Industrial Control Software Limited v Ampcontrol Pty Limited

Industrial Control Software Limited (ICS) and Ampcontrol Pty Limited were parties to a dispute before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The core of the disagreement concerned the alleged breach of a licence agreement by Ampcontrol, which ICS claimed had improperly used its proprietary software. ICS sought damages for this alleged breach.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether Ampcontrol had breached the terms of the licence agreement by using ICS's software beyond the scope permitted by that agreement. This involved an interpretation of the licence terms and an assessment of Ampcontrol's conduct in relation to those terms.

Justice Nancarrow found that Ampcontrol had indeed breached the licence agreement. His Honour's reasoning focused on the specific wording of the licence, which restricted the use of the software to a particular project. The evidence demonstrated that Ampcontrol had utilised the software for other projects, thereby exceeding the agreed-upon limitations. The Court applied the principles of contractual interpretation, giving the words of the licence their ordinary and commercial meaning in the context of the agreement as a whole.

The Court ordered that Ampcontrol pay damages to Industrial Control Software Limited in an amount to be assessed.