ACP Publishing Pty Limited v Pacific Publications Pty Ltd

ACP Publishing Pty Limited (ACP) sought an interlocutory injunction against Pacific Publications Pty Ltd (Pacific) to restrain the publication of certain material. The dispute concerned the alleged infringement of copyright and breach of confidence by Pacific. The matter came before the Court of Appeal.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether ACP had established a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits to warrant the grant of an interlocutory injunction. This involved considering whether Pacific's proposed publication would infringe ACP's copyright in certain photographs and whether the information contained within those photographs was protected by a duty of confidence.

Handley JA, in granting the injunction, reasoned that ACP had demonstrated a strong prima facie case. His Honour found that the evidence presented by ACP indicated a substantial likelihood that Pacific's publication would constitute an infringement of copyright. Furthermore, the court considered that the material in question was likely to be protected by an equitable duty of confidence, and that Pacific's proposed use of it would breach that duty. The balance of convenience also favoured the grant of the injunction, as the potential harm to ACP from publication outweighed the potential harm to Pacific from restraint.

The Court of Appeal ordered that an injunction be granted.