Media Arts Lawyers is owned and operated by MEDIA ARTS LAWYERS PTY LTD (ABN 13 118 916 313) (referred to in this policy as MAL, we, us or our). This privacy policy applies to your use of our services, whether you are making a general enquiry, or engage us for legal and commercial advice (we will refer these as the Services). It also applies to your use of our website located at www.mediaartslawyers.com or our Facebook page located at https://www.facebook.com/MediaArtsLawyers/ (we’ll refer to them together as the Websites).

We are committed to protecting the privacy of all our clients. The Privacy Act (1988) (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (Privacy Principles) set out in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act, govern the collection, storage, use, and disclosure of information by which individuals may be identified. Further, we comply with EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR).

We may update the privacy policy from time to time at our sole discretion. Any variations become effective on posting the updated privacy policy and we shall have no obligation to provide you with individual notice of such changes. Your continued use of the Services following the publication of any amended privacy policy shall signify your acceptance of that amended privacy policy, except where we are otherwise obliged by law to seek your direct consent.

Please read this privacy policy carefully before using our Services. If you do not agree with any part of this privacy policy, please do not use our Services.

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

This privacy policy covers all information collected via your use of the Services, as well as information supplied to us in person, by phone, by writing (including email) or in any other way. The information we collect can be broken down into the following types:

‘Personal Information’ means information that can be used to personally identify you such as your name, residential address, email address, contact number and payment details. We do not collect or process the Personal Information of anyone under the age of 18 without the express consent of their parent or guardian.

‘Usage Information’ means anonymous aggregate data that is automatically collected through your use of our Websites. This includes information that identifies your device, your operating system, your IP address and dates and times that you access and use the Websites. This information is used for statistical analysis to help us to improve the Services to the benefit of all users.

The GDPR recognises that Usage Information, whilst for the most part anonymous, can be cumulatively used to directly or indirectly identify you. Usage Information that can be used to identify you in any way, together with your Personal Information, shall collectively be referred to in this privacy policy as ‘Personal Data’.

Special note on Confidential Information

As Australian Legal Practitioners, our lawyers at MAL are bound to a duty of confidentiality. Under the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitor’s Conduct Rules 2015 (Solicitor’s Rules), a solicitor must not disclose any confidential information which is acquired during an engagement with a client. In short – once you retain our legal services, any information you provide to us in connection with that engagement is strictly confidential. Please note this does not prohibit us from sharing confidential information:

• to any third party with your express or implied approval;
• internally within the firm between solicitors and partners;
• to external counsel for the purpose of obtaining advice, provided such information is disclosed in a confidential setting; and
• where we are required to disclose such information by law.

Please note this duty of confidentiality is separate and independent to our obligations under Australian privacy laws. If you have any queries about how we handle confidential information, please do not hesitate to contact our managing partner Stephen King at stephen.king@mediaartslawyers.com. 

HOW DO WE COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION

Personal Information is collected directly from you when you:

• retain our legal services

If you choose to engage a solicitor at MAL, we require you to provide your full legal name and residential address. If you do not provide these details, you cannot retain our legal services. 

We also ask you to provide a best contact number and email address for the purpose of corresponding with you about your matter. If you do not provide these details we may be limited in how we can perform the Services.

• make payment of an invoice 

When you make payment of an invoice we may collect credit card details, or otherwise see the details of any bank transaction processed by you. If you do not authorise us to have access to your payment details, you cannot retain our legal services.

• contact us via our website, email, telephone or otherwise;
• access, browse, use, follow, like, comment or otherwise interact with our Websites.

It is your choice to provide Personal Information to us. Wherever it is lawful and practicable, you have the option not to identify yourself when interacting with us. Please be aware that it may be necessary for us to collect your Personal Information to enable us to provide the Services to you. As such, if you do not wish to provide your Personal Information, we may not be able to provide the Services to you in a fully operational form.

COOKIES

We collect anonymous Usage Data on our Websites through Google Analytics and Facebook Ad Analytics, which utilises cookies, pixel tags and other tracking technologies (collectively Cookies). Cookies are small packets of data that are downloaded onto your device when you access a website. Cookies hold specific information that helps a website ‘remember’ your actions and preferences over time. These are the types of Cookies that we may use to operate our Services:

Strictly Necessary Cookies – these Cookies are essential to making sure the Websites work correctly, and record information that allows you to move around the Websites and navigate their features.

Performance Cookies – these Cookies collect information about how you use the Websites, such as how often you access the Websites and if you encounter any errors.

Functionality Cookies – these Cookies allow our Websites to remember the choices you make to provide a more personalised experience.

Cookies can stay on your device temporarily (Session Cookies) or until you manually delete them (Persistent Cookies).

