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?
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.
“What should I do to create and protect a distinctive overall brand?”
A brand is an integral part of most businesses, and protecting it shouldn’t be an afterthought. Your brand is where reputation rests, and it’s valuable.
The ACCC clearly intends to be front and centre in relation to the protection of data. It has this week commenced a Federal Court proceeding alleging that Google engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by asking consumers to click an “I agree” button without consumers being explicitly informed about certain data collection changes to which they were purportedly agreeing.
WIPO reports that there has been an increase in domain name cases filed this year, including pandemic-themed names, showing that brand owners need to be ever vigilant regarding cybersquatting.
An ACCC discussion paper on the after-market for agricultural equipment raises competition concerns around access to, and control of, data, for example interoperability with other equipment and ownership issues. There seems to be an expanding trend for the ACCC to be interested in data issues, rather than intellectual property law.
The Australian Aboriginal flag is not only an important national symbol, but its copyright is privately owned. This has seen some recent controversy. A recent Federal Court decision granted a preliminary discovery order to identify a potential infringer.
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.
