Region: Asia-Pacific

The High Court of Australia hears appeals against the decisions of lower courts in Australia including the Federal Court of Australia. However, there is no automatic right to have an appeal heard by the High Court. The aggrieved party must apply for leave to appeal and persuade the Court in a preliminary hearing that there are valid reasons for the appeal to be heard.

01 December 2006

A brief review of the Australian Patent Office database has been conducted with the aim of gaining an understanding of nanotechnology patenting trends in Australia.

01 December 2006

There is no doubt that much of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, is contingent on there being a robust Intellectual Property (“IP”)system to maintain the value of innovative products. It is often the case, particularly in relation to start–up biotech companies, that IP is one of, if not the most important and major assets of the company.

01 December 2006

Now that the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement is in force intellectual property disputes and litigation events are expected to increase. In any court proceeding or opposition whether involving patents, trade marks, designs or copyright, one of the most critical aspects of the case is the preparation and filing of evidence.

01 September 2006

A recent case highlights the importance of correctly identifying inventors, and ensuring that applicants and patentees are legally entitled to the grant of a patent in Australia, especially in cases of joint applications arising from the contributions of multiple inventors.

01 September 2006

The Australian Government recently announced that it would be conducting a review of the disclosure requirements of the Franchising Code of Conduct. According to Government figures, franchising in Australia is an $80 billion industry that employs more than 600,000 people. The Federal Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Fran Bailey, states that franchising in Australia “is growing rapidly and an undoubted small business success story”.

01 September 2006

The unique behaviour of materials at the nanoscale offers countless opportunities. Where opportunities with potential industrial applications arise in the emerging field of nanotechnology, intellectual property considerations must be addressed at the outset. Relevant considerations include both the options for protecting inventions, and the risk of infringing the rights of others at the point of commercialisation.

01 September 2006

In the last week of March, the Australian Federal Government introduced into parliament the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2006. While the bill addresses a number of the intellectual property laws of the country, the most significant of these are to the Patents Act 1990.

01 June 2006

Further to our article “Trade mark rights lost through incorrect use” (October to December 2004 Journal*), a recent Australian case has again reiterated that unless a trade mark is used in its registered form, it may be vulnerable to removal from the Register for non-use.

01 March 2006

One of a company’s most valuable assets may be its trade marks. They provide a means of access to the marketplace and are the instrument by which customers and competitors identify goods and services.

01 March 2006