All hail Australia’s small businesses! IP Australia estimates that more than 75 percent of the Australian residents who applied for patents in Australia in 2016 were private individuals or small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The numbers demonstrate that a significant amount of innovation in Australia is happening at the start-up level, highlighting the need to further nurture this growing sector …
Patent Filing- Global Findings
World patent filings have been averaging around eight percent annual growth between 2010 and 2016. By comparison, patent filings in Australia have averaged around three percent growth over the same period, ranking us 10th in OECD countries in terms of average annual growth. Patents are filed where entrepreneurs and companies believe they will have commercial opportunity and want to protect …
The IP Perspective: clever planning or pure luck?
Perhaps one of the least acknowledged, and yet most critical, factors contributing to one’s ‘success’, is luck. All too often, people will credit their achievements solely to their personal skill and brilliance, hard work, and hustle. They will rarely mention the role that luck played, and even more rarely (respectfully) give thanks to it. Perhaps they feel that by doing …
Who owns ‘RAW’ files
Copyright and graphic design If you are lucky enough to work in the design industry, then your job involves the creation of intellectual property on a daily basis. And, on the opposite side of the table, if you’ve ever engaged a design or marketing professional, then you’ve likely had the pleasure of commissioning the creation of intellectual property. A new …
3D Printing – IP implications of a layered approach
The game changing technology of 3D printing (a form of additive manufacturing – the creation of 3D objects by adding layer upon layer of materials) is becoming mainstream in our modern society. It has now entered our homes so that what was once a technology only available to large organisations and researchers is now available to hobbyists and smaller companies …
A guide to managing intellectual property
Intellectual Property (IP) should be well managed – in the same way that a company manages all of its other assets. Unfortunately, because of the intangible nature of IP, it often gets overlooked. This brief guide aims to identify some of the issues and practices that will assist a company in being more able to effectively manage IP that already …
Government’s long-awaited reforms to R&D Tax Incentive
In last week’s Federal Budget, the government announced some long-awaited reforms to the R&D Tax Incentive, to boost its integrity and provide much needed clarity for how companies can claim the incentive moving forward. There was some good news: A $4 million annual cap on cash refunds for early-stage start-ups, instead of the proposed $2 million, and no lifetime cap …
Federal Budget 2018 and its impact on innovation & technology
The world is changing and the government needs to position innovation and technology as critical enablers within the budget and with voters. There were some wins in 8 May Budget delivered by the Federal Government and some disappointments too. Wrays have partnered with InnovationAus.com to produce a white paper on the impact the Budget will have on innovation and technology – …
Are you eligible? WA Innovation Vouchers Program applications now open
Are you an SME developing your innovation in Western Australia? Yes – then you might just be eligible for Government funding under the Government of Western Australia’s Innovation Vouchers Program (IVP) to support your innovation in any of the following areas: Research & Development Product Development Technology Transfer & Intellectual Property Commercialisation Support Services The Innovation Vouchers Program (IVP) is …
Federal Court crystal clear on descriptive trade marks
Federal Court finds Bohemia and Bohemia Crystal marks should be cancelled for descriptiveness The Federal Court of Australia has found that the marks BOHEMIA and BOHEMIA CRYSTAL are liable to be removed from the Register of Trade Marks. Those marks were registered in respect of glassware and crystal, and were found to be incapable of distinguishing these goods from the …