March 10, 2022
Yesterday the High Court threw some serious grenades into the patent term extension regime. The decision in H. Lundbeck A/S v Sandoz Pty Ltd (and CNS Pharma Pty Ltd v Sandoz Pty Ltd) [2022] HCA 4 has a long and […]
November 27, 2020
Whilst it is trite to observe that 2020 has been a uniquely challenging year, it is interesting to observe how much things have changed since we gathered at Trunk Diner a year ago to launch our rebranding. So as […]
May 8, 2020
Background ‘Love is in the Air’ (Love) was composed in 1977 by iconic duo Harry Vanda and George Young, made famous in 1978 by John Paul Young, and attained heightened fame in 1992 when it featured in Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly […]
Overnight the USSC handed down its decision on a case we posted about late last year (see here) with five Justices finding that copyright protection does not extend to annotations in GA’s official annotated code, on the basis that legislators […]
April 21, 2020
For most Australians “VB” conjures up images of an Aussie backyard BBQ, cricket and quenching a “hard earned thirst” with “a big cold beer, and the best cold beer is Vic. Victoria Bitter”. However, the initials “VB” are also shared […]
Two recent forced re-branding campaigns by Caltex Australia and Australian Geographic highlight the risks in using house brands under licence. In the final instalment of Solubility’s 2019 Licensing Year in Review series, Louise Brunero and Jeff Bergmann discuss two recent […]
December 31, 2019
A reminder that a number of changes to IP laws commenced on 27 February 2020 including, relevant to IP commercialisation, changes recommended by the Productivity Commission to the rarely-used Crown use and compulsory licence provisions. It will be interesting to […]
December 31, 2019
Commercialisation success stories are the perfect marriage of innovation and business. However, good relationships can ‘go bad’. The University of Sydney’s unsuccessful commercialisation venture with ObjectiVision Pty Ltd, and decade long dispute culminating in six years of Federal Court litigation gives a […]
December 31, 2019
Electronics retailing giant Harvey Norman’s bid to use the popular “Black Friday” trademark is set for a Federal Court showdown with a prominent Australian fashion label in June 2020. The case could set a precedent for other retailers seeking to use […]
December 31, 2019
In a welcome development the High Court has agreed to revisit a long-standing authority on whether the rights of a purchaser of a patented product arise under an implied licence or an “exhaustion of rights” approach. The grant of special leave […]
December 31, 2019
A patent licensee has won $2.95m in damages in Federal Court proceedings against its licensor and Visy Packaging P/L (Visy) for, respectively, breach, and inducing breach, of a patent licence agreement. The decision provides important lessons for licensors and licensees, as […]