Property
We advise and assist our clients on matters including defamation (including litigation, complaints management and pre-publication advice), contempt of court, suppression orders, copyright and trade marks, content production and licensing, sponsorship and advertising arrangements, privacy and confidentiality and dispute resolution.
Thomson Geer has the largest dedicated media law practice in Australia, with lawyers recognised as leaders in the industry.
Our clients include Australia's largest media organisations across newspapers, radio, television and online, international social media platforms and internet service providers, production companies, music industry participants and book publishers.
Defamation
We act for many of Australia's largest media outlets and international online giants facing defamation litigation against them. Our team also advises companies and organisations on defamation issues. We assist them to resolve defamation claims practically and commercially without the need for litigation.
Open justice
Our team acts for media organisations in relation to suppression orders, statutory reporting restrictions and contempt of court. Our aim is to protect the media's rights and ability to report on issues for their audiences by ensuring the principals of open justice are applied. We also assist with accessing court documents and materials relevant to their reporting.
Intellectual property
In the media industry, content is a valuable asset to be protected. Copyright and trade marks aim to safeguard those assets. Our team helps clients protect their content through copyright litigation. We also manage the trade mark portfolios for several leading media companies.
Content licensing, sponsorship, advertising arrangements
Our team advise on commercial agreements for the use of content, as well as partnerships and sponsorships that drive marketing campaigns. We also advise on strategies to protect content and brands from unauthorised use such as "ambush marketing".
Media and online regulation
There are a raft of laws, regulations and voluntary codes that govern Australia's media landscape. Many are being introduced or changed to catch up with the rise of digital platforms. Our team advises on television and radio broadcasting codes of practice, as well as laws and regulations directed at digital media publishers and online platforms. We advise on a wide range of regulatory issues including online safety, misinformation and disinformation, and the removal of content.
Pre-publication advice
Our team is available 24/7 for urgent pre-publication queries and clients rely on us every day and night of the week. Our pre-publication advice is given regularly to all major mainstream media organisations as well as many of our smaller clients. Our advice goes beyond simple legal advice and has the potential to shape the content of news published and consumed by millions of Australians daily. Our pre-publication advice also covers clients seeking clearance of marketing and advertising materials.
What others say
Lawyer X
Acting for The Herald Sun newspaper in a five year campaign to overturn suppression orders in the “Lawyer X” scandal that reached the High Court. Also appeared in The Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants in relation to the matter.
News Corp
Acting for News Corp Australia in a world-first defamation case brought by a former youth offender, Dylan Voller, in which the High Court held that media outlets are publishers of comments made by third parties on their Facebook pages.
Bruce Lehrmann defamation
Successfully defending Network Ten against Bruce Lehrmann's defamation case with a judge finding, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in a ministerial office in Parliament House.
Cardinal George Pell
Acting for a large number of media organisations, editors and journalists in relation to contempt of court charges relating to reporting of the conviction of Cardinal George Pell on historic child sex offences, which have since been overturned on appeal.
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John-Paul Cashen
Justin Quill
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About us
Thomson Geer acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
What others say
for major media publishers and broadcasters involved in
high-profile disputes"