Commentary and case law from the Commercial Bar Association's finest.
Patents – amendment – appeal from Commissioner’s decision – whether specification as amended would claim or disclose matter that extends beyond the specification as filed – section 102(1) post Raising The Bar
Trade Marks – admissibility of screenshots of webpages and searches of online databases
Trade Marks – supply of products in shippers bearing the registered mark – whether that use was use “as a trade mark”.
Application for interlocutory injunction – restraint of trade – trade mark infringement
Patent validity – manner of manufacture – whether methods and systems for providing and receiving information for risk management in the field are patentable
Patent infringement and validity – failure of experimental proof to establish infringement – lack of best method – refusal to amend patent to address lack of best method
Practice and procedure – mandatory interlocutory injunction – no evidence of quantifiable loss – little inconvenience to respondent
Copyright – exclusive rights in respect of commissioned artwork in the US – replica artwork sold by the artist for a similar purpose in Australia
Practice and procedure – separate proceedings in the US arising from same events – obligation to use discovered documents only for the proceeding in which they were originally produced (“Harman obligation”) – circumstances warranting release or modification of the Harman obligation
Trade marks – opposition – whether applicant “true owner” – marks used by associated company of the applicant – whether marks used under licence – whether likelihood of confusion – reputation in trade marks – relevance of prior use
Evidence – admissibility – admissibility of archived internet documents sourced through the “Wayback Machine” – whether business records
Trade mark – trade mark licensing agreement – whether trade mark owner’s plans to brand other products with the licensed mark in breach of the agreement – whether trade mark licensee in breach of agreement
Practice and procedure – discovery – confidentiality – circumstances warranting access limitations additional to the Harman obligation – whether parties “trade rivals” – centrality of documents to issues in the proceeding
Patents –invalidity – discovery of naturally occurring phenomenon – claims for methods of applying that discovery – whether method of manufacture – whether inventive step
Trade marks – infringement – defences – use of a mark for which the alleged infringer would have obtained registration – date at which assessment of registrability is to be made
Patents – appeal from decision of the delegate – lengthy trial and voluminous evidence – alternative dispute resolution mechanisms
Patents – construction – infringement – validity only if primary judge’s construction was wrong