Stratocumulus Legal is a Perth-based legal consultancy focusing on Australian intellectual property law and related legal areas.
Available for download - our reference guide for common IP considerations that arise when identifying, assessing and dealing with business assets
An issue that affects all businesses. Do you actually own the IP created by your employees and contractors?
Post 5 in our Top 10 of 2020. A big case about humble peanut butter packaging reminded us that unregistered trade marks (in this case well-known get up or trade dress) cannot be assigned in the absence of also assigning the goodwill of the business.
Post 4 in our Top 10 of 2020. Creators will have more freedom to quote and use others’ copyright works. Announced reforms to the Copyright Act will see a new scheme for using “orphan works”, and fair dealing defences for the non-commercial quotation of other works, and others in the education sector. Draft legislation likely in 2021.
Post 3 in our Top 10 of 2020. The “exhaustion of rights” doctrine means that patent owners will no longer be able to use their patent to control the use of a patented product post-purchase. Will these see right of repair advocates happier, or will patentees instead hire out patented products to retain control of them?
Post 2 in our Top 10 of 2020. Amendments to the Designs Act will introduce more flexibility in the early life cycle of designs, including a 12 month grace period to apply for registration after publishing or using a design.
Post 1 in our Top 10 of 2020. Australia is set for new laws requiring digital platforms to remunerate news businesses for “making news available” on their platforms – which will include mere hyperlinking. This has been making headlines throughout 2020, and is legally novel by taking a non-copyright approach to the monetisation of content. Will the Digital Platforms Code of Conduct be legally enforceable?
Patent owners can no longer use their patent to control the use of a patented product after sale, with the adoption of the “exhaustion of rights” doctrine in Australia. This will have significant impact on planned obsolescence of goods and toward permitting the repair, improvement and reconditioning of products and better facilitating the “right to repair”.
Creators and copyright owners alike need to be aware of proposed changes to the Copyright Act that will see “orphan works” opened up for broader use, with a liability limitation scheme where copyright owners cannot be identified or located.
David is an experienced intellectual property lawyer, but also with significant general legal experience accumulated over 20 years’ experience at international law firms. Based in Perth, Western Australia, he founded Stratocumulus Legal in May 2020.
