Peter Speakman

IP, intellectual property, issues, transferring business

Intellectual Property issues arising when buying or selling a business

Intellectual Property, Practice Area, Sale/Purchase of Business / Peter Speakman

When buying or selling a business it is important not to overlook the intellectual property aspects of the transaction. For the vendor, proper analysis of intellectual property rights can ensure that the business is properly valued. For the purchaser, it is crucial to ensure that all intellectual property assets that the purchaser wishes to acquire […]

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New Small Business Unfair Contract Term Regime

Consumer Law / Peter Speakman

Are you ready for the new regime? If you are a small business, or deal with small business you need to be on top of the changes being introduced by the Unfair Contract Terms laws commencing on 12 November 2016. The changes will extend protections now only afforded to consumer contracts to small business contracts.

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Challenges to Wills – First Case Decided Since Extensive Changes to the Administration and Probate Act

Practice Area, Wills & Probate / Peter Speakman

Brimelow v Alampi [2016] VSC 135 (8 April 2016) was a claim by an adult daughter against her mother’s estate for whom the deceased made no provision. Whilst the defendant had conceded that the deceased did in fact owe her daughter a moral duty and was therefore entitled to receive provision from the deceased’s estate

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Road to Nowhere

Practice Area, Property / Peter Speakman

The question before the Court in Anderson v City of Stonnington [2016] VSC 374 (“Anderson v Stonnington”) was whether the laneway in question was a road within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1989 (“LG Act”), the Road Management Act 2004 (“RM Act”) or a highway pursuant to the common law. The Court determined

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Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding Payments

Practice Area, Property, Taxation / Peter Speakman

The new withholding regime applies to contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2016. The regime imposes an obligation on a purchaser who purchases certain types of Australian assets with a market value of at least $2 million from foreign residents to collect and remit 10% of the purchase price to the Australian Taxation

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Challenges to Wills

Practice Area, Wills & Probate / Peter Speakman

The Administration and Probate Act 1958 allows an eligible person to apply for additional provision to be made for them from the estate of the deceased where the deceased’s Will does not adequately provide for them. The Act uses a list-based approach, listing those who are eligible to apply. From 1 January 2015, the list

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Fencing Disputes

Practice Area, Property / Peter Speakman

New fencing laws came into operation in September 2014; the Fences Amendment Act 2014 (Vic) (“FAA”) updated and amended the Fences Act 1968. The main changes made by the FAA are: One simplified process for all fencing and subsidiary work involving the construction of a new dividing fence or the repair of an existing dividing

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General Law Land

Practice Area, Property / Peter Speakman

General Law Land In Victoria, General Law Land (also known as Old Law Land or “NUA” Land (Not under the Act)) is land that has not been brought under the operation of the Transfer of Land Act (TLA). Since 1999 it has been compulsory to bring land under the TLA on transaction (e.g. on the

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Superannuation – Binding Nominations

Practice Area, Superannuation / Peter Speakman

Superannuation Death Benefits – you can’t just nominate anyone Your ‘death benefit’ includes the money in the your superannuation account at the time of death plus any life insurance cover you have through your super fund. Death benefits are not estate assets and therefore you generally cannot deal with your death benefits in your Will.

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Data Retention Laws

Data Retention, Practice Area / Peter Speakman

What is Metadata? Metadata is data that describes other data. So, for example, the Metadata relating to a telephone call would include information related to that call – date and time of the call, duration, telephone numbers of both parties, approximate locations of the parties, and then like – but not the actual voices themselves.

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Intellectual Property issues arising when buying or selling a business

New Small Business Unfair Contract Term Regime

Challenges to Wills – First Case Decided Since Extensive Changes to the Administration and Probate Act

Road to Nowhere

Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding Payments

Challenges to Wills

Fencing Disputes

General Law Land

Superannuation – Binding Nominations

Data Retention Laws

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