Internet telephony company Skype has revealed that it has defended numerous legal challenges from UK satellite television company BSkyB over the registration and use of its trade mark, which contains the word "Sky". read more »
From 1 January 2011 software will be characterised as goods for the purposes of the consumer guarantee provisions of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Suppliers of software will likely amend their standard licence terms to mitigate the risk of unlimited liability for losses suffered by Australian “consumers” as a result of the software infringing a third party’s IP rights. read more »
Kozinski CJ of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has won IP Whiteboard’s inaugural “Judgment of the Year” for a fantastic dissertation on the ongoing wars between Mattel and MGA Entertainment over ownership of the "bratty-doll idea". 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 recent Federal Court decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Company v Apotex Pty Ltd [2010] FCA 814 is a useful reminder of the principles to be applied when assessing whether an amendment is "allowable" under section 102 of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) (Act). read more »
On Tuesday night Professor Peter Cashman gave an informative lecture at the University of Sydney on the patentability of genes. read more »
Last Friday Mallesons pro bono team, led by IP Whiteboard's very own Robert Cooper, won a historic challenge to electoral laws in the High Court. The High Court in a majority decision ruled that laws that required the closing of the electoral rolls on the day that writs for an election are issued are invalid. The decision will allow up to 100,000 extra Australians to be added to the roll for the upcoming federal election. More information on the decision can be found here. The court's media release on the decision can be found here. Congratulations to everyone involved! read more »
The TGA plans to implement a daily alert system to show new registrations on the ARTG. The move is the result of complaints made to the TGA by Medicines Australia in relation to originators not receiving notice when generic versions of their pharmaceutical products become registered. read more »
Singer Don Henley, formerly of the Eagles, has received an undisclosed amount from California Republican senatorial candidate Chuck DeVore as part of a settlement of Henley's claim against DeVore for using his songs "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" and "The Boys Of Summer" as the basis for campaign commercials. read more »
Over two and a half years after the release of the first iPhone, and 200,000 iPhone apps later, Apple has filed patent applications with the US Patent & Trademark Office to protect three apps (aka mobile applications) which the company has developed for its iPhone. read more »