Roy Morgan Research Centre Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue

Roy Morgan Research Centre Pty Ltd (Roy Morgan) appealed to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which had affirmed a determination by the Commissioner of State Revenue (the Commissioner) that Roy Morgan was liable for Victorian stamp duty on certain agreements. The dispute concerned whether these agreements constituted 'dutiable transactions' under the *Stamps Act 1958* (Vic) and, specifically, whether they were exempt from duty as 'dutiable property' that was not situated in Victoria.

The High Court was required to determine two principal legal issues. First, it had to consider whether the agreements, which involved the licensing of Roy Morgan's market research data and methodologies, constituted a 'conveyance' or 'transfer' of dutiable property for the purposes of the *Stamps Act 1958* (Vic). Second, if they were dutiable transactions, the Court had to decide whether the property in question, namely the intellectual property and data, was situated outside Victoria, thereby rendering it exempt from Victorian stamp duty.

Gummow and Callinan JJ, in their joint judgment, reasoned that the agreements did not effect a conveyance or transfer of dutiable property in the ordinary sense. Instead, they conferred a licence to use intellectual property and data, which did not amount to a proprietary interest in the property itself. Their Honours emphasised that the essence of the transaction was the grant of a personal right to use, rather than a transfer of ownership or a proprietary right in the underlying data and methodologies. Consequently, the agreements were not dutiable transactions under the Act.

The High Court allowed the appeal and ordered that the Commissioner's assessment of stamp duty be set aside.