Allam v Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd (No 2)

The case of Allam v Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd (No 2) involved the plaintiffs, Allam and others, and the defendants, Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd and others. The plaintiffs pursued claims related to copyright and trade mark infringement, which arose from the alleged unauthorised use of computer programs and trade marks used in gaming machines. The matter was brought before the court to address several legal issues, including the scope of remittal to the primary judge, the admissibility of certain evidence under the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth), and the allocation of costs.

The central legal issues before the court were whether certain provisions of the Evidence Act precluded the application of other sections regarding the admissibility of "impugned" emails. Specifically, the court had to determine if further submissions should be received regarding the applicability of s 97 to these emails when no ground of appeal relied on s 97. Additionally, the court needed to address the appropriate allocation of costs given that the appeals were successful but the appellants were not victorious on all issues raised.

In its reasoning, the court held that the appeal and cross-appeal were successful, and the orders of the primary judge made on 15 December 2009 were set aside. The court decided that the question of declaratory or injunctive relief in relation to copyright infringement and the trade mark infringement claim should be remitted to the primary judge for his determination. Regarding costs, the first to third respondents were ordered to pay 50% of the appellants' costs of the appeal and cross-appeal, while the question of the costs of the trial was also remitted to the primary judge for his determination.