Patent lawyers were kept busy throughout 2010, in a year which saw a company director being found liable for patent infringement, the Courts emphasising the importance of full and frank disclosure when seeking patent amendments, the first consideration of section 223 of the Patents Act, changes to patent prosecution practice, and legislative reform. For a recap of all the significant Australian patent decisions handed down in 2010, check out the Mallesons 2010 Patents Review, available here.
Partner:
The Federal Court of Australia recently dismissed an application for an interlocutory injunction made by the sanofi-aventis group against Hospira and Interpharma. This has allowed Hospira and Interpharma to launch generic versions of the oncology drug docetaxel as planned, pending the outcome of a full trial. Justice Jagot's decision is significant because in recent years most applications for an interlocutory injunction in pharmaceutical and medical device patent cases have been successful. Mallesons represented Hospira in this litigation. You can read more about the case in our alert here.
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 »
The case of Delnorth Pty Ltd v Dura-Post (Aust) Pty Ltd illustrates the successful use of innovation patents to address patent infringement where the standard patent application has not yet proceeded to grant. The innovation patent system has enabled patentees to take infringement action much earlier and thus better protect their market. Using the Delnorth proceedings as a case study, Mallesons' Shyama Jayaswal examines the strategic utility of the innovation patent system here.
Last week it was reported that DreamWorks LLC, the studio behind the popular animated franchise, "Shrek", is regretting its decision to allow men's magazine VMan to use characters from the film in a fashion photo shoot. The photos features characters such as Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey in a variety of scenes, "posing" with scantily-clad models.
The magazine spread has drawn a lot of publicity -- some good, some bad -- and the photos have variously been described as "racy", "sultry" and even "bizarre" [ed: a quick survey of the IP Whiteboard went with "bizarre"]. Some commentators have questioned the appropriateness of the spread as a marketing strategy, given the target audience of the Shrek films (children). But for IP lawyers, the tale serves as an animated reminder of the importance of control in copyright licensing, and the potential risks involved when brand owners attempt to push the boundaries in marketing a family-friendly brand. read more »
In news just in, EMI has lodged an appeal against Justice Jacobson's decision that Men at Work's "Down Under" infringed Larrikin Music's copyright in "Kookaburra sits in the Old Gum Tree". See our earlier posts here, here and here.
On 18 September 2009, the Treasurer and Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research released a consultation paper on the new research and development tax incentive. The new R&D tax incentive, announced as part of the 2009-2010 Budget, represents a significant change to the taxation of R&D expenditure in Australia. read more »