HOW DO WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

Legimate purposes that you agree MAL may use your Personal Data for include but are not limited to the following:

• to respond to requests submitted by you;
• to provide legal and commercial advice;
• to process your payment for any Services;
• to improve the functioning of the Websites;
• to prevent, detect and investigate potential illegal activities, security breaches and fraud.

For the avoidance of doubt, we will only use your Personal Data for purposes that you would reasonably expect us to use your Personal Data for in connection with providing the Services to you, or where we are required by law to collect your Personal Data. We will not sell, rent, or licence your email address or any of your Personal Data.

We recognise your right under the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) and the GDPR to opt out from direct marketing, and as such these consents can be modified at any time by emailing us at melb@mediaartslawyers.com 

WHO WE DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION TO

You agree and consent to MAL disclosing your Personal Data to:

• employees, contractors, and officers of MAL;
• any third party agencies we may be required to liaise with on your behalf during the provision of the Services to you. Common entities we regularly liaise with on behalf of clients include but are not limited to:

• the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, 
• the Australian Taxation Office, 
• the Australia Performing Rights Association, 
• the Australian Recording Industry Association,
• the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia,
• IP Australia 
• (please note in such circumstance we will notify you of the need for disclosure before commuicating with any third party agency); 
• authorities, including police and regulators if MAL is required to do so by law.

We also utilise the following third party technology services providers:

• Lawmaster Pty Ltd (Practice Management Software) https://www.lawmaster.com.au/ 
• Greenlight (VIC) Pty Ltd t/as Greenlight ITC (Managed IT Support) https://www.greenlight-itc.com/ 

For the avoidance of doubt, all employees, consultants, contractors and agents of ours are bound by Australian privacy laws. 

You can withdraw your consent for us to share your Personal Data with third parties at any time by emailing us at melb@mediaartslawyers.com, but please note that withdrawal of such consents may affect your ability to access and use the Services.

YOUR RIGHTS TO YOUR INFORMATION

In accordance with the GDPR, we acknowledge the right of EU citizens to:

• have their data erased that is no longer being used for a legitimate purpose (noting as a law firm we are required to maintain certain records for at least seven (7) years);

• request a copy of all Personal Data held about you by MAL in a readable format; and
• request restricted processing of your Personal Data whilst any complaints or concerns are being resolved.

To erase, request or restrict processing of your Personal Data, please email us at melb@mediaartslawyers.com.

ACCESSING, REVIEWING AND CHANGING YOUR INFORMATION

MAL cannot modify your Personal Information without your instruction. You can update your details with us at any time by emailing us at melb@mediaartslawyers.com.  You acknowledge that it is your responsibility to maintain the truth, accuracy, and completeness of your information at all times and your failure to do so may inhibit our ability to provide the Services. We shall have no liability to you or any third party arising from your failure to keep your information up to date. 

SECURITY

MAL protects your Personal Data through technical security measures i.e. firewalls, encryption that limit the risk of loss, disclosure, or unauthorised access. No security measures are, however, 100% secure so we cannot guarantee the security of your information or data at any time. To the extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for any breach of security, or direct hacking of our security measures, or any unintentional disclosure, loss or misuse of any information or data or for the actions of any third parties that may obtain any information or data.

Notwithstanding the above, we acknowledge our obligation to report any data breach that is likely to risk the rights and freedoms of natural persons to the Australian Information Commissioner and, where our data breach involves the information of EU citizens, report to the European Data Protection Supervisor. We will also inform you, where possible, if your data has been breached in the circumstance where it poses a risk of serious harm or your rights and freedoms.

We also train all staff who may have access to your Personal Data about this privacy policy and our obligations under the Privacy Act, Privacy Principles, GDPR and Solicitor’s Rules. For more information on our internal policies, email us at melb@mediaartslawyers.com.

OVERSEAS DISCLOSURE

We may, in the course of providing the Services to you, transfer your Personal Data to overseas countries that are deemed by the EU Commission as having an ‘adequate’ level of Personal Data protection. Where we transfer data to a third party in a country where no adequacy decision has been made, we warrant that any person or entity handling your data in those countries are bound under contract to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act, Privacy Principles and GDPR. Currently, your Personal Data is only transferred by means of our internal Practice Management Software to our New Zealand office.

For the avoidance of doubt, we may transfer any data to an overseas third party with your express or implied consent, and the above condition only applies in the case of a data transfer or transmission to our related business entities in other countries.

CONTACT

Thank you for taking the time to read our privacy policy. If you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, you can reach our privacy officer and managing partner at stephen.king@mediaartslawyers.com.  

If you are not satisfied with our handling of your Personal Data, or have any other concern over our privacy policy, then you may lodge a formal complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (for more information, please see www.oaic.gov.au) or with the European Data Protection Supervisor (for more information, please see https://edps.europa.eu).