It’s official – with the successful passage of the necessary referral legislation through all states and territories, the new national business names legislation is expected to commence on 28 May 2012. read more »
Partner: Natalie Hickey 
You would be forgiven for having missed this news given everything else that was happening in Canberra this week, but the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2011 was passed by the Senate on 27 February 2012. The Bill will now go before the House of Representatives in the autumn sitting and is expected to come into force later this year. read more »
We earlier posted about the introduction of the new National Business Names Registration System. The National Business Names Registration Package is expected to come into operation from 28 May 2012, pending the passage of the legislation through state parliaments. read more »
On Monday the Prime Minister announced a cabinet reshuffle which will have some impact on the key IP portfolio, Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (as it is presently known), as well as the Health portfolio. read more »
The Commonwealth Attorney-General gave a keynote speech last Friday at the biennial Copyright Law & Practice Symposium. The text of the speech is available online, and as you would expect the A-G took the opportunity to make some copyright-related announcements. read more »
The long-delayed R&D Tax Credit was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday after clearing the Senate with amendments. The R&D Tax Credit represents the most significant change to tax innovation policy since the original R&D Tax Concession was introduced in 1986. Check out our alert here.
Sponsors beware! The TGA may now publicise a failure to comply with advertising rules for therapeutic goods. read more »
The NSW Supreme Court has handed down a decision involving the ownership of copyright in photos and films taken by animal rights activists when they invaded a piggery, hoping to catalogue the mistreatment of pigs. read more »
The NSW Ombudsman has lost a claim for immunity from liability for copyright infringements alleged by a software company. read more »
The Senate has adjourned debate on the Raising the Bar Bill... read more »