Allens

15 March 2013

The first of the new generic Top-Level Domain extensions will soon go live, and now is the time for brand owners to implement their brand protection strategies. There have been almost 2000 applications for new TLDs and it is expected that hundreds of new TLD registries will be open by the end of the year. Partner Tim Golder and Senior Associate Mark Williams explain why it is of paramount importance that brand owners take steps to ensure the protection of their brands at the second level of the new domains and what those steps should be.

27 February 2013

In a landmark decision that resolves the long-standing debate as to whether genes and their biological products warrant patent protection, the Australian Federal Court has found that isolated DNA and RNA are patentable subject matter. Partners Sarah Matheson and Dr Trevor Davies and Lawyer Yan-Lin Lee report.

18 February 2013

The Federal Court has recently handed down its decision in the legal challenge by Cancer Voices Australia against a patent owned by Myriad Genetics Inc. Partner Trevor Davies speaks to BRR Media about the issues the ruling raises and how it will impact on innovators and users of Australia's medical system.

29 January 2013

The new, long-awaited standard regulating nutrition and health claims has commenced, with food businesses given three years to transition to compliance with the new comprehensive regime. Partners Richard Hamer and Andrew Wiseman, Senior Associate Ric Morgan and Lawyer Claire Agius report on the new standard.

25 January 2013

IP Australia has released the outcomes of consultation on draft regulations that will give effect to important changes to the intellectual property system that will come fully into force this year. The strong focus on tightening examination and opposition procedures has largely been maintained, despite stakeholders' concerns that some of the proposed regulations are too restrictive and timelines are unreasonably short. Partner Chris Bird and Senior Associate Linda Govenlock report.

23 November 2012

IP Australia has released a paper highlighting issues it intends to cover in its review of pharmaceutical patents. Partner Richard Hamer and Law Graduate Laura Myer report.

20 August 2012

Fashion designers are gathering for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Sydney, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Brisbane and Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. Partners Tim Golder and Miriam Stiel speak to BRR Media about what designers can do to protect the intellectual property of their designs.

18 May 2012

IP Australia has recently announced changes to many official fees for patent, trade mark and design matters, including the introduction of a new fourth year patent continuation/renewal fee. Partner Chris Bird reports

26 March 2012

Major changes to intellectual property protection in Australia are likely to become law in only a few weeks. Partners Tim Golder and Chris Bird and Lawyer Tracy Lu examine the key substantive features of the new provisions and provide some recommendations for clients to factor into their protection strategies

13 February 2012

A recent Federal Court decision expands copyright and trade mark owners' opportunities to argue that imitators' labels constitute infringements. Partner Tim Golder and Lawyer Andrew Wilcock report.

08 February 2012

The Federal Government has released a response to three different inquiries relating to the patenting of genes and related biological materials. Partner Sarah Matheson, Senior Associate Tom Reid and Vacation Clerk Lauren John report on the response, which has particular significance to biotech industry participants

23 January 2012

A decision last week approving the trade mark 'Nuckin Futs' has highlighted some of the issues surrounding registering potentially offensive words as trade marks. Partner Sarah Matheson spoke to Boardroom Radio about the way the law and attitudes have changed in regard to this issue

21 September 2011

In a 'rare case' in patent law, a fundamental lack of clarity concerning the performance and function of an aspect of the claimed invention doomed the relevant claims of the patent to invalidity. Partner Sarah Matheson, Senior Associate Tom Reid and Law Graduate Courtney McLennan report on this recent case

16 August 2011

The Full Court of the Federal Court has overturned an earlier decision that servingware maker Bodum's reputation in its 'Chambord' coffee plunger was 'distinctly tied' to its Bodum name. Partner Tim Golder and Senior Associate Anna Thorburn report on this latest decision

04 August 2011

A high-stakes patents war between the world's leading smartphone and tablet companies is currently taking place. Partner Chris Bird spoke to Boardroom Radio about the issues surrounding the current battle and what it means for consumers

