Franchise lawyer threatens copyright action against colleagues

Auckland franchising lawyer Stewart Germann has threatened to launch copyright proceedings against another firm he alleges copied 80 per cent of his franchising agreements.

An Auckland franchising lawyer has accused certain colleagues in the profession of laziness after his work was plagiarised a third time.

"Lawyers should know better," said Stewart Germann, who has worked in franchising law for 35 years.

After a third case of his firm's franchise agreements being copied by others, Germann said "enough was enough".

He hired a Queen's Counsel and threatened to launch copyright proceedings against the allegedly infringing firm, which he said copied around 80 per cent of Stewart Germann Law's franchising agreements.

"It's laziness," Germann told the Herald.

While the matter got close to being filed in court, Germann settled with the copying law firm, which he would not name but said was "reasonably large".

He would not say if SGL received financial compensation as the terms of the settlement were confidential.

"While we are pleased to have the matter resolved, SGL [Stewart Germann law] was annoyed about the situation.

"Copying is copying regardless of who does it and why and people should realise that the Copyright Act 1994 does have teeth and should be used when the occasion arises," SGL said in a press statement.