Category Archive

Lessons learned from a Start-up As someone working in patent dispute resolution, one of the most disheartening parts of my day is watching the same simple, but costly, mistakes being made by clients with a great new idea, but no idea whether another business has already protected it and, if not, how they can protect it. I’ve watched too many …

Franchise Law Update Changes at a glance There is a new Franchise Disclosure Register (Register). Franchisors must create a profile on the Register and include key disclosure information. Franchisors must comply by 14 November 2022. The Register will be available to the public online, free of charge, from 15 November 2022. There are ongoing obligations on franchisors to update the …

The IP Story of the Sherrin Football When Geelong and Sydney take to the MCG for the AFL Grand Final this Saturday, the attention of Australia will turn to the Centre Square and that famous Sherrin ball. To celebrate AFL Grand Final Week, our IP experts took a closer look at that piece of elongated leather which has become synonymous …

When Social Media and Changing Consumer Sentiments Encourage a Rebrand For companies trying to find a new trade mark, life has definitely become more complicated. Not only are there more marks on the Register but there are more factors to consider. Before the Internet, manual searches had to be done of the Trade Marks Register, company and business name registers …

Night and Day in the Decision. And the Story Continues? As we reported here recently, the High Court of Australia handed down its eagerly awaited decision in Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited v. Commissioner of Patents [S40/2022] on 17 August. The case concerned the patentability of an electronic gaming machine (EGM) defined in the patent as comprising a range of hardware …

Major Patent Decision in Australia – But Still Controversy The High Court of Australia has today handed down a decision that was hoped to clarify the issue of “manner of manufacture”, i.e., patent-eligible subject matter, for so-called ‘computer-implemented inventions’ (CIIs) under Australian law. As the High Court decision was equally split, however, the decision was effectively one by default and …

Two different car companies in two different parts of the world are currently fighting to protect their trade marks in vehicle model numbers. In Europe, Audi AG has started a proceeding against NIO, a Chinese automobile manufacturer. Audi has a number of its model numbers registered as trade marks. Two of these are S6 and S8 and are used as …

Many jurisdictions provide patent term extensions (PTEs) or Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) in recognition of the fact that the time taken to achieve regulatory approval for patented products can often delay their release into the market. However, partly due the interplay between regulatory approval legislation and patent legislation, the requirements for receiving an extension of patent term, and the patented …

Designs v Copyright If you could eavesdrop on the dinner parties of fashion designers, the one question they would be asking is… How do you stop other people copying the garments to which designers have poured their heart and soul? Let’s take a shirt for example. One with a collar and cuffs, a shorter front than back and some fancy …

The fact that the footwear known as “Crocs” is described as a foam clog perhaps says it all. It’s the shoe that people seem to love to hate or hate to love. The design makes sense once you know that Crocs clogs were developed as a boating shoe. The closed top avoids stubbed toes and the holes are for easy …