Articles
Legal Ease not Legalese. Plain English: What is it and why do we need when it comes to the law?
Sharon Givoni Consulting Consumer Law
Plain English: What is it and why do we need when it comes to the law? By far one of my favourite quotes is one by Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher who said something on the lines of: “I’m sorry for writing such a long letter, but I didn’t have time to […]
Trade Promotions & Lotteries – the Laws
Sharon Givoni Consulting Commercial and Contracts, Consumer Law
At Sharon Givoni Consulting we believe in proactive law which is based on the philosophy that legal knowledge is at its best when applied before things go wrong. In Australia, trade promotions and lotteries are regulated by the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the State and Territory legislation. “You could buy 100 lottery tickets and […]
Does your business have a good set of website terms and conditions? If not you need to read this…
Sharon Givoni Consulting Commercial and Contracts, Consumer Law, Internet Law
If your business is online, terms and conditions are a must. They are an electronic contract that is legally binding between you and your customers. Specifically, they govern what customers or users must comply with in order to access and use your website. What is the law? The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) requires businesses with […]
Dark Patterns: User interfaces that make consumers buy and buy more. What are the laws and are dark patterns illegal?
Sharon Givoni Consulting Consumer Law, Intellectual Property, Internet Law
Have you ever been in a situation where you are buying things online and find it really easy to sign up but a real challenge to get out of it? Maybe an online subscription service for example that makes it difficult for users to cancel? Other examples of dark patterns that internet users may come […]
Diamonds May Be a Girl’s Best Friend, But Is the Law? – Protecting Your Jewellery Designs
Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design
Jewellery designs are a labour of love and beauty which form the foundation of any business – and to see that your designs ripped off can make a heart sink like a 24-karat rock. In our experience, jewellers tend to make the mistake of a reactive rather than proactive approaches to protecting their designs. We […]
Decrypting Crypto Art: Is it a fad or is it here to stay?
Sharon Givoni Consulting Copyright, Intellectual Property, Trade marks
Since its very beginning, the rise of new digital technologies such as blockchain have made all of us sit up in our seats and wonder – what does this mean for us and our daily lives? Nowhere is this more true than the recent explosion of Non-Fungible Tokens (or ‘NFTs’) in the digital art world. […]
Getting it “White” – White Label Agreements and the Law
Sharon Givoni Consulting Commercial and Contracts
What is a ‘White Label’? At its essence, a white label arrangement is where one business provides goods or services which are then sold by another business under the latter’s own brand name. This strategy is becoming increasingly common with the explosive growth of the e-commerce market. Such an arrangement allows companies to readily expand […]
Same Same, but Different Different
Sharon Givoni Consulting Intellectual Property, Trade marks
Can two businesses use the same Brand Name? You have started a company under a snazzy brand name, but a google search shows that the name has already been in use by another company – and they’ve trademarked it. So the big question is, can two businesses use an identical brand name? Many of you […]
Ghostwriting and Copyright in Australia
Sharon Givoni Consulting Intellectual Property
Who Owns Copyright – Ghostwriting There is a good chance that if you are reading this you have either entered into a ghostwriting agreement or are considering hiring a writer to create that story you have been burning to tell. However, you probably also wish to know if getting someone else to write said story […]
Can They Do That? – Unfair Dismissal in Australia
Sharon Givoni Consulting Intellectual Property
Unfair Dismissal – Now What?! So, you think you are about to be fired or have just been handed a pink slip. You’re probably thinking, now what? If you believe your untimely firing was harsh, unjust or unreasonable you may have been unfairly dismissed. Losing your job can be a really difficult and very stressful […]