Sunday Telegraph police reporter tells court he intended to convey that a fraud squad detective was corrupt … Former bank home loan officer gives contradictory evidence … Loud rumblings from the bar table ... more

QLD Court of Appeal overturns $150,000 damages award in relation to “paedophile” and “wog” allegations … Court spares no criticism of the trial judge Clive Wall and orders a re-trial ... more

NSW District Court jury to decide if a fraud squad detective who was included in a Sunday Telegraph story on “corrupt cops” was defamed ... more

Injunction granted over text threat to breach copyright … Sydney artist sues Madonna over perfume logo … Unlocking geo-blocked sites … Google v Oracle saga continues … New York judge criticises use of IP addresses in mass actions … Chinese company loses case over iPad trade mark … ACTA likely to go the same way as SOPA … First file-sharing church wedding ... more

Child care association loses appeal over the $150,000 damages awarded for a defamatory email circulated to its members … NSW Court of Appeal finds Child Care NSW was indeed trying to stifle competition ... more

Melbourne based media lawyer Peter Bartlett reviews a challenging year for media and the law in this article, first published in the 2012 Media Alliance Press Freedom Report ... more

A dearth of copyright proposals in Convergence Review … UK orders ISPs to block infamous file-sharing site … Italy fails to protect copyright over the internet … Titantic 3-D producer in copyright tussle with Picasso estate … 92 year-old defies MPAA to copy Hollywood movies ... more

Action and settlements at the ABC … The defamation that refuses to Dye … Magistrate Pat O’Shane goes for Alan Jones … 2GB compelled to reveal advertisers on air … Kings Cross nightclub owner sues Fairfax … Fairfax settles with taxi tsar ... more

Privacy and the media is the subject of several recent and current inquiries, here and in the UK … It is also the subject of a wide-ranging and entertaining public lecture given by Queensland Supreme Court Justice Peter Applegarth – published here in full ... more

The Australian government’s recently released Convergence Review Final Report proposes 31 reforms … Sydney media lawyers Justine Munsie and Richard Keegan review the recommendations, which are set to transform the way the media is regulated, and consumed ... more

What is meant by the term public interest? And does it trump a public figure’s right to privacy? Richard Ackland casts a gimlet eye over the concept and the difference between the media and judicial view ... more

Renowned British philosopher A.C. Grayling recently spoke about privacy at the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Sydney University Professor of Law Barbara McDonald analyses his take on the fine line between the public and the private, the threat posed by technology, and what’s at stake ... more

Object lesson in cross-examination from the Federal Court … High Court Greek lesson for tobacco counsel … European trade mark bodies unite against plain packaging … German court holds YouTube liable for copyright infringement … Kenya High Court puts health before IP rights … US court finds intellectual property can’t be “stolen” ... Russian wrangle over beard trademark ... more

Optus loses appeal and consumers lose out as the Full Federal Court effectively prohibits them from recording free-to-air TV on their mobiles … Yarran Hominh looks at the decision and its impact ... more

Adelaide’s Sunday Mail loses appeal over use of pseudonyms in former Anglican priest’s defamation case … SA Supreme Court Justice David Peek says Father John Fleming should know the identities of his accusers ... more

What are the legal and ethical challenges for reporters live-tweeting court proceedings such as the trial of Anders Breivik? In this Inforrm piece, freelance journalist Judith Townend looks at tweeting, broadcasting and what open justice requires ... more

Huge High Court victory for iiNet … No injunctive relief for Australia Post … Swedish court orders disclosure of personal info … Magicians fight over trick … Mixed result for MegaUpload … Google and Oracle in landmark copyright battle … Two One Directions, one too many ... more

Media companies appeal internet take-down order issued by NSW District Court Judge James Bennett on the basis that it is “futile”. Is it a super-injunction? And can three men accused of conspiracy to murder get a fair trial? ... more