05 July 2011

The Full Federal Court has unanimously overturned a controversial decision concerning patent infringement, holding that commonsense should prevail when approaching the construction of patent claims. Ordinary words in claims should be given their plain and ordinary meaning, as a person skilled in the art would understand them. Partner Chris Bird and Senior Associate Lester Miller report on a case that will be welcome news to patentees

28 April 2011

A recent Federal Court case looked at the issue of whether the use of a trade mark on an 'international' website constituted a trade mark infringement in Australia. Partner Tim Golder and Senior Associate Mark Williams discuss the case, and highlight the difficulties presented by the online environment when a mark is owned by different parties in different jurisdictions

06 April 2011

Our lawyers and patent attorneys look at IP Australia's revised practice guidelines for the examination of divisional patent applications and their implications; a joint NZ/Australian initiative to integrate their respective patent examination services; and the Federal Government's review of the law relating to patentable subject matter

05 April 2011

IP Australia is currently considering draft legislation that proposes some major changes to, and developments in, IP protection in Australia. This will include consideration of submissions made by all interested stakeholders over recent weeks. In this article, Partner Trevor Davies and PTA Technical Assistant Sean Blasdall highlight some of the key features covering patents, and Partner Tim Golder and Senior Associate Anna Thorburn highlight some of the key features covering copyright, trade marks and designs

02 December 2010

A Senate committee has released its long-awaited report into gene patents. Partner Trevor Davies spoke to Boardroom Radio about the report's major findings, as well as a Private Member's Bill introduced into the Senate that could have serious consequences for the Australian biotech industry

10 November 2010

Recent amendments to the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) now make provision for the amendment of trade mark registrations affected by the inclusion of new EU geographical indicators and traditional expressions on the Register of Protected Names. Trade Mark Attorney Carissa Apps and Senior Associate Mark Williams report on the effect and implications of these changes

19 October 2010

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments regarding copyright, trade marks, patents and anti-counterfeiting

25 June 2010

Mars Australia has recently secured trade mark protection for a particular shade of purple, which it refers to as 'Whiskas Purple', for cat food. Partner Tim Golder speaks to Boardroom Radio about the case and the difficulties and consequences of obtaining trade mark protection of colours

13 April 2010

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments regarding intellectual property - including passing off, confidential information, patents, trade marks and copyright

18 December 2009

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments affecting trade marks, copyright, patents and sponsorship/marketing

28 October 2009

While a recent opinion of the Advocate General to the European Court of Justice indicates that use of another's trade mark as a keyword in search engine marketing will not, of itself, constitute trade mark infringement in Europe, the position in Australia remains unsettled. Lawyer Nicholas Tobias reports on the aggressive and defensive uses of search engine marketing that can promote or protect a business's reputation

22 July 2009

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments affecting copyright, patents and trade marks. Articles include 'Bavaria NV wins beer appeal', 'Utility requirements for Australian patents', and discussion of the interlocutory injunction in Sigma Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty Ltd v Wyeth and the software copyright appeal decision in Software AG (Australia) Pty Ltd v Racing and Wagering WA

14 July 2009

Patentees can breathe a sigh of relief now that the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has unanimously overturned a controversial decision of a single judge of the Federal Court. Partner Chris Bird and Senior Associate Linda Govenlock report on the appeal decision, in which the Full Court affirmed that a divisional application may be saved by the grace provisions afforded by section 24(1) of the Patents Act 1990, provided that the parent application from which it was divided was a complete application filed within the 12-month grace period

28 January 2009

The Full Federal Court of Australia recently allowed an appeal by a US-based beverage company against an Australian competitor in a case that looked at the test that is to be applied when determining whether sufficient product recognition has been established in a relevant jurisdiction through indirect marketing. Partner Jim Dwyer and Law Graduate Joanne Been look at this important decision on brand reputation in Australia

19 December 2008

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments affecting copyright, patents, trade marks, designs and personal property. We also include important Christmas/New Year closure dates for IP registration services in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and mainland China.

