Roy Morgan Research Centre v Comm State Revenue

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Roy Morgan Research Centre Pty Ltd (Roy Morgan) against a decision of the Commissioner of State Revenue (Victoria). The dispute concerned the application of Victorian stamp duty legislation to a series of agreements entered into by Roy Morgan. Roy Morgan had entered into agreements with various individuals and entities for the provision of market research services. These agreements involved the transfer of intellectual property rights, specifically the right to use and exploit market research data and reports. The Commissioner assessed stamp duty on these agreements, treating them as dutiable instruments.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the agreements constituted a "conveyance of dutiable property" within the meaning of the *Stamps Act 1958* (Vic). Specifically, the Court had to determine if the rights transferred under the agreements, particularly the intellectual property rights in the market research data and reports, constituted "property" for the purposes of the Act and whether their transfer amounted to a conveyance.

The High Court held that the agreements did not constitute a conveyance of dutiable property. The majority reasoned that the rights granted to Roy Morgan were primarily licences to use existing information and to receive future information, rather than a transfer of ownership of the intellectual property itself. The Court distinguished between the transfer of ownership of property and the grant of a licence, emphasizing that a licence merely permits the licensee to do something that would otherwise be unlawful. The Court applied the principle that stamp duty is levied on the transfer of ownership of property, not on the grant of contractual rights or licences.

Consequently, the High Court allowed the appeal and ordered that the assessment of stamp duty be set aside.