Contract Law for Designers

Sharon Givoni Consulting Copyright

Who would have thought that contract law involves more than just boring jargon and signing on dotted lines?  This article aims to give you clear understanding on your rights, responsibilities and obligations regarding contract law within the creative industries. It also explains in simple terms what a contract is, and the different sorts of contracts […]

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Preventing Copycats: Weaving Through the Legals

Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design

Imagine you come up with a great new pattern for curtain fabric that strikes a chord with consumers, a window shutter design or a special weave that flies off the shelves. What if you find out someone is copying you? Have you protected your IP? Can you stop them? How? This article considers how you […]

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Protecting What’s Special

Sharon Givoni Consulting Protecting ideas

Most of us will have great business ideas from time to time. The challenge is how you can stop others from using them and slavishly copying them …. This article considers the law of confidential information and how you can protect that in Australia. It also considers the importance of registering unique trade marks and […]

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Legally Speaking: Street Art (Part 2)

Sharon Givoni Consulting Street art

Did you know that you could infringe copyright in a painting if it features in the background of a photograph which is used for commercial purposes? Yes, true. The same applies to street art and even graffiti. If you reproduce an image of it in a book, newspaper, magazine or online that could actually breach […]

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Legally Speaking: Street Art (Part 1)

Sharon Givoni Consulting Street art

Street art has gained credibility as a legitimate way for artists to communicate their works to the public outside of the confines of the mainstream art world. However, as it has increased in popularity, so has copying. Sometimes businesses forget (or do not realise) that street art – just like any other art – is […]

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Copyright and the Internet – busting some myths

Sharon Givoni Consulting Internet Law

In Cyberspace, once your illustrations are posted online you lose a certain degree of control. As a lawyer, I often see the same issues arise. For example, people ask about the ten per cent rule and also whether if they post a copy of their drawing it themselves they are protected. Misconceptions about the use of […]

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Unpicking the Threads

Sharon Givoni Consulting Retail and fashion Law

Textile companies or designers may be surprised to learn that, if you apply a three-dimensional element to your fabric, such as an embroidered or woven element, you could lose the benefit of copyright protection altogether. This article canvasses copyright and designs in the context of textiles. Read more… Kindly reposted with the permission of ATF […]

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Taking Photographs In Public – Zooming In On The Legals

Sharon Givoni Consulting Photography

When you can take photographs in public? What are the copyright issues? Actually the answer is not as straightforward as you may think as Sharon Givoni, Melbourne Based, Intellectual property and copyright lawyer explains. Read on to get a low down on the issues. Read more…

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Moral Rights and Copyright

Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design

Did you know that not attributing an author or artist can be a beach of their moral right? As can cutting up their photograph or painting? This article discusses Australia’s moral rights laws in the context of photography. Read more…

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Exaggerating the Truth or Misleading : A Legal Perspective

Sharon Givoni Consulting Consumer Law

This article was specifically written for the real estate industry and looks at terms such as “for illustration purposes only” and use of images that may be considered misleading … You may be surprised. Read more…

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