Murphy v Innovior Pty Ltd

Murphy (the applicant) brought proceedings against Innovior Pty Ltd (the respondent) in the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute concerned the respondent's alleged contravention of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), which prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct in trade or commerce. The applicant sought declarations and an injunction.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the respondent's conduct in marketing and selling its "Innovior" software product constituted misleading or deceptive conduct under section 18 of the ACL. Specifically, the court had to determine if representations made by the respondent regarding the software's capabilities and benefits were false or likely to mislead consumers.

Judge Baird found that the respondent's representations about the software's ability to automate certain tasks and provide specific outcomes were not substantiated by the evidence. The court concluded that these representations were likely to mislead a significant number of consumers into believing the software possessed capabilities it did not, thereby contravening section 18 of the ACL. The court applied the established principles for assessing misleading or deceptive conduct, focusing on the likely effect of the representations on ordinary consumers.

The court made declarations that the respondent had contravened section 18 of the ACL and granted an injunction restraining the respondent from continuing to engage in similar conduct.