Law - So Where Are You From?
As a framework of rules, law has several sources and a few main areas. It’s useful to get an understanding of these, and how the law works, before hitting specific topics.

Law can either come from decisions handed down by courts, which is known as either "case law" or “common law”, and laws made by governments, known as “statute law” or “legislation”. Both have the same force, and in fact can be equally slow to change!

“Case Law” or “Common Law”
“Case law” or “common law” is based on the idea that the decisions handed down by courts in a particular legal system are binding on other courts looking at similar legal matters later on. It's a fairly complex system, but a lot of Australian laws are based on decisions made by courts, in some cases over 200 years ago! Each new court decision can either add to the law, refine it, update it or, in some cases, completely reverse it!

Australian “case law” is based on court decisions from Australia, but also the United Kingdom, which has a very similar legal system, and from which most Australian laws began - the majority of “old” case law is in fact UK law. Its still relevant now, but not as much as when The Land Down Under was a ‘real colony’ in ye olde days.

Other countries with similar legal systems can also affect Australian case law, but not as strongly. New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada are examples of legal systems where significant decisions may affect the way Australian law develops.

Countries with different legal systems, such as France or Germany, don’t really relate to Australian “common law”, so there’s every chance a court decision in one of those countries is based on very different legal foundations or affected by different factors.

So, of course, if your music takes you anywhere outside this great browned-off land, the laws affecting you will immediately be different (although possibly kinda similar in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada). The info on these pages doesn’t cover laws outside Australia, so you’ll need legal advice.

“Statute Law” or “Legislation”
Ok, so this is much simpler. Statute law or legislation is law made by governments in their elected roles - parliaments, in other words (but we don’t mean George Clinton). In Australia, statute law is made at three levels: nationally, by the Federal or Commonwealth parliament; in each separate state or territory, by the relevant State’s or Territory’s parliament; and locally, by local shires or councils in relation to local matters. Statutes are known as “acts” of parliament and may have detailed “regulations”.

The Federal and State parliaments have separate areas on which they can make laws, and they can’t interfere with each other’s areas. Like kids, they often fight about it...

Most of the legislation affecting the music industry comes from Federal laws, being the Copyright Act and the Trade Marks Act. State laws affect things like employment, liquor and venue licences and some aspects of legal contracts between people. Local laws often deal with things like noise and event restrictions. You know, er, local stuff.

Areas of Law
With these two “sources” of law in mind, “case law” or “common law” and “statute law” or “legislation”, it’s worth briefly looking at the main “general areas” of law.

At the first level, law can be either based on “contract” or “tort”, and in each case, the actual source can be either “case law”/“common law” or “statute law”/“legislation”.

Contract law is the law that controls what contracts can and can’t say and how what is said is interpreted. Clearly, it applies to written contracts, but contract law also affects “verbal contracts” or “implied contracts”. The “Contracts Generally” section has more.

Tort law is mostly based on “case law” or “common law” and is essentially a series of “torts”, which are legal rights available to all legal citizens to sue another if certain things are or are not done. The right to sue someone for injuring you is an example of tort law, being the “tort of negligence”, requiring people to take care to avoid injuring others. Other examples include the tort of nuisance, preventing citizens from causing an unacceptable nuisance on their neighbour’s land, or the tort of “passing off”, which prevents a person from misleading others into thinking that person is associated with the business or reputation of another. This tort is covered on the “Band Names” page.

Apart from the tort of passing off, there is not much “tort law” that directly affects the music industry. The “torts” that do will only do so in the same way they would affect you in the rest of your life outside music, so they aren’t covered on the Legalease It pages.

Aside from these two areas of “contract” or “tort” law, other specific of law do exist, but they are usually combinations of contract law, tort or certain specific “statutes”. For example, “music industry law” is really a combination of “statute law”, relating to copyright, band structures and names and how contracts are read, and “contract law”.

Ok, now that you've got the general idea on law, lets find out a bit about contracts!

