.

While there may be many obvious advantages with one choice over another, this area is complex and if you have never incorporated a company before you may fail to consider something important.

Hi there. Launching a start up can be a complex process, and it is great that you are seeking some assistance to ensure everything is done properly.

The second part of your question is more complex. There are some problems you should be aware of that may arise with your plan to transfer property to your wife in order to avoid liability to creditors.

Hi, as the original author of the plans, copyright in those plans typically vests with you. You may assign (transfer ownership) or license these rights as the copyright owner. This needs to be done in writing. It will very much depend on the terms you have agreed with the client as to what rights (if any) they have to use the plans.

However, the law does recognise particular implied rights in relation to the preparation of building plans. Generally speaking, when an architect contracts with a client to produce plans for the purpose of being used to carry out building works at a particular site, an implied licence arises for the use of the plans by the client for that purpose. This may extend to the use of the plans by another architect also! As mentioned it very much depends on what terms you have agreed with the client and this will determine what rights you have to prevent the client or the other architect from using the plans.

I recommend contacting an intellectual property lawyer who can assist you by advising on your current rights to the plans and the options you have to protect those rights.

Hello and thanks for your question. It is helpful to consider whether the product you are looking to develop is patentable right from the word go before you spend too much time and money on the new product. Patent protection is a long lasting and strong intellectual property right once you have it in place. The existing patent owner here seems to have a very broad set of claims some of which may or may not be defensible.

We would recommend seeking professional advice from a patent attorney specialising in the relevant industry for your product. e.g. technology, engineering, chemistry etc or contacting an intellectual property lawyer. Both will be able to assist you to determine whether the scope of the existing patent has been drawn too broadly and is subject to attack. It will also be helpful to confirm that the product you are seeking to develop does not infringe on the existing or other patent owner's rights (ie conducting a freedom to operate search). Depending on the situation you may be able to negotiate an appropriate licence with the patent owner, develop a product outside the claims and seek your own protection or challenge their patent in some way. Good luck with next steps.

Hello - good question. You are on the right track and it is important to make sure you have the legal rights to use this content before you incorporate it into your app. Emailing the content owner is a good start and you don't have to provide anything more than a summary of your app along with your request. This will help reduce the risk of them "copying" your idea.

Patents are a different thing altogether and would not protect your "idea". Once you have developed your app, copyright laws will provide you with a measure of protection.

If the content is important to include in your app you will need to ensure you obtain appropriate rights to use it. A lawyer can assist you with your initial request and can help make sure you have broad rights to use the content if the owner agrees to license it to you. Good luck!