Way more than an everyday interest in IP
The Options Paper of the Australian Government’s Advisory Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP), issued in August 2013, sets out various reform options for innovation patents, including their complete abolition. Final submissions on ACIP’s review of innovation patents, initiated in 2011, can be submitted to [email protected] by 4 October 2013. Innovation patents & ACIP’s review Innovation read more...We are excited to announce the launch of ‘The CGK’ – our review of Australia’s patent cases for 2012. This is the 10th edition of our annual patent review. The CGK examines the most important patent decisions handed down in 2012, including the Full Court’s decisions in SNF (Australia) Pty Ltd v Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water read more...
After last year failing to convince the High Court to increase the licence fees paid by commercial radio broadcasters, the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Ltd (PPCA) has reversed its fortunes with a Full Federal Court victory in relation to online streaming of radio broadcasts. In hearing an appeal by the PPCA from an earlier read more...
On 14 November, the Full Court of the Federal Court confirmed that the ‘Vivo’ trade mark was deceptively similar to TiVo and so was likely to deceive or confuse, but for slightly different reasons than at trial. In the red corner is TiVo, the answer for thousands of professionals who have despaired about missing, for read more...
Wearing a red nose has never been so controversial. In Australia, the National SIDS Council of Australia (NSCAL) runs Red Nose Day to raise money for research into ‘Sudden Infant Death Syndrome’. In New Zealand, Cure Kids (CK) is an organisation that raises money for various diseases that affect children. Recently, CK has revived its read more...Following the death of founding Beastie Boys member, Adam Yaunch, the remaining Beastie Boys and Yaunch’s estate are suing Monster Energy Drink for using the band’s songs without permission and suggesting an endorsement that Beastie Boys had not given.
read more...We know that you’ve all been Up All Night waiting with bated breath for news regarding UK heartthrobs One Direction and their battle with their US namesakes over rights to the “One Direction” trade mark (see our earlier post here). read more...
There are various ways, both legal and practical, to protect yourself against the risk of an ex-employee making use of your valuable business information and poaching your customers. One of the ways in which employers are protected is through the doctrine of confidential information. However, understanding the limitations of that protection is important. read more...
Google has been accused of copyright infringement for using photographs of Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane in advertising its Google Music service. The action has been brought in the United States District Court for the Central District of California by the estate of James “Jim” Marshall, a photographer renowned for his iconic photographs of popular musicians (not to be confused with the James “Jim” Marshall who founded Marshall Amplification – or, indeed, James “Jimi” Marshall Hendrix).
read more...