Author Archive for: ‘jwmacleod’
The Best Laid Plans: West Australian Supreme Court rules on copyright in building drawings
In Milankov Designs & Project Management Pty Ltd v Di Latte [2018] WASC 14, the WA Supreme Court has handed down a cautionary copyright tale to all prospective home builders. The moral of the story? When it comes to working out what you can do with the plans you’ve paid for, and what you need to do to be an …
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AMG meats its maker: Australian Meat Holdings protect a fair dinkum mark
The Federal Court has found that the Australian Meat Group (AMG) has infringed the trade mark of one of Australia’s largest meat producers. The Court also narrowly applied the substantial identity test, bucking the trend of some recent decisions which indicated that the Court may be widening the scope of the assessment. Long ago, the meat lobby figured out a …
Read MoreThe future is now: Gene therapy lands in the United States
The United States Food and Drug Authority (FDA) has just given the green light to America’s first ever gene therapy treatment. It’s called Kymriah and it’s a genetically-modified autologous T-cell immunotherapy (CAR-T cell therapy). For the layman: individually customised, cancer-killing white blood cells. This is why it’s a big deal, and what the future could hold for us here in …
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All’s fair in love and war? The limits of the “fair dealing” copyright exception
The Fair Dealing-Fair Use war has been raging in Australia since antiquity. The Fair Users fondly yearn for the green pastures of American-esque copyright law. They imagine a vast nation where creative works are freely and peacefully disseminated as Fair Use, their benevolent sovereign, smiles on creators and consumers with equanimity and impartiality. The Fair Dealers on the other hand …
Read MoreRock, racism and the Constitution: the US Supreme Court takes a different slant on trade marks
America! It’s a land of flags, Twinkies, NASCAR. and Constitutional amendments. Matal v Tam (PDF) is the most recent warning not to get between an American and any of those things. The case concerned the application by a “new-wave dance rock” band to register their band name as a trade mark. Ordinarily, the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) would let …
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When is a light switch not a light switch? Federal Court makes light work of the CLIPSO trade mark
Intellectual property fans can have a habit of casting judgment on the cornucopia of trade marks that pass us by in our day-today endeavours. “City Plumbing Services,” we chuckle inwardly as the ute drives by, “that’s hardly distinctive”. However, from time to time, the Federal Court reminds us just how wide the protection of a registered trade mark can extend. …
Read MoreHow many codes must a man walk down? Coding and copyright cross paths in the FCA
For most of us, our exposure to software code is limited to the Matrix and those terrifying moments when you accidentally open Terminal on your Mac. However, as computers slowly and silently assume dominion over every facet of our lives, it’s inevitable that the mysteries of source code will increasingly confront us with novel challenges. In IPC Global Pty Ltd …
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