2nd February 2011
Updated Australian Telecommunications Legislation
Updated Australian Telecommunications Legislation documentation.
TMT
17th November 2010
Changes to the Trade Practices Act – What it means for consumer guarantees
Click here to listen to Partner Tim Gole discuss the reforms and what they mean for businesses and consumers alike.
25th May 2010
NBN Implementation Study summary by Gilbert + Tobin
By Elise Ball, Andrew De Celis, Peter Waters
This paper summarises the Australian Government’s recently released Implementation Study regarding the multi-billion National Broadband Network (NBN) project. Gilbert + Tobin’s team have condensed and analysed the Implementation Study into an easy-to-read 25 page document.
19th May 2010
Australia – overcoming the impediments to 4G
In this article, we provide a summary of some recent developments in mobile spectrum in Australia. This article was published in the May 2010 edition of Communications Law published by the International Bar Association.
30th July 2009
Lessons from World of Warcraft: Cautionary Tale in Precision in Licence Drafting & Compliance
By Tim Gole, Peter Jones, Peter Leonard
A recent case handed down by a US District Court provides a timely reminder about the importance of properly crafting, and of diligently adhering to, software licence terms. Carefully drafted terms can increase the chance of a licence breach amounting to copyright infringement (which can often attract more substantial damages), instead of (or in addition to) a mere breach of contract.
30th June 2009
Gilbert + Tobin summary of the UK Government’s Digital Britain Report
On 16 June the UK Government published The Digital Britain Report, its strategic vision for ensuring that the UK is at the leading edge of the global digital economy. The Report is one of the central policy commitments in the Government`s Building Britain`s Future plan and draft legislative programme. Gilbert + Tobin lawyers Peter Waters, Richard Pascoe, Shreeya Muthusamy, Barron Koo and Korolyn Rouhani-Arani provide a summary for our communications and broadcast clients.
19th February 2009
Australia’s consumer laws set for overhaul
By Tim Gole, Peter Jones, Simon Snow, Luke Woodward
On 17 February 2009, the Assistant Treasurer released the Federal Government`s consultation paper on some of the most significant consumer law reform in Australia`s history. The consultation paper, An Australian Consumer Law, is one of the final steps towards establishing a uniform national consumer law to replace the current State, Territory and Federal consumer laws that operate under various fair trading legislation and the Trade Practices Act 1974 respectively.
12th February 2009
Proposed changes to the Electronic Transactions Acts – what does it mean for your business?
By Tim Gole, Peter Jones, Peter Leonard
In November 2008, the Commonwealth Attorney-General`s Department – in collaboration with the States and Territories – released a consultation paper on the Australian Government`s proposal to accede to the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (the Convention). For Australia to accede to the Convention, it needs to make changes to its domestic electronic transactions laws.
5th December 2008
Message in a bottle: stored communications interception as practiced in Australia
Gilbert + Tobin Consultant Rob Nicholls and Lawyer Michelle Rowland recently addressed the 2007 Social Implications of National Security Workshop, which brought together some of Australia`s pre-eminent minds on the issues of privacy and surveillance legal, social and technical issues. This was a great platform for Rob and Michelle to present their paper on the legalities of recent amendments to Australia`s interception and access powers for stored communications, which was very well received by the conference.
26th September 2008
User takes charge but at what risk? – Navigating the novel legal issues associated with User Generated Content
The popularity of user generated content (UGC) has seen large numbers of Australian companies incorporate interactive features into their marketing and distribution platforms to give their consumers a voice. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) tipped UGC sites as one of the `Six Top Trends` over the coming five to ten years.
17th September 2008
Gilbert + Tobin on Innovation
By Andrew De Celis, Deborah Johns, Peter Leonard, Ken Saurajen
Gilbert + Tobin invites you to join discussions on innovation through our blog – Gilbert + Tobin on Innovation. The blog will examine innovation both here in Australia and overseas. We hope it will become a lively and useful forum highlighting key issues of importance to business, industry and Government.
21st August 2008
Privacy and Telecommunications: ALRC Proposes a General Review & Detailed Revisions
By Sarah Alderson, Moya Dodd, Peter Leonard, Peter Waters
The report recently released by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) – For Your Information: Australian Privacy Laws and Practice (Report) dedicated considerable attention to the interaction between the existing privacy and telecommunications regimes.
