David Henderson of Hendersons Legal is the principal solicitor for The Game Meats Company of Australia Pty Ltd (“Game Meats”) in relation to an appeal heard by the Full Court of Appeal of the High Court of Australia in Canberra on 5 May 2026.
The appeal was brought by Farm Transparency International Limited (“Farm Transparency”) after the Full Federal Court ruled that the animal activists held the copyright to covert, illegally obtained surveillance footage of commercial agribusiness operations on constructive trust for the owners of the property in August 2025.
The legal considerations arising in this matter are significant on a number of issues including copyright, constructive trusts, injunctions, damages and the orders not only preventing Farm Transparency from publishing the footage but extending to the deletion of all film and photos of the business conducted by Game Meats on its premises. Of significance, the Full Federal Court held that the film and photographs taken by Farm Transparency were held on trust by Farm Transparency for Game Meats, in contrast to the provisions in the Copyright Act (Cth) 1968 which otherwise reserve these rights in favour of the person making the film or taking the photographs.
The unlawful and surreptitious trespass of animal activists onto private and commercial property including, in this case, to capture footage and take photographs, is increasingly common. The illegal nature of these types of activities has resulted, pending the final decision to be handed down by the High Court, in new law concerning the ownership of the copyright in the relevant film and photographs.
We are now awaiting the final decision to be handed down by the High Court in relation to these critical copyright and property rights issues.
Should your agribusiness or commercial enterprise face similar activist trespass, or copyright concerns please contact David Henderson and the litigation team at Hendersons Legal in Melbourne.
