This article was originally published in the 2023 Pharmaceutical Patent Review with a pharmaceutical patent focus. As the information is applicable to all patent applicants, it has been updated here to incorporate broader industry. Australia is one of the few major patent jurisdictions which has maintained in its patent law a discrete requirement that a patentee disclose the “best method” known to it of performing the invention. Rather than remain in the background or even fade away, best method challenges have assumed an increasingly prominent role in Australian patent disputes and can signif ..read more

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has announced its participation in the “PPH Improvement Initiative”, which aims to improve the user experience of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).  This collaborative effort involves five leading intellectual property (IP) offices known as IP5: China, the United States, Europe, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.   The initiative’s primary goal is to achieve an average processing time of three months from the PPH request grant to the issuance of the first office action. Additionally, it aims to reduce the average ..read more

Taking a deep dive into patent filing data for hydrogen technologies, “The Power of Hydrogen” report was recently published by the IP Australia Patent Analytics Hub. The report provides valuable insights into the key players and technology trends in this critical area for global energy transition. Global imperative to transition to renewable energy sources As extreme weather events apparently resulting from climate change seemingly become more prevalent, the need to transition to sustainable, reliable and economical alternative energy sources is becoming more urgent. With an abundance of consi ..read more

In January 2024, the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) released a robust study to assess the economic impact of counterfeiting in sales and employment in the clothing (including footwear), cosmetics and toys industries. Among the staggering statistics, it highlights that the clothing industry alone suffers an annual loss of almost €12 billion, accounting for 5.2% of the sector’s overall turnover. This rises to 8.7% for the toy industry and 4.8% for cosmetics. In the global economy, estimated consumer goods losses are in the trillions. And with online shopping now the norm, the proliferat ..read more

IP Australia has released the twelfth edition of the Australian Intellectual Property Report 2024 (the Report) which presents key movements in IP statistics and explores the links between innovation, collaboration and commercialisation. The Report presents and discusses the latest IP statistics across the range of categories administered by IP Australia, and is aimed at promoting awareness of IP rights. This year it also looks at two new areas of research – the correlation between patenting and an organisation’s inclination to form partnerships that drive further development and investment, an ..read more

In China, there are different regulatory practices concerning “green” trade marks. Regarding the registration process, it has been observed that the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has adopted a strict standard when examining green trade marks in recent years.   In Part Two of our series, Navigating the Waves of Greenwashing, we look at the regulations and penalties for deceptive trade marks in China. In Part One, our Australian Trade Mark experts discuss the implications for brands misusing ‘green’ recent actions in Australia. Trade marks that includ ..read more

In the current global landscape, environmental awareness has become a pivotal aspect of consumer decision-making, with many brands eager to market their sustainability credentials. While for some brands this is a genuine commitment and the very ethos of their existence, the increasing trend of “greenwashing” by companies has prompted a rapid increase in regulatory scrutiny to protect consumers. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recently taken significant legal action against businesses for misleading environmental claims, signaling a clear warning to trade mark owne ..read more

Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered his third Federal Budget on Tuesday, 14 May 2024, featuring the promised details and costings of the recently announced Future Made in Australia Act, and more specifically, what was in it for the Australian cleantech ecosystem.  I’d foreshadowed some of this in my previous article, which was necessarily light on specifics.  The “Future Made in Australia Act“ Hot on the heels of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”), which among other initiatives earmarks unprecedented investment in cleantech, and the European Commission’s more self-explana ..read more

In pharmaceutical patent litigation, issues concerning infringement of method of treatment and Swiss-style claims covering new indications for known substances arise frequently. In this article, we discuss the recent Federal Court decision in Neurim Pharmaceuticals (1991) Ltd v Generic Partners Pty Ltd (No 5), which provides further guidance on these issues. The decision highlights the importance of the precise wording of the approved indication compared to that of the patented indication. In this case, the TGA approved indication for the product was expressed in different terms from the claim ..read more

Spruson & Ferguson Lawyers has once again been recognised in the Best Lawyers in Australia 2025, with four of our outstanding lawyers receiving the accolade. Congratulations to our team members: Katrina Crooks, Principal and Head of our law team. Katrina has been recognised since 2023 Sylvie Tso, Principal, who has been recognised since 2021 Andrew Rankine, Principal, who has been recognised since 2019, and Duncan Longstaff, Principal, who is recognised for the first time. We applaud our team for their continuous commitment to both their profession and our clients. It is an outstanding a ..read more