John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Lundy, the Minister representing the Minister for Industry and Innovation. Minister, many businesses are investing in proprietary software as part of new product development. However, the laws that protect this type of property rely on civil action which is often beyond the reach of many manufacturers. In light of the recent Victorian example, when an employee of a small regional manufacturing business removed proprietary software as part of a demand for the proprietors to sign over control of their business, and the employers had no recourse in criminal law, thereby leaving the business without its intellectual property and unable to deliver product without taking expensive and time-consuming civil action, does the government recognise that there is a need to put in place tougher laws, possibly even criminal sanctions, to help protect manufacturers from the theft of intellectual property?