The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the latest member state to join the Madrid System for the registration of international trade marks. This means that as of 28 December 2021 trade mark applicants who apply for an international trade mark registration, or have an existing international trade mark registration under the Madrid System, can designate …
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Following the decision in Thaler v Commissioner of Patents that an AI system DABUS can be named an inventor for a patent application, it would appear that Australia is one of only two countries where this has been deemed allowable, the other being South Africa. The rationale for such a position in Australia can be contrasted …
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It’s time to get LOUD! Today we are celebrating Loud Shirt Day – which aims to raise awareness and vital funds to ensure children with hearing loss continue to receive crucial intervention to help meet their goals. To help raise awareness, we were delighted to be joined by Bronwyn Skafte from NextSense – a not-for-profit …
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We are very pleased to announce that Senior Associates Michelle Blythe, Helen McFadzean, and Dr Annabella Newton have once again been recognised as Rising Stars in the IP Stars awards. Each year research analysts receive and analyse information on law firms and practitioners that provide IP services. Traditionally, the individual listings in IP Stars feature senior …
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The Federal Court has recently issued a decision in AGL Energy v Greenpeace Australia Pacific, holding that the use of another person’s logo for parody or satirical purposes does not constitute copyright or trade mark infringement, but only if that use is a ‘fair dealing’. This decision was the result of an urgent action brought …
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In Fuchs Lubricants v Quaker Chemical[1] , the Full Federal Court has clarified which of the ancillary activities that might occur before, around or in conjunction with a public working of an invention for the purpose of reasonable trial, before the lodgement of a patent application can be ignored (and thus will not be damaging), …
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E-commerce giant Alibaba has had a win before the Australian Patent Office in relation to an application for their technology which improves privacy on the blockchain. In a recent decision, the Delegate found that Alibaba’s patent application satisfies the manner of manufacture requirement, and that amendments made to address an objection were valid and supported …
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8 September 2021 marked a significant event in the Australian patent and trademark attorney profession, with the announcement of the imminent integration of Shelston IP into Spruson & Ferguson. The Shelston brand – one of Australia’s oldest – will be retired. Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick remains a privately owned business, even after being in operation for …
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The DAS stores electronic Certified Copies of Priority Documents and allows retrieval of these documents by certain patent offices via a DAS code. The service is most relevant to applicants who file complete (i.e. Paris convention) patents and designs (and to a lesser extent trade marks). For a long time, DAS wasn’t useful as not a lot of countries were party to it or accepted …
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Today, the Commissioner of Patents has appealed the Federal Court decision of Justice Beach in Thaler v Commissioner of Patents [2021] FCA 879 (which recognised that an AI machine could be an inventor on a patent) to the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia. The Federal Court judgment, handed down on 30 July …
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