11th August 2008
Just Released – ALRC Recommends Significant Changes to Australian Privacy Laws
By Sarah Alderson, Dianne Banks, Peter Leonard
This morning (11 August 2008) the Federal Government publicly released the report of the review of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) of Australia`s privacy laws.
7th August 2008
New Privacy Laws – How Will They Affect You?
By Sarah Alderson, Dianne Banks, Peter Leonard
On Monday 11 August 2008, the Federal Government is expected to make public the report of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) into reform of Australia`s privacy laws.
5th August 2008
Bandwidth Begets Congestion – A Review of the Impact of P2P Traffic on Broadband Networks
By Peter Waters
The Internet may be facing a conundrum – just as network capacity is increasing, many network operators are grappling with network congestion. Increased bandwidth has coincided with two content trends – the popularity of peer-to-peer technology (P2P) and the explosion of Web 2.0 applications and business. Jim Cicconi, AT&T`s Vice-President, recently claimed that, based on its current Internet architecture, the Internet would reach its capacity by 2010 thanks to what he described as an `unprecedented wave in broadband traffic.`[1] Even those who doubt A&T`s claim, [2] accept that there is significant last mile congestion currently due to network traffic increases. [3]
17th April 2008
Environmental Systems Pty Ltd v Peerless Holdings Pty Ltd [2008] VSCA (26 February 2008)
By Bernadette Jew, Peter Leonard, Sheila McGregor, Ken Saurajen
Over the last ten or so years in Australia, `indirect or consequential loss` has come to be commonly equated with loss of the kind described in the second limb of Hadley v Baxendale – that is, losses contemplated by the parties, at the time of making the contract, as the probable result of its breach. It has also been accepted that while losses such as loss of revenue, profit, business, opportunity, goodwill and data might typically be considered to be `consequential`, there would be circumstances in which they (or a component of them) might be direct loss.
18th June 2007
Fixed Mobile Convergence: How to play when you don`t have both networks
By Peter Waters
This paper was first presented at CommunicAsia conference in Singapore on 21 June 2007 by Peter Waters, Partner.
26th April 2007
Telecoms Value Added Services – European Perspective
By Peter Waters
About Gilbert + Tobin
Gilbert + Tobin is one of Australia’s leading specialist corporate law firms. We have a team of approximately 400 people based in Sydney and have advised clients throughout Australia and more than 50 other countries worldwide. Our strategic alliance with King & Wood, China’s leading law firm, has further strengthened our presence [...]
27th November 2006
Ofcom’s Broadband Market Review
This article reviews the recently released Consultation Paper outlining Ofcom`s proposed decision on whether the UK incumbents (BT and Hull) have SMP in broadband and access markets.
30th September 2006
Limiting supplier liability in ICT contracts with Australian government agencies
By Peter Reeves
Unlimited supplier liability in ICT contracts with Commonwealth government agencies is only to be included when there is a compelling reason (rather than as the norm). This represents a move that will be welcomed by suppliers of information technology products and services who previously have struggled to comply with liability regimes proposed by government agencies.
28th September 2006
Broadcasting Update: The Media Ownership Bill – What`s in it for radio?
The long-awaited legislation relating to the reform of the cross-media rules was introduced into the Senate on 14 September 2006, in the form of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Bill 2005 (the Media Ownership Bill).
10th September 2006
Operational Separation – A New Style of Regulation?
By Peter Waters
This paper reviews the emerging regulatory trend to require incumbents to operationally separate their upstream network and wholesale operations from their downstream retail businesses. Following its introduction in the UK, operational separation looks like it will be the next `regulatory wave`. We compare the operational separation models in the UK and Australia, which while sharing a similar policy objective and some common features, also differ over the extent and degree of separation required. Operational separation harks back a previous US attempt to apply structural safeguards to incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) business and we conclude by looking at the lessons from that earlier experiment.
22nd June 2006
Interconnection of next generation networks – A regulatory perspective
The deployment of next generation networks by incumbent fixed-line operators presents a challenge to regulators. This challenge is to balance the needs of end-users with a desire to encourage workable competition between the incumbent and new entrants. The next generation network architecture has the potential to alter the liberalised regulatory environment and reinstate the incumbent as a monopoly provider. This paper analyses the issues that arise from such a deployment and proposes options available to regulators if intervention is required. The analysis sets out the architecture of next generation networks, the impact that their deployment has on competitors and potential access to the core network and access network of a next generation network. The paper concludes by setting out some of the regulatory options that are available.