INTRODUCTION
It is not unusual for former directors of companies to set up in
competition against their original companies. When they do so, they
need to watch their step. Former directors may find themselves in a
potential minefield with legal mines at every turn.
A salutary lesson for former directors involved the recent
Federal Court case of TICA Default Tenancy Control Pty Limited
v Datakatch Pty Limited (2016) 120 IPR 98. In this case, the
Applicant was a company which provided information about tenants to
real estate agency clients through a computerised system. Former
directors of the Applicant later set up a similar operation in
competition with the Applicant. The Applicant subsequently
commenced proceedings against the former directors and their
company based on grounds which included copyright infringement,
breach of confidence and breach of fiduciary duty.
