There is an upcoming concert at 'Harmony Hall' in Melbourne. The venue's owners sell tickets for the concert at their ticket office. You visit the office to buy tickets. Flat on the office counter, there is a sign containing the following exclusion clause:

"The venue owners are not responsible for any injuries, losses, or damages experienced by people attending events at Harmony Hall."

You do not notice this statement when you purchase your tickets, because the salesperson has placed their morning coffee cup on top of it. It is not visible to you at the time. This is your first-time buying tickets at Harmony Hall and so you do not know about the sign.

Two weeks later, you attend the concert at Harmony Hall. During the event, a speaker installed on the ceiling detaches, and falls on you. Consequently, you sustain personal physical injuries, and your mobile phone (in your pocket) also breaks.

The venue owners want to rely on the exclusion clause on the sign to argue that they are not responsible for the injuries that you have experienced, and the damage to your mobile phone. Feeling uncertain about whether they can indeed rely on the exclusion clause, you turn to a Generative AI system to seek guidance on the legal aspects of this situation. The Generative AI system that you utilise offers the following response:

Is the ticket sales contract statement valid? Can venue owners use it to avoid liability? In contract law, a clause must be communicated and reasonable to be part of the contract. In this case, the sign at the ticket office might be a contractual term if conveyed to the purchaser. However, since it was hidden by a coffee cup, it may not have been effectively communicated or incorporated into the contract. Consequently, venue owners might not rely on the clause to exclude liability.

Using the Generative AI produced response above, identify the elements of the IRAC method that are reflected in this response. That is, identify which sentence(s) addresses the issue, rule, application, and conclusion steps of the IRAC process

The Generative AI response provided is incorrect and lacks identification of all legal issues. Additionally, it does not accurately apply the law to the facts. Your task is to present a clear overview of the legal situation as it relates to the status of the statement on the sign.

You are therefore required to think of and express a new response that accurately addresses the question of whether the statement on the sign is incorporated into your contract to purchase a ticket and also, if the owners of the venue can rely upon the sign to exclude their liability. You must refer to our contract law course materials to support your response.

For this question, please address contract law rules relating to incorporation and interpretation only. (Do not address the issues of breach or damages in this question.)

Ensure that you fully explain your answer, and that you apply relevant sources of law (case law and legislation) as appropriate.