The owners of one of Australia’s most iconic and “most photographed pub in the world” (self-professed), the “Ettamogah Pub”, have been embroiled in a dispute in the New South Wales Supreme Court with claims, among others, that it is has not paid royalties owed under its exclusive license to use intellectual property from the cartoon series “The Ettamogah Pub Mob”. read more »
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This week I asked myself a very serious question: Which type of intellectual property law is the best? read more »
Our fearless leader Natalie Hickey has written an op-ed piece on the ongoing dispute between Matt Blatt and Herman Miller over Matt Blatt's sale of replica Eames furniture. The piece appeared in the Age this morning, and is already generating a fair amount of comment on The Age and SMH websites.
Mallesons Stephen Jaques has successfully acted for the Bodum Group on a landmark legal battle in the Full Federal Court of Australia regarding a copy of its iconic Bodum Chambord coffee plunger. The outcome is possibly the first of its kind in Australia, protecting the distinctive shape and features of Bodum's Chambord coffee plunger design from imitation. read more »
Amidst all the talk of increasing workforce participation and returning the budget to surplus, it’s perhaps unsurprising to find no big ticket items directly affecting IP in the 2011-12 Federal Budget. However, there is one little treat for IP nerds... read more »
We recently posted on certain pitfalls in drafting IP licences. Well it doesn't rain, but it pours with these issues, as IBM has recently discovered. On the receiving end of an adverse Federal Court judgment brought by the Australian Tax Office, IBM has learnt the hard way that the language used to draft an agreement is crucial to how the ATO will treat it for tax purposes. read more »
The Federal Government today released the exposure draft of its Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011. Health Minister Nicola Roxon stated that the Government's intention is to "restrict tobacco industry logos, brand imagery, colours and promotional text appearing on packs." Provisions in the Bill relate to the effect on trade marks and designs of compliance with the advertising prohibitions in the Bill. read more »
A new free online tool, called Intellectual Property Explorer, is available to help small and medium sized businesses recognise, review and manage their intellectual property assets. The Intellectual Property Explorer has a range of useful features to assist businesses in identifying their intellectual property assets, including simple and easy to understand explanations of intellectual property concepts and a handy guide to reviewing and recognising intellectual property. read more »
The case of Keller v LED Technologies Pty Ltd is the Full Federal Court of Australia's first decision on the tests for validity and infringement under the Designs Act 2003. In particular, the Court offers guidance on the new test of “distinctiveness” required for a valid design. Mallesons' Shyama Jayaswal examines the decision here. read more »
January is resolution time. A universal thought takes over: "I need to quit smoking, lose weight and call my mother more!" The IP Whiteboard team are not immune to this infectious optimism, and have put together some "IP resolutions" to kick off Twenty Ten. It's not exactly Letterman's Top 10, and we know that resolutions aren't always kept, but here goes! read more »