These pickets are stars

A recent Australian Designs Office decision highlights the potential importance of including a Statement of Newness and Distinctiveness (SoND) in an Australian design registration, as well as the extent to which an SoND can influence the scope of protection. Griffith Hack v Clipex[1] concerned 22 design registrations owned by Clipex, with each design in respect …
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Caravan design objection told to hit the road

A recent decision by the Australian Designs Office highlights an important issue for any third party considering filing a request for revocation of an Australian design registration on grounds relating to entitled persons under s 51 of the Australian Designs Act. In Lyons Airconditioning Services v Kedron Caravans[1], Lyons sought to have design registration no. …
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Patent tax cuts put back in the box

The future looks grim for Australia’s patent box tax regime. The previous Liberal government announced a patent box regime for Australia in the May 2021 budget, to provide concessional tax treatment for income derived from exploiting a medical or biotechnology patent (and subsequently agricultural and low emissions patents).  Following industry consultation, The Treasury Laws Amendment …
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Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick acquires Brand Haven

Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick is pleased to announce the strengthening of its Trade Marks practice team with the acquisition of NSW-based IP firm, Brand Haven. Brand Haven will be fully integrated into Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick. Director and Principal of Brand Haven, Philip Macken, will be joining Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick on 1 November as Special Counsel. Phil …
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Click Chemistry wins 2022 Nobel Prize

By Dr James Burnley and Dr Annabella Newton The 2022 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry”. The ethos of this chemistry was summarized in a seminal publication in the early noughties.  It is fair to say …
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