Hardingham v RP Data appeal: The risks of implied copyright licences

In Hardingham v RP Data, Thawley J held that RP Data was not liable for infringing copyright in various photos and floor plans reproduced on its website. However, on appeal, a majority of the Full Court reversed this decision, and in doing so, highlighted the risk in relying upon implied terms of informal agreements. Read more …
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PROTOX mark PROhibited in Full Court Decision

In Allergan v Self Care, the Full Federal Court overturned a first instancedecision and held that the mark PROTOX, and the phrase “instant Botox® alternative”, are deceptively similar to the mark BOTOX, and therefore use of PROTOX and the phrase constituted trade mark infringement. The Full Court also found that none of the defences relied on by …
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POF gets loud for Loud Shirt Day 2021

It’s time to get LOUD! Today we are celebrating Loud Shirt Day – which aims to raise awareness and vital funds to ensure children with hearing loss continue to receive crucial intervention to help meet their goals. To help raise awareness, we were delighted to be joined by Bronwyn Skafte from NextSense – a not-for-profit …
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POF practitioners recognised as Rising Stars – MIP IP Stars Awards 2021

We are very pleased to announce that Senior Associates Michelle Blythe, Helen McFadzean, and Dr Annabella Newton have once again been recognised as Rising Stars in the IP Stars awards.  Each year research analysts receive and analyse information on law firms and practitioners that provide IP services. Traditionally, the individual listings in IP Stars feature senior …
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The Fine “Fair Dealing” Line between Freedom of Speech and Infringement

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The Federal Court has recently issued a decision in AGL Energy v Greenpeace Australia Pacific, holding that the use of another person’s logo for parody or satirical purposes does not constitute copyright or trade mark infringement, but only if that use is a ‘fair dealing’. This decision was the result of an urgent action brought …
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Keep it Confidential: When conducting an exempt ‘reasonable trial’ before filing can still cause you a problem!

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In Fuchs Lubricants v Quaker Chemical[1] , the Full Federal Court has clarified which of the ancillary activities that might occur before, around or in conjunction with a public working of an invention for the purpose of reasonable trial, before the lodgement of a patent application can be ignored (and thus will not be damaging), …
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Australian Patent Office in favour of Blockchain…for the moment

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E-commerce giant Alibaba has had a win before the Australian Patent Office in relation to an application for their technology which improves privacy on the blockchain. In a recent decision, the Delegate found that Alibaba’s patent application satisfies the manner of manufacture requirement, and that amendments made to address an objection were valid and supported …
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