Commercial Law Take Exam

BUSN7052 Commercial Law

Assignment

Instructions

Due: 11pm  6 October

Word limit: 1,600 words (Footnotes and bibliography are not included in the word count but do not include extended commentary in the footnotes).

The cover sheet is now available as a word document. I am not requiring that you physically sign the cover sheet. Submission of your paper constitutes acknowledgement of the conditions on the cover sheet.

 Please refer to the course outline for details on how the assignment will be assessed and further details on submission and presentation. Note that late penalties apply. Refer to the course outline.

Marks: this assignment is worth 20% of your final mark.

Referencing:  Unlike the problem paper this is a research exercise and you should research beyond the lecture and text material. This is not a problem question so it should not be answered in IRAC format. In general terms your answer should look like a journal article. Your work should comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (uploaded to wattle). Include a bibliography.

Information and further links can be accessed via the Academic Study Skills web page. Follow the ‘Referencing’ tab.  https://academicskills.anu.edu.au

You are employed as company secretary and general counsel for Veronica Airlines.  The CEO has read the following recent article in the newspaper concerning a competitor, Qantas, and its dispute with an employee Lucinda Holdforth:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-24/qantas-moves-to-block-lucinda-holdforth-memoirs-over-secrets/6569642

The CEO has asked you to prepare a paper for the board of directors which outlines the ways in which Veronica Airlines might seek to legally protect its confidential information including trade secrets from disclosure or exploitation by employees or former employees.

In your paper you should outline the laws relating to the protection of confidential information in the context of employers and employees and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the current legal regime in this regard.

Are there any recommendations you would make about terms which should be included in employee contracts in the future to provide better protection in this regard?

You should refer, where applicable, to cases, legislation and/or journal articles to support and illustrate your points.

Note that you only need to consider the protection of confidential information for which the company does not hold patents or trade marks. Note also that you do not need to discuss protection provided by defamation law.

In addition to material already covered in the course refer to chapter 21 of the text on intellectual property for background on this topic.

You will be able to find research materials electronically, from the ANU library site.

Useful legal databases include:

LexisNexis AU – for cases and journal articles

FirstPoint (Legal online) – for cases and journal articles

HeinOnline – for journal articles (this service has a large number of Australian journals)

Westlaw AU – for journal articles

NB. Australian cases and statutes and some journal articles can be found at:  http://www.austlii.edu.au