Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research announced a new Chair to ACIP - Tuesday, December 23, 2008
On 22 December, Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research announced a new Chair and four new appointments to the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP). The new council chair, Mr Leon Allen is a partner of the patent and trade mark firm Davies Collison Cave, and vice president of The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia.
Venturing into the unknown - Monday, November 24, 2008
The Minister for Innovation, Senator Kim Carr recently released a report entitled “venturousaustralia – a Report on the Review of the National Innovation System”. Three recommendations in the report have a potential significant impact on Australian Intellectual Property law.
e-patents - June 2008 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008
This update focuses on recent intellectual property decisions and developments impacting the field of information and communications technology.
Design/Copyright update - June 2007 - Thursday, June 07, 2007
Designers are encouraged to protect the appearance of new products by registration under the Designs Act rather than by reliance on underlying copyright which will subsist in most cases. This results from the legislative framework of the Copyright Act which limits the applicability of copyright when products have been produced in quantity (industrial application of the design). The part of the Copyright Act by which this regime is put in place (Part III, Div VIII) is quite complex and has given rise to a number of difficulties in interpretation. Exemptions from copyright infringement arise when the design is the subject of a design registration or, if not registered, by the industrial application and sale of products in accordance with the design. However in the latter case, an exception arises when the copyright work is a work of artistic craftsmanship.
e-patents - June 2007 - Thursday, June 07, 2007
This update focuses on recent intellectual property decisions and developments impacting the field of information and communications technology.
World Trademark Review - Key aspects of trademark enforcement in Australia - Thursday, March 29, 2007
Many countries have similar systems for the registration and enforcement of trademarks. However, there will inevitably be differences, often borne out of the different jurisprudential bases on which these systems are based.
This article looks at trademark enforcement in Australia and highlights some aspects of the Australian legislation which differ from the US system. It also examines the main border protection methods available in Australia to trademark owners.
To contuine reading please click on the attached pdf.
Filing Design Applications in Australia - Friday, March 09, 2007
There are no forms in Australia that require the applicant’s signature at the time of filing. No Power of Attorney is necessary, however a number of documents and particulars are required to process an application.
Changes to IP Australia's Fees - Friday, March 09, 2007
Changes to IP Australia’s fees and costs under the Designs, Patents, Plant Breeder's Rights and Trade Marks Acts came into effect on 1 March 2007.
Pharmaceutical Extensions: A listing in the ARTG is an inclusion - Friday, March 09, 2007
The Full Federal Court has affirmed the previous findings of the Commissioner of Patents and a single judge of the Federal Court that, where no pre-TGA marketing approval was given, an export listing in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), prior to registration to permit marketing in Australia, is to be considered as the first inclusion in the ARTG for the purpose of determining the first regulatory approval date in calculating a patent extension term.
e-patents - February 2007 - Friday, February 09, 2007
This update focuses on recent intellectual property decisions and developments impacting the field of information and communications technology.
Swiss-style use claims vs method of treatment claims - Friday, November 24, 2006
A recent patent office decision has held that addition of “method of treatment” claims to a specification that has “Swiss-style use” claims is not an allowable amendment after acceptance of the application.
Pharmaceutical Extensions - Monday, September 18, 2006
The topic of pharmaceutical patent term extensions has again recently been the subject of consideration before the Patent Office and the Federal Court. In two separate proceedings, the issue of whether the Commissioner is entitled to amend the Register to reflect a new (shorter) extension period was considered by the Federal Court.
Assessing Sufficiency: A Temporal Problem - Monday, September 18, 2006
The Patents Act 1990 (Cth) requires that a specification fully describe the invention, including the best method known to the applicant for performing the invention. However, the Act is silent on the actual date at which the specification is to be considered for compliance with these requirements.
e - patents August 2006 - Wednesday, August 09, 2006
This update focuses on recent intellectual property decisions and developments impacting the field of information and communications technology.
Business Method Patents in Australia - Tuesday, August 08, 2006
The Australian Full Federal Court has recently clarified the extent to which business methods can be patented in Australia. A business method will be patentable provided it involves a physical effect in the sense of a concrete effect or phenomenon or manifestation or transformation. It cannot be a mere scheme, abstract idea or mere intellectual information. The court also made it clear that an invention did not have to be within an area of science or technology to be patentable.
Time for a change to Australian Intellectual Property Laws? - Tuesday, May 09, 2006
On 30 March, 2006 the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2006 (Cth) (“the Bill”) was introduced into the House of Representatives. The Bill proposes to make some significant amendments to the Patents Act 1990 (including amendments to clarify the prior use defence, to add another ground upon which a compulsory licence may be sought, to allow the award of exemplary damages and which affect the ability to “springboard” on pharmaceutical patents), and to the Trade Marks Act 1995 (including amendments which affect the revocation of trade mark rights and access to trade mark documents filed with the Trade Marks Office).
Freeze dried generics frozen in their extended tracks - Tuesday, May 09, 2006
In February 2006 in an article titled “Freeze-dried generics frozen in their tracks”, we reported on two separate Federal Court decisions relating to a patent owned by Pharmacia Italia S.p.A. (Pharmacia). In those decisions, the court found infringement by Mayne Pharma Pty Ltd (Mayne) and granted an injunction against Interpharma Pty Ltd (Interpharma).
e-patents May 2006 - Wednesday, April 26, 2006
This update focuses on recent intellectual property decisions and developments impacting the field of information and communications technology.