Law - So Where Are You From?
As a framework of rules, law has several sources and a few main areas. It’s useful to get an understanding of these, and how the law works, before hitting specific topics.

Law can either come from decisions handed down by courts, which is known as either "case law" or “common law”, and laws made by governments, known as “statute law” or “legislation”. Both have the same force, and in fact can be equally slow to change!

“Case Law” or “Common Law”
“Case law” or “common law” is based on the idea that the decisions handed down by courts in a particular legal system are binding on other courts looking at similar legal matters later on. It's a fairly complex system, but a lot of Australian laws are based on decisions made by courts, in some cases over 200 years ago! Each new court decision can either add to the law, refine it, update it or, in some cases, completely reverse it!

Australian “case law” is based on court decisions from Australia, but also the United Kingdom, which has a very similar legal system, and from which most Australian laws began - the majority of “old” case law is in fact UK law. Its still relevant now, but not as much as when The Land Down Under was a ‘real colony’ in ye olde days.

Other countries with similar legal systems can also affect Australian case law, but not as strongly. New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada are examples of legal systems where significant decisions may affect the way Australian law develops.

Countries with different legal systems, such as France or Germany, don’t really relate to Australian “common law”, so there’s every chance a court decision in one of those countries is based on very different legal foundations or affected by different factors.

So, of course, if your music takes you anywhere outside this great browned-off land, the laws affecting you will immediately be different (although possibly kinda similar in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada). The info on these pages doesn’t cover laws outside Australia, so you’ll need legal advice.

“Statute Law” or “Legislation”
Ok, so this is much simpler. Statute law or legislation is law made by governments in their elected roles - parliaments, in other words (but we don’t mean George Clinton). In Australia, statute law is made at three levels: nationally, by the Federal or Commonwealth parliament; in each separate state or territory, by the relevant State’s or Territory’s parliament; and locally, by local shires or councils in relation to local matters. Statutes are known as “acts” of parliament and may have detailed “regulations”.

The Federal and State parliaments have separate areas on which they can make laws, and they can’t interfere with each other’s areas. Like kids, they often fight about it...

Most of the legislation affecting the music industry comes from Federal laws, being the Copyright Act and the Trade Marks Act. State laws affect things like employment, liquor and venue licences and some aspects of legal contracts between people. Local laws often deal with things like noise and event restrictions. You know, er, local stuff.

Areas of Law
With these two “sources” of law in mind, “case law” or “common law” and “statute law” or “legislation”, it’s worth briefly looking at the main “general areas” of law.

At the first level, law can be either based on “contract” or “tort”, and in each case, the actual source can be either “case law”/“common law” or “statute law”/“legislation”.

Contract law is the law that controls what contracts can and can’t say and how what is said is interpreted. Clearly, it applies to written contracts, but contract law also affects “verbal contracts” or “implied contracts”. The “Contracts Generally” section has more.

Tort law is mostly based on “case law” or “common law” and is essentially a series of “torts”, which are legal rights available to all legal citizens to sue another if certain things are or are not done. The right to sue someone for injuring you is an example of tort law, being the “tort of negligence”, requiring people to take care to avoid injuring others. Other examples include the tort of nuisance, preventing citizens from causing an unacceptable nuisance on their neighbour’s land, or the tort of “passing off”, which prevents a person from misleading others into thinking that person is associated with the business or reputation of another. This tort is covered on the “Band Names” page.

Apart from the tort of passing off, there is not much “tort law” that directly affects the music industry. The “torts” that do will only do so in the same way they would affect you in the rest of your life outside music, so they aren’t covered on the Legalease It pages.

Aside from these two areas of “contract” or “tort” law, other specific of law do exist, but they are usually combinations of contract law, tort or certain specific “statutes”. For example, “music industry law” is really a combination of “statute law”, relating to copyright, band structures and names and how contracts are read, and “contract law”.

Ok, now that you've got the general idea on law, lets find out a bit about contracts!