Archives for: ‘Technology’
Metadata retention bill likely to pass
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security published its advisory report on Australia’s metadata retention bill today (Friday 27th). The report is bipartisan, in that representatives of both major political parties agree with its recommendations.
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Fighting ‘Revenge Porn’ through Copyright
Unless your surname is “Kardashian”, it is unlikely that being a victim of a ‘Revenge Porn’ attack launched by a jilted ex-lover could ever end well. However, thanks to the unfortunate experience of a Californian law student who recently filed a copyright lawsuit in the U.S following such an attack, you may never have to experience this fate. Photo credit: http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-censored-nude-woman-portrait-young-tape-covering-eyes-breasts-image33259509 …
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Preliminary discovery and arbitration
Ordinarily, an arbitral tribunal does not have power to order preliminary discovery of documents that would allow a prospective plaintiff to evaluate whether or not sufficient evidence exists to commence a claim. This was one of the findings of the Supreme Court of NSW in a recent case in which a company suspected that a number of its former senior managers and consultants had misused the company’s confidential information or infringed its IP rights.
Read MoreWhen is information about a residential property “personal information”?
Is information contained in a document about a residential property “personal information” about the owners or occupants of the property under NSW privacy legislation even if the document doesn’t directly identify the owners or occupants? This was the question that the Appeal Panel of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal had to consider in Office of Finance and Services v …
Read MoreIs your computer-implemented business method patentable? The Full Federal Court dismisses Research Affiliates’ appeal
A unanimous Full Federal Court has held that a computer implemented method of creating an investment index is not patentable, on the basis that the substance of the claimed invention – an abstract idea or scheme – is itself not patentable subject matter and just because the claimed invention could be implemented using a computer does not make it patentable. …
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Unanimous Full Court dismisses Research Affiliates’ appeal
In a decision handed down this afternoon, the Full Court has unanimously dismissed an appeal by Research Affiliates LLC from a decision of Justice Emmett in 2013 (summary here). The Full Court affirmed Justice Emmett’s decision that the claimed invention of two patent applications, in the name of Research Affiliates, is not a manner of manufacture as required by the …
Read MoreShould we #RenameISIS? When trade marks attack
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.” – Shakespeare What if roses, instead of being called “roses”, were called “stink bells”? Would they smell as sweet? What if they were called “crapweed” or “stench blossoms”, as Bart Simpson famously suggested? What about if they were called “ISIS”? Unfortunately, this …
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