Legal Question in Business Law in Australia

compensation of royalties

During my travels in australia, my friend and i befriended an owner of a small tshirt business. We gave him an idea, and used a photo of myself for the tshirt design. He as always maintained that he will have opporunities for us and that he would not leave us in the dark if he started to make money. He has now sold thousand of these tshirts with my face on them, and we have yet to see any type of compensation. We never had any written contract, only good faith and verbal agreements. We are now back in the U.S. so contact with him has been difficult. Is there any possible legal proceedings?


Asked on 2/28/07, 2:09 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Johm Smith tom's

Re: compensation of royalties

You should have some rights under Aussie copyright law at a minimum. You should contact an attorney close to the other party.

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Answered on 2/28/07, 2:44 pm
David Willig David S. Willig, Chartered

Re: compensation of royalties

If you have a case, it will likely be under the law of Australia, and it may be necessary to bring action, if at all, in Australia, since it is not likely that a U.S. court can take jurisdiction over a "small tshirt business" in Australia. Our office is currently working on a matter involving Australian counsel, so we may be in a position to assist in going forward, if there is a viable case.

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Answered on 2/28/07, 3:40 pm


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