Federal Court finds Bohemia and Bohemia Crystal marks should be cancelled for descriptiveness The Federal Court of Australia has found that the marks BOHEMIA and BOHEMIA CRYSTAL are liable to be removed from the Register of Trade Marks. Those marks were registered in respect of glassware and crystal, and were found to be incapable of distinguishing these goods from the …
Wrays selected as a finalist in the AFR Client Choice Awards
Wrays is thrilled to announce that we have been chosen as a finalist for ‘IP specialist firm’ in the 2018 Australian Financial Review Client Choice Awards. Based on independent research conducted by Beaton Consulting , the annual awards celebrate client service excellence in the legal profession and recognise leading firms and in-house teams on their achievements over the last 12 …
Pain persists for importers of goods – Full Court confirms power of process patents
On 23 February, the Full Federal Court of Australia handed down its appeal decision in Warner-Lambert Company LLC v Apotex Pty Limited (No 2) [2018] FCAFC 26. The judgment covered several questions, but the ones we will focus on in this article are: If a patent for a method of treatment using a compound does not contain information that a …
Mandatory Data Breach Notification Scheme – are you prepared?
The Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017, which was examined in The Gatherer vol.1 (see here) and here, establishes a Notifiable Data Breaches scheme in Australia. The NDB scheme will commence on 22 February 2018 and will apply to organisations already covered by the Privacy Act 1988 – including businesses with an annual turnover of more than $3 million, …
Productivity Commission Dust has settled – What next?
The Australian Government’s response to the Productivity Commission’s report into the operation of Australia’s IP system was released in August 2017. Both the report and the Government’s response can be found on the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science website. Following a public consultation period, several IP policy matters and a number of other measures, which are the subject of …
Wrays appoints Dr Linda Kennaugh and Craig Humphris to its board of directors
Appointments reflect growing diversity and national strength of firm PERTH, AUSTRALIA – 4 December 2017 – Wrays Pty Ltd, one of Australia’s largest independent intellectual property firms, today announced that it has appointed Dr Linda Kennaugh and Craig Humphris to its board of directors. Dr Kennaugh is a Principal in Wrays’ Perth office, and is the first female to join …
Wrays’ Principal Jennifer McEwan featured on The Project
US-based footwear and clothing giant, Deckers Outdoor Corporation, continue legal proceedings in a US court against Sydney-based company, Australian Leather Pty Ltd, for using the word “ugg” to describe its sheepskin boots being sold in overseas markets. This is the latest in a series of disputes relating to use of the word “ugg” by Australian manufacturers of sheepskin boots. Locally, …
Keeping it real in today’s advertising age
Twenty years ago, if you asked an advertising guru who they believed most hindered the creative process of developing an advertising campaign (of any sort), nine times out of ten the answer would have been the lawyers. It was not uncommon to hear descriptions such as destructive, unreasonable, uncommercial (or even worse) being used to describe the contributions by the …
Copying replacement parts
Is it legal and what can be done to stop it? It’s a common question: ‘can we make our own replacement parts or do we need to buy the parts from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)?’ The equipment might be a crusher or other heavy duty machinery with wear parts. The amounts of money involved can be significant, with a …
Going green – the benefits of green technology patents
One of the biggest challenges of the 21st century is how to combat climate change and its global impact. Innovation in ‘green technologies’ is central to finding the solutions. Patent offices around the world have recognised the importance of the relationship between the development of green technologies and patents. Because of this, a number of ‘fast tracking’ programs have been …