IPAustralia has released an exposure draft of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 2 and Other Measures) Bill 2018, which is intended to implement recommendations of the Productivity Commission's 2016 report regarding intellectual property, including abolishing the innovation patent.

 Three interlocutory decisions of the Commissioner of Patents have recently issued dealing with the level of detail required in pleadings during opposition proceedings under the Patents Act 1953.

 We are very pleased to announce that as of 29 March 2018, David Moore and David Nowak are now directors of Henry Hughes Intellectual Property.

We have previously reported that Australia’s  innovation patent was likely to be abolished. However, like the iconic Aboriginal tool, it seems the innovation patent is back and there is a potential for a similar type of patent to be introduced in New Zealand. 

With the commencement of the Smoke-free Environments Regulations 2017 (“the Regulations”) on 14 March 2018 New Zealand will have a scheme of "plain packaging" for tobacco products in line with that in place in Australia.  We will see a significant change in the labelling of tobacco products.

On 5 March 2018, the Patents Amendment Regulations 2018 issued. The regulations will correct some errors in the Patents Regulations (NZ) 2014 and come into force on 5 April 2018.

 We compare four key aspects of trade mark opposition practice between Australia and New Zealand

The Federal Court of Australia confirmed that methods of genetic testing remain patentable subject matter in Meat & Livestock Australia Limited v Cargill, Inc [2018] FCA 51

We are pleased to announce that three of our senior trade mark practitioners have been named among the world’s leading trade mark professionals in World Trademark Review’s WTR 1000 (2018).