Welcome
The upfront cost of a particular course of action can sometimes make it easier to choose an
alternate path. However, with intellectual property as with many fields, getting things right from
the outset will often avoid much greater costs should matters not go according to plan.

In this edition of Inspire, Melissa
Wingard explains the importance of
properly exploring the implications
of a potential intellectual property
licence, and the risks that can
flow if the terms of a licence are
not properly documented. Taking
the time to ensure an agreement
accurately captures the parties’
intentions from the outset can save
a great deal of time and expense
should disputes arise in the future.

As the decision in State of Escape
v Schwartz illustrates, it is important
to consider what IP rights might
be available at an early stage in
a products lifetime. Successful
products are highly likely to attract
imitations, however as David
Longmuir explains, the ability
to protect a product by design
registration may be lost by the
time it has become successful
and copyright may not be able to
fill the breach. The recent addition
of a grace period to the Designs
Act, does however provide greater
opportunities for designers to seek
registration of their work.

The growing popularity of NFTs
has opened new commercial
opportunities, but also a new
battlefront for IP owners seeking to
protect their assets. Marine Guillou
discusses some of the ways brand
owners are taking action to prevent
infringement of their rights as part
of the commercialisation of NFTs
as well as steps that can be taken
to protect your business against
future infringement.

Also in this edition, we hear from
client REDARC about how they
are exploring opportunities in
the automotive industry as well as
the role intellectual property plays
in supporting their business, Neil
Ireland looks at the decision of the
ACCC to deny authorisation for
pharmaceutical patent settlement
and Annabella Newton looks at
how pharmaceutical patent linkage
operates in Australia.

Adrian Crooks | Principal
BEng(Civil)(Hons) LLB LLM FIPTA
adrian.crooks@pof.com.au Inspire July 2022
POF attorneys recognized as
industry leaders by IP Stars and
World Intellectual Property Review
2 We’re always delighted to showcase the accomplishments of our attorneys,
and the recognition they receive for the fantastic work and service that they
provide. We have some of the most highly qualified and experienced patent
TBC attorneys
in Australia, and it’s their achievements that make our firm great.

Six of our attorneys have been
featured as IP Stars in this year’s
MIP Awards. POF Principals Michael
O’Donnell, Russell Waters, Edwin
Patterson, Alyssa Telfer and Ross
McFarlane, and Special Counsel
Saskia Jahn, were all named as
IP Stars for their work over the
last year. Congratulations all on
this well-earned achievement!
Additionally, Russell Waters, Jessica
Chadbourne and Matthew Overett
have each been recognised in the
Word Intellectual Property Review
(WIPR) Leaders Directory for 2022.

The WIPR Leaders Directory lists
over 1,700 practitioners across the
IP profession who are shortlisted
from over 12,000 nominations.

Well done to all three for achieving
this listing – it’s an excellent
accomplishment to have been
selected from so many nominations.

All of these awards and listings
are a fantastic reflection of our
professionals’ calibre of work
and client service. Delivering
successful business outcomes sits
at the heart of everything we do,
and we’re always proud to have
members of our team recognised
for their exceptional work.