Maddocks

Background

Robert is a commercial lawyer focusing on Information Technology and Intellectual Property matters for government and corporate clients. More recently, Robert has been a leader of Maddocks' Sustainability & Climate Change team. Robert has recently been recognised in the Asialaw Leading Lawyers' 2008 client survey as one of Australia's leading IT, Media and Telecommunications lawyers.  Robert is a member of Maddocks IP & T team whom Australian Legal Business in its 2008 Guide to Intellectual Property Law said 'Private and public sector clients alike sung the praises of Maddocks as a firm which always "delivers fantastic results"'.  Robert was singled out as being 'excellently competent'.

Legal Expertise 

  • Information Technology - drafting and advising on IT system (including hardware and/or software) tenders, supply and financing contracts.
  • Intellectual Property - copyright, confidentiality agreements, trade marks and patents - protection, commercialisation, IP due diligence investigation.
  • Trade Practices Law - application of the Consumer Protection, Restrictive Trade Practices and Unconscionable Conduct provisions, including the Competition Code and competitive neutrality principles.
  • Corporate and Commercial law: sales and acquisitions of businesses, assets (particularly IP and IT assets), shares and units; corporate and asset (particularly IP asset) structuring advice; general Corporations Act 2001 compliance and general commercial advice.
  • Commonwealth legislative and administrative power.
  • registration of education providers and compliance under Commonwealth, Victorian and New South Wales immigration, higher education and vocational training regimes.
  • Administrative Law (particularly Commonwealth Administrative Law), advising on: Commonwealth legislative and administrative power and registration of education providers and compliance under Commonwealth, Victorian and New  South Wales immigration, higher education and vocational training regimes. 

Relevant Experience

  • Advising the Victorian Department of Justice on its outsourcing arrangements for the Victorian Infringement Management System and Enforcement Management System.
  • Advising multinational (subsidiary of Fortune 500 Corporation) pay television operator on the corporate structuring and operations of its Australian subsidiary.
  • Advising a Victorian University in relation to a dispute with the vendor over the procurement agreements for key Student Administration System.
  • Advising a range of Victorian arts institutions on their sponsorship and commercial contracts with private sector sponsors and providers, including Request for Proposal, Request for Tender and EOI processes.
  • Advising .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA) in relation to the operation of the .au Domain Name System and its relationship with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
  • Advising an Australian financial services provider on the system development and license agreements for its core information system.
  • Acting as an advisor to government and corporate clients in all aspects of intellectual property protection and exploitation, including copyright, patent and trade mark licensing and enforcement.
  • Acting on behalf of corporate clients to successfully resolve cybersquatting disputes under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and .au Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.
  • Advising numerous private and public sector clients in relation to website terms and conditions, online privacy and electronic transactions.
  • Acting as an advisor to Victorian statutory authorities on general administrative law and specific statutory requirements for internal and external regulatory application.