On 20 August 2018, the Federal Circuit Court issued a Practice Direction for the streamlined management of intellectual property matters. Most intellectual property matters are filed in the Federal Court. However, the Federal Circuit Court can provide an alternative avenue for pursuing some intellectual property cases. Like the Federal Court, it has jurisdiction to hear …
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It’s risky business bringing proceedings for IP infringement without proper legal advice. A self-represented Debra Crocker learnt this the hard way over a series of court proceedings, which saw her sentenced to time in prison for contempt of Court and prohibited from instituting proceedings in the Federal Court with limited exception. Following these recent proceedings,[1] …
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Australian Federal Court not impressed with parallel AU/US proceedings Earlier this year, in a decision¹ made by O’Callaghan J of the Federal Court of Australia, Kraft was restrained from proceeding with arbitration proceedings against Bega in the US. The dispute arose in the context of the sale and promotion of BEGA branded peanut butter produced …
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In what is a quite recent but unpublicised development, IP Australia now record “special” non-English characters (i.e. accented letters, umlauts, diaeresis and the like) for applicants and inventor names on new incoming patent applications. Until recently, an inventor named, for example, Åsa or Björn in a PCT national phase entry designating Australia would be recorded …
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Congratulations to University of Tasmania for winning both the KCA Research Commercialisation Award and People’s Choice Award at last night’s KCA Awards dinner! The University of Tasmania’s award-winning pitch revolved around a research project in rock lobster biology, and a subsequent commercial sublicense from UTAS that will see the world’s first commercial‐scale tropical rock lobster …
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The first interlocutory injunction restraining the launch of a biosimilar pharmaceutical product was granted by the Federal Court of Australia in a decision on 12 June 2018¹. Background The decision concerns the monoclonal antibody rituximab, a biologic therapy which is prescribed in Australia to treat a number of immunology conditions including lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia …
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A recent opposition decision of the Australian Patent Office¹ focused on the level of disclosure which is required in a patent specification to properly enable and support the claimed invention. This decision illustrates the importance of providing an enabling disclosure across the full width of the claimed invention and, where possible, providing a principle of …
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We hosted a morning tea in recognition of RSPCA Cupcake Day to raise much needed funds for the RSPCA. Cupcake Day is the sweetest opportunity of the year to raise money for animals in need, and all funds raised goes directly towards helping the abandoned, neglected and surrendered animals around the country that turn to the …
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The power of the Registrar to correct errors appearing in the Trade Marks Register appears to have been curtailed by the recent decision of the Full Court in Vokes v Laminar Air Flow[1]. Vokes was the original owner of a series of trade marks however, an incorrectly filed change of name form (in circumstances where …
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Daffodil Day provides each of us the opportunity to work toward a future that is free of cancer, with all funds raised through Daffodil Day going to cancer research, prevention, support services and advocacy. This year, as part of our Community Contribution Program, POF employees generously volunteered their time to support Daffodil Day operating a …
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