Casenote - Melway Publishing Pty Ltd v Robert Hicks Pty Ltd
AbstractThe author discusses a recent case in the High Court of Australia that dealt with the issue of "taking advantage" of substantial market power for unlawful purposes as defined by the Trade Practices Act of Australia, section 46. In the view of the author the lesson for businesses is that evidence of a legitimate commercial purpose will not invariably lead to a court finding that no relevant proscribed purpose existed. This forces decision-makers to carefully consider the purposes behind their intended course of conduct, the objective appearance of their behaviour, and what a court might infer from it. Melways also provides relief for operators of exclusive distribution systems. |