New South Wales’ Duties Act treats goodwill (including certain IP rights) as subject to stamp duty in New South Wales if it relates to a business with NSW customers; this was reviewed in Gloria Jean’s Coffees International Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2008] NSWSC 1327.
The case involveds a business of ownership and exploitation of the Gloria Jeans IP and contractual rights under a master franchise agreement. The court found that making such IP available to a franchisee is not enough to be the provision of services and so that performance by the franchisor of its obligations under the master franchise agreement was not the sale or provision of services. Therefore, there was no sale of services to a NSW customer within the relevant period and so the IP/goodwill associated with the franchise was not subject to NSW stamp duty purposes.
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