Intellectual Property

About this NPA

The Intellectual Property National Practice Area (NPA) covers disputes concerning matters such as patents, trade marks, copyright, designs, circuit layouts, plant breeder's rights and appeals from the Commissioner of Patents or Registrar of Trade Marks.

The Intellectual Property NPA consists of three Sub-areas:

• Patents and Associated Statutes
• Trade Marks
• Copyright & Industrial Design

Latest Judgments

• 18 May 2022: Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc. v Intervet International B.V. [2022] FCAFC 88
  PATENTS - where leave to appeal sought against primary judge's decision dismissing appeal from decision of delegate of the Commissioner of Patents rejecting opposition to patent application on ground that the invention as claimed did not involve an inventive step - whether primary judge erred in assessment of expert evidence - whether primary…
  Judge: Perram, Nicholas and Burley JJ
• 16 May 2022: Jusand Nominees Pty Ltd v Rattlejack Innovations Pty Ltd [2022] FCA 540
  PATENTS - where invention claimed is a safety system for protecting against the hazard of drill rod failure - construction of patent - meaning of "anchor member" - meaning of "a proximal end region of the bore adjacent to a rock-face - whether third respondent's provision of the safety system product was for "experimental purposes" and therefore…
  Judge: Rofe J
• 13 May 2022: Vald Performance Pty Ltd v Kangatech Pty Ltd (No 4) [2022] FCA 557
  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - consideration of an application to amend particulars of invalidity - consideration of the approach in determining whether the claims defining the invention are supported by matter disclosed in the specification for the purposes of s 40(3) of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth)
  Judge: Greenwood J

Latest Speeches & Papers

• 24 Sep 2021: The prior use defence and exhaustion doctrine in intellectual property law
  Presented virtually at the launch event of issue 44(2) of the University of New South Wales Law Journal by Justice Rares.
• 1 Mar 2018: Ongoing patent infringement: Is injunctive relief an inevitable outcome? (Abstract)
  Presented at the Journal of Equity Conference on 1 March 2018; published in the Journal of Equity in November 2018.
• 9 Sep 2016: Recent developments in IP remedies
  An edited version of speaking notes used in a presentation at the 30th Annual Conference of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc held 9-11 September 2016 by Justice Yates.