Perplexing, polarising and a collective delusion: NFT’s are back in the spotlight again

NFT’s are once again colliding with existing legal frameworks governing intellectual property ownership, and from the outset it appears as though NFT’s are facing an uphill battle. This once again highlights the importance of understanding the laws governing intellectual property ownership and the associated rights.  Hermès Birkin vs MetaBirkins Hermès International (Hermès) has recently filed …
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High Court grants special leave to Aristocrat for patentability of computer implemented inventions

Big news for patentability of computer implemented inventions in Australia: The High Court has granted special leave to appeal the decision in The Commissioner of Patents v Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd [2021] FCAFC 202. Successful special leave applications are relatively rare, as the High Court must be satisfied the appeal involves a question of …
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Appeal powers for International Registrations Designating Australia (IRDAs) considered.

Decisions of the Registrar of Trade Marks regarding International Registrations designating Australia (IRDAs) can be appealed to the Federal Court, and the Court has the same powers in relation to IRDAs as it has for national applications. In Gen-Probe Incorporated v Beckman Coulter, Inc [2022] FCA 194, Gen-Probe had designated Australia in their IR for …
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High Court confirms only patentees can bring infringement proceedings during the extended term of a pharmaceutical patent

Pharmaceutical patent term extensions (PTE) are a highly litigated area of patent law.  Australia’s longest running PTE litigation relates to a patent for the antidepressant escitalopram.  The latest installment in the escitalopram saga is now available, with the High Court of Australia handing down judgement in H. Lundbeck A/S v Sandoz Pty Ltd, CNS Pharma …
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Celebrating International Women’s Day 2022

POF is proud to support International Women’s Day 2022 to collectively help #BreakTheBias in the workplace and throughout society. We acknowledged IWD by holding a morning tea across our three offices to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.  We were delighted to be joined by guest presenter, Madison Hartill-Law, in our …
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.AU direct domains march forward

A new Australian domain extension will be available from 24 March 2022, allowing eligible businesses to register .au ‘direct’ domain names for the first time. What is the new domain? The new domain extension is simply “.au” An example of a .au domain name is “pof.au”. A .au domain name is an opportunity to shorten …
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Wordle, Quordle & IP Law

Admit it, you’ve already solved today’s wordle, right?! Around the world people have been buying into the Wordle phenomenon. For those not playing along at home, Wordle is a five letter word guessing game, which in itself is not a new concept. However, Wordle has attracted mass appeal due to the ability to share the …
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Accelerated approval achieved for CTI BioPharma

We are delighted to announce that one of our clients, CTI BioPharma, has received FDA accelerated approval for VONJO™ (pacritinib), for the treatment of adult patients with myelofibrosis and thrombocytopenia. Pacritinib is a macrocyclic small molecule oral kinase inhibitor with activity against Janus Associated Kinase2 (JAK2), mutant JAK2V617F as well as the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 …
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Dune, DAO and Copyright

NFTs and Spice DAO (which stands for Decentralised Autonomous Organisation) have made the news for thinking that the laws of copyright don’t apply to the virtual realm and having their error corrected publicly by users on Twitter. Jodorowsky’s Dune Back in June 2021, POF considered the question of what a purchaser is actually acquiring when …
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