Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2013

The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2013 has been introduced to parliament today.

This Bill follows the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 2012 that commenced on 15 April 2013. Here are the legislative changes for trademarks that may affect you.

There are a few elements to the Bill that has been introduced today:

Crown use of patents

The Patents Act 1990 currently sets out provisions for Crown use of patents. The Bill will amend this Act to clarify these provisions further. It is intended to strengthen accountability.

The TRIPS Protocol

Again, the Patents Act will amended by this Bill so as to implement the TRIPS Protocol. This protocol was accepted by Australia about six years ago now, and aims to assist developing countries that are affected by serious health and medical issues such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

TRIPS stands for “trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights“. You can read more about this Protocol at the World Trade Organisation’s website.

Plant Breeder’s Rights

The Bill will amend the Plant Breeder’s Rights Act to enable owners of such rights to instigate action against infringers through the Federal Circuit Court (formerly the Federal Magistrates Court). This could prove convenient for plant breeders, as it’s often less costly and less time consuming than having to progress through the Federal Court.

Trans-Tasman Single Economic Market

The Bill provides amendments to see a single trans-Tasman patent attorney regime being in place. Patent holders and inventors in both Australia and New Zealand would likely benefit from such a system. The regime would include common qualifications for registration as a patent attorney, a single trans-Tasman board and a disciplinary tribunal. The amendments would also allow for a single patent application and examination process – effectively, a single pathway to patent protection.

Technical Amendments

There are some minor or technical changes to the Patents Act, to address minor matters that were not noticed in the Intellectual Property Amendment Act 2012. The amendments will simply clarify and ensure the Amendment Act operates as intended.

Miscellaneous Administration

There are also some minor administrative amendments to Patents, Trademarks And Designs Acts in Australia. The amendments serve to remove unnecessary rules about document management. Such ‘rules’ are already covered by the Archives Act 1993. The Amendments Bill will ensure that the disposal of such documents is governed solely by the Archives Act.

Jacqui Pryor

Jacqui is a registered trade marks attorney with the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board and is the founder and owner of Mark My Words Trademark Services Pty Ltd.

After being introduced to the world of trade marks in one of her first jobs after high school, Jacqui discovered she had a deep passion and interest for all things to do with protecting brands and intellectual property. She completed a Graduate Certificate in Trade Mark Law and Practices as well as a Diploma in Business Management and then set up her own business in 2011.

Her motivation for starting Mark My Words was to support SMEs which typically couldn’t afford such a service and while the company has grown in both size and reputation over the years, she has remained true to her founding principles of providing professional, friendly, reliable and affordable trade mark services to all.

Mark My Words now has a client list that spans businesses of all sizes across a range of industries. It provides advice and assistance on all types of complex trade mark registrations, infringements and opposition matters both in Australia as well as overseas.

Jacqui’s wealth of experience, broad range of professional qualifications and her ongoing participation in industry forums and networking platforms keeps her at the forefront of developments in the global trade mark arena. Her expertise in her field has also led to several nominations as a top individual trademark attorney by the World Trademark Review - the world’s leading trademark intelligence platform.

To keep up to date with the latest in the field of trade marks, follow Jacqui and MMW Trademark Services on Facebook.