Justice Robert French held that the copyright had been validly assigned and that, while Yumbulul may not have fully appreciated the implications of what he was doing in terms of his own cultural obligations, the agent had not engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.
The court ruled that the copyright was legally transferred to the designated party, despite Yumbulul's lack of full understanding of the cultural implications. The agent's actions were deemed ethical and not misleading or deceptive.