Way more than an everyday interest in IP
When the clock struck midnight on 13 September 2013, Victor Willis, original Policeman from the Village People, is said to have regained his copyright interest in many of the band’s hits, including YMCA. To recap on our post from last year, Willis co-wrote many of the band’s biggest hits (who could forget In the Navy) read more…
As the dust settles on last Saturday’s Federal election, one of the more interesting outcomes to emerge is the likely election of six new Senators from five ‘micro’ parties – the Palmer United Party, the Family First party, the Australian Motor Enthusiast Party, the Australian Sports Party and the Liberal Democrats. One of the incoming read more…
Improving public access to justice, the High Court of Australia will make audio-visual recordings of its hearings available from the 1st of October, 2013. Footage of all Full Court hearings in Canberra will be made available via the High Court homepage www.hcourt.gov.au a few days after hearing, to allow for vetting of recordings for any information read more…
Fancy yourself as the face of a major brand? Facebook’s proposed refresh of its advertising and data use policy (as a result of a $20million class action settlement) means your big break might be just around the corner. However, the catch is, you won’t be paid for it, nor be aware of what you are read more…
Peter Jackson made New Zealand famous for trolls, but when it comes to “patent trolls” and their potential to stifle innovation, especially in the software sphere, it appears the New Zealand legislature has been less welcoming. This week, a proposed amendment to the Patents Act to exclude computer programs (i.e. software) from patentable subject matter read more…
In what has already been a big year for changes to IP legislation in Australia (especially for patent law), more changes are on the way. Not to be confused with the reforms made under the Intellectual Property Law Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 (Cth), a new Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2013 (Cth) (‘the read more…
It’s been a busy year in software patents, all over the world. We’ve had decisions on this issue in Australia, headlined by Research Affiliates in February, and in the US the Federal Circuit split 5:5 in a case concerning an Australian company, Alice v CLS Bank in April. More recently, the New Zealand parliament passed read more…
The world’s wealth is increasingly becoming centred on intellectual capital, according to Dr Francis Gurry at his presentation at Melbourne University on Thursday 22 August 2013. Dr Gurry is the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), and the highest-ranking Australian official in a United Nations agency. The organisers of the fifth annual read more…
Robin Thicke’s hit single “Blurred Lines” has certainly had its fair share of both popularity and controversy. From the success of being Billboard’s No. 1 song and No. 1 album, to the claims of sexism over its lyrics and 18+ film clip and various parody videos criticising its use of #stupidhashtags, the latest development is read more…