The Full Federal Court has allowed the appeal in Chiropedic Bedding Pty Ltd v Radburg Pty Ltd [2008] FCAFC 142, overturning the decision of the trial judge and holding that a furniture fair involving 250 Australian exhibitors and seven from New Zealand was an “international exhibition”. Section 47(1) provides that the fact that a design, …
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Apotex Pty Ltd (formerly GenRx Pty Ltd) v Sanofi-Aventis [2008] FCA 1194, handed down on Tuesday, determined a validity challenge to the Sanofi-Aventis patent covering the drug Clopidogrel, marketed as Plavix, the second highest selling pharmaceutical worldwide. While claims 1, 10 and 11 were found lacking novelty and claims 6 to 9 lacking inventive step, …
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In an appeal from a Trade Mark opposition, Ryan J in Neumann v Sons of the Desert SL [2008] FCA 1183, has seemingly significantly broadened the operation of section 42 of the Trade Marks Act. Section 42(b) provides that an application for the registration of a trade mark must be rejected if its use would …
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Where a NZ resident wishes to file an application for a patent abroad without first filing a corresponding patent application in New Zealand, the resident must obtain a foreign filing permit from the Commissioner under section 25(5) before making the foreign patent application. IPONZ will now accept requests for foreign filing permit by email. The …
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The Patents Bill was introduced to Parliament on 9 July, and will replace the Patents Act 1953. The purpose of the new Bill is to update New Zealand’s patent regime to ensure that it continues to provide an appropriate balance between providing adequate incentives for innovation and technology transfer while ensuring that the interests of …
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The decision of Dowsett J in Occupational and Medical Innovations Ltd ACN 091 192 871 v Retractable Technologies Inc [2008] FCA 1102, has highlight an apparently significant restriction in the operation of section 125 of the Patents Act. Section 125 allows a person to apply to a Court for a declaration that the exploitation of …
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IP Australia and the United States’ Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have announced an agreement that will see IP Australia act as an international search and examination authority for international applications filed with the USPTO under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). US PCT applicants can now choose IP Australia to undertake their initial search and …
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The Advisory Council on Intellectual Property is conducting a review of what types of subject matters should be able to be patented in Australia and whether the law is meeting the country’s needs. It has released an Issues Paper [PDF] which requests that written responses to the questions in the paper and any other comments …
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Gyles J in Gillette Company v Schiavini [2008] FCA 1053 has confirmed the longstanding view that mere importation is use as a trade mark such as to constitute an infringement of a trade mark proprietor’s rights.
The long awaited New Zealand Patents Bill having key provisions substantially modeled on the Australian Patents Act has been introduced into the New Zealand Parliament. It is expected that the first reading of the Bill and referral to the Select Committee should occur within the next few months. Once the Bill has been referred to …
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