Articles

Katarina Klaric, Principal, Stephens Lawyers & Consultants (June 2017) Is your business compliant with the ACCC’s latest 2017 compliance priorities?  Australian Consumer Law, Section 23 - Unfair Contract Terms –  Applies to most standard form contracts (including on-line contracts) for the supply of goods, services or sale/grant of interest in land, to ‘small business’ which are entered into or renewed after 12 November 2016.  New … [Read more...] about ACCC Compliance and Enforcement Priorities – 2017

by Katarina Klaric, Principal, Stephens Lawyers & Consultants Publication of defamatory comments on websites and social media and business networking platforms such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are becoming increasingly common and are causing devastating harm to both personal and business reputation and business losses.  Some of the defamatory material published is of such an extreme nature that it has been described as being … [Read more...] about Damages for Online Defamation – Recent Cases 2015 to 2016 [August 2016]

FRANCHISING IN AUSTRALIA Franchising is one of the fastest growing business sectors in Australia. There are over 1160  franchise systems operating in Australia, with the number of franchisees estimated to be 79,000 [1]. The United States has had a strong influence on the development of Australia's franchise industry with major U.S franchisors including KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut establishing operations in Australia in the late 60's early … [Read more...] about Franchising in Australia – Update January 2016

Tweets capable of conveying defamatory imputations The use of Twitter and other social media for marketing and promotional purposes – whether  it be the promotion of a new product, the dissemination of news or entertainment services, or the development of a personal or corporate brand - requires careful scrutiny to limit the risk of exposure to a claim in defamation. The recent court decision in Hockey v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2015] … [Read more...] about Social Media and Defamation – August 2015