By Brad Vinning and Ruby Mackenzie-Harris Business is booming, however... Have you heard about Prospa? This startup shot to Australian Financial Review fame in early June this year. It is an online lender which offers unsecured business loans to small businesses which...
Digital Platforms Inquiry: What does it mean for you?
By Peter Karcher and Jake Reid What is it? In December 2017 the Federal Government directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to conduct an inquiry to examine the impact of digital search engines, social media applications and online digital...
Don’t let time pass you by – Understanding Limitation Periods in Bringing a Claim
From time to time in business it may become necessary to enforce your legal rights by way of Court action. You may, for example, need to enforce the terms of a contract, seek redress for negligence or enforce your statutory rights. If you do find yourself in that...
Increased AFAD stamp duty charge for foreign buyers
Developers and foreign investors should be aware that in response to the recent Queensland State Budget there will be an increased stamp duty surcharge on foreign buyers for the acquisition of residential property, under the Duties Act 2001, from 1 July 2018. The...
Serving Notices under s 408 of the Environmental Protection Act (Qld)
The recent case of FKP Commercial Developments Pty Ltd (“FKP”) v Albion Mill FCP Pty Ltd (“Albion Mill”) has highlighted that when disposing of “contaminated land” in Queensland that vendors should be clear and unequivocal when constructing and serving the relevant...
Bang for your buck: trade marks and domain names
By Ruby Mackenzie-Harris and Brad Vinning Have you thought about whether you need to register your business’ domain name as a trade mark? Depending on your circumstances, this may or may not be a necessary step to protect your intellectual property (“IP”). Getting...
ANNOUNCEMENT: ClarkeKann’s Tim Ferrier & Agribusiness Practice Named in the 2018 Doyle’s Guide
We are delighted to announce that our CK Agribusiness team, and in particular our Consultant and Head of the CK Agribusiness team, Tim Ferrier, has been recognised in the 2018 Doyle’s Guide to Australia’s best legal firms and lawyers in the following categories:...
7 steps to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations
By Ruby Mackenzie-Harris and Brad Vinning Did you know that if your business uses or collects the data of customers, clients or users who reside in the European Union, you will have to comply with the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”) as of 25 May...
The restriction on the exercise of ‘Ipso Facto’ rights – What does it mean for the construction industry?
EDIT 31 MAY 2018: The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services has now issued an explanatory statement as well as a draft declaration and draft regulations which outline various rights and agreements which are proposed to be exempted from the ‘ipso facto’...
Beyond the glamour: Amazon Brand Registry and brand protection online
By Peter Karcher and Elle Zhang You are a successful beauty product expert, blogger, entrepreneur, Instagram sensation and most importantly, a hard working business owner. You sell your popular products (these life-changing little bottles of face oil) through online...
Hey, that’s not fair! Contract renewed automatically – when did that happen?
By Peter Karcher and Elle Zhang If you are a supplier (of services or products) or just a hard working business owner, chances are, you have tried to sneak in an automatic renewal clause in your standard terms and conditions (or have, in fact, successfully...
When a picture really is worth 1000 words – The "comic contract" movement
By Murray Procter and Ben Keenan In an age when the most popular form of communication is limited to 280 characters, it is unsurprising that the public’s tolerance for dense, overly complex legal contracts is in decline. It now appears that the process of...