18 November 2008

For the first time, the High Court has considered the operation of section 117 of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth), which imposes liability in certain circumstances for contributory infringement of a patent. Senior Associate Rob Silberstein and Law Graduate Nicholas Tobias examine the decision and its likely impact

11 November 2008

We look at three court decisions that provide some judicial guidance on three important patent and design issues

07 October 2008

A recent Australian Trade Marks Office decision found that the evidence did not demonstrate use as a trade mark of the shape of a four-bar chocolate and consequently, registration for that shape was refused. Partner Andrew Butler and Senior Associate Garen Holopikian review the case

07 May 2008

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments affecting patents, trade marks, copyright, domain names and related developments

05 February 2008

This case concerned two retailing interests using the same word mark in respect of overlapping goods and where one of the two retailing interests, which had obtained registration of the mark, commenced proceedings against the other for trade mark infringement.

18 December 2007

We look at the abolition of the duty of disclosure for patent applicants; the Sportsgirl trade mark case; the dangers of choosing marks of a general character; changes to the trade mark renewal grace period; and practice changes with regard to letters of consent in cases of conflicting marks

12 December 2007

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments affecting patents, trade marks, copyright, domain names and related developments

05 November 2007

Partner Annette Hughes and Senior Associate Rachel Nicolson provide an overview of the UN's draft Human Rights Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Companies in relation to Access to Medicines, released for public consultation in September 2007

24 October 2007

In the recent case of Brother Industries Ltd v Dynamic Supplies Pty Ltd, the Federal Court of Australia considered an unusual set of facts and held that the importation and sale of non-branded products, manufactured by the trade mark owner but imported and sold in counterfeit packaging, constituted trade mark infringement, misleading and deceptive conduct in breach of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and passing off

23 October 2007

Changes to the duty of disclosure obligations for applicants and patentees of Australian patents have now been implemented. The requirement to inform the Australian Patent Office of the result of prior art searches conducted by overseas patent offices has now been substantially abolished. Partner Chris Bird and Patent Attorney Anthony Selleck report

13 September 2007

In the final instalment of our three-part series examining the amendments to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Senior Associate Ric Morgan addresses the price disclosure obligations and how the information will be used to further reduce the price of pharmaceutical benefits to government

11 September 2007

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments affecting patents, trade marks, copyright and designs

07 September 2007

In Part 2 of our Focus: Pharmaceuticals series examining amendments to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Senior Associate Ric Morgan examines the way the statutory price cuts operate and details the supply guarantee requirements

05 September 2007

We look at a case of anti-competitive conduct by doctors; the first set of standards issued by the Queensland Health Quality and Complaints Commission; and a question of discrimination in the provision of medical services

30 August 2007

The Commonwealth Parliament has passed legislation to amend the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. In the first of a three-part series, Senior Associate Ric Morgan provides an overview of the changes and examines the new concepts introduced by the amendments

13 July 2007

Our intellectual property lawyers and patent and trade marks attorneys provide an update on the latest cases and legislative developments relating to patents, trade marks, copyright and designs

05 June 2007

We report on the duty owed by employers where workers are exposed to traumatic events; the right to access one's own health information; the meaning of 'exceptional circumstances' when applying the 80/20 rule; the extent of the duty to warn patients pre-surgery; and when a surgical procedure amounts to battery

04 May 2007

Following the decision of Australia's High Court in Burge v Swarbrick last week, businesses may now be better placed to assess how to manage design rights and copyright in products that may be mass-produced. Lawyer Marina Lloyd Jones looks at the impact of the decision

30 April 2007

In late March 2007, the Department of Health and Aging released an exposure draft of the Therapeutic Products Bill 2007 (Cth). This is the first in a series of new laws that will significantly change the way therapeutic products are regulated in Australia and New Zealand by setting up a joint trans-Tasman scheme. Lawyer Przemek Kucharski summarises key aspects of the Scheme and the Bill

27 April 2007

Two significant changes to the schedule of patent fees; new trade mark, patent and design provisions now in force; and a look at upcoming conferences and events