Brazil has become the latest member of the Madrid System. From 2 October this year, Australian trade mark owners will be able to seek protection in Brazil when filing an application for international registration using the Madrid System. The Madrid System enables trade mark owners to file a single international trade mark application to seek …
>> Read more
Following the repeal of the IP exemption in s51(3) of the Competition & Consumer Act (the CCA), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (the ACCC) has released draft guidelines setting out its interpretation of the impact of the change. The ACCC is seeking input from third parties on its proposed approach (the draft guidelines can …
>> Read more
The US Patent and Trademark Office has announced that, as of 3 August 2019, all foreign-domiciled trademark owners must be represented by an attorney who is licensed to practice law in the US. Currently it is possible for foreign-domiciled owners to file submissions at the USPTO directly on their own behalf, although if they do …
>> Read more
Following a successful three-year trial, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Australian Patent Office (IP Australia) have agreed to extend the bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program between them for a further three years. This bilateral PPH pilot program enables applicants with either an accepted (or granted) patent application in Europe or Australia, …
>> Read more
At the core of the right to ownership of a registered design is the fundamental principle of entitlement derived from creation of the design. Ultimately, entitlement flows from the person who created the design, but may reside for example with their employer. An issue that often arises is who the actual designer is, particularly where …
>> Read more
We are delighted to announce four new appointments effective from 1 July, 2019. Managing Partner Ross McFarlane says: “The lifeblood of our business is our outstanding people. On behalf of my fellow partners, I am delighted to celebrate Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick’s continued success through the elevation of these highly talented attorneys/lawyers.” Anita Brown – Partner …
>> Read more
A number of Federal Court decisions from 2019 suggest that the balance may be shifting away from originators in the battle for interlocutory injunctions in pharmaceutical patent matters. The decision by Justice Jagot in Sigma Pharmaceuticals v Wyeth[1] is significant. It is the first time the Court has considered the compensation to be awarded pursuant …
>> Read more
POF recently co-hosted the Springboard Enterprises Life Sciences Bootcamp and participated in a roundtable to address IP-related concerns from founders seeking to expand and globalise their enterprises. Some of the common questions that arose during this event related to optimising and prioritising investment in IP, Freedom to Operate and prior art searching. Optimisation and Prioritisation …
>> Read more
Since 2015, copyright holders have been able to seek injunctions against Internet Service Providers requiring them to block their customers from accessing sites which contain infringing content by way of Section 115A of Australia’s Copyright Act 1968. These provisions, equivalents of which exist in a number of other jurisdictions, have been colloquially known as “whack-a-mole” …
>> Read more
