Patentology

How the Australian High Court Found that Refurbished Ink Cartridges do not Infringe Seiko Patents

By Mark Summerfield

November 30, 2020

Recently, I wrote about the decision of the High Court in Calidad Pty Ltd v Seiko Epson Corporation [2020] HCA 41, with particular focus on the Court’s finding, by a 4-3 majority, that the first sale of a patented product exhausts the patentee’s exclusive rights in that product. In this article, I will look at the other aspect of the Court’s decision, namely its finding (again by 4-3 majority) that Epson printer ink cartridges…

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COVID Update – October Filings Down, as Pandemic Pain not Shared Equally Among Attorney Firms

By Mark Summerfield

November 29, 2020

Last month I reported that, against the trend of 2020, September was a busy month for Australian patent filings, with standard applications up by 8.1% on the same month in 2019. (In fact, following more recent additions and corrections in IP Australia’s records, the increase is even higher, at 9.2%.) But, sadly, any optimism this might have generated was short-lived, with October filings down by 7.9% on last year. Numbers of new filings…

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Australian High Court Finds that Sale of a Patented Product Exhausts Patentee’s Rights

By Mark Summerfield

November 11, 2020

In a significant judgment, the High Court of Australia has changed an aspect of patent law in Australia, ruling by a 4-3 majority that the first sale of a patented product exhausts the patentee’s exclusive rights in that product: Calidad Pty Ltd v Seiko Epson Corporation [2020] HCA 41. For over a century, an alternative approach, based on an ‘implied licence’ theory, has applied. While the distinction between these two approaches may not necessarily…

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Games — Now Less Patentable than Ever in Australia

By Mark Summerfield

October 30, 2020

In a recent decision, a Hearing Officer within the Australian Patent Office rejected Australian patent application no. 2018219972, in the name of casino operator Crown Melbourne Ltd, relating to a modified roulette table layout. In particular, the claimed invention was designed to provide a ‘double zero’ roulette game having similar visual appearance and betting options to a ‘single zero’ game, while also offering additional betting options over the traditional ‘double zero’ game. In essence,…

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COVID Update – Surprise Surge in September Patent Filings

By Mark Summerfield

October 25, 2020

Defying the trend of almost every prior month this year, Australian standard patent filings in September were up by 8.1% on the same period in 2019. This is the largest positive change for any month in 2020, beating pre-COVID January during which standard applications bested the previous year by 7.7%. The September surge was driven by filings from all of Australia’s top sources of new applications – i.e. the US, Europe, China, and Japan, along…

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What Can Patent Data Tell Us About the Australian Government’s Plan for Local Manufacturing?

By Mark Summerfield

October 6, 2020

This is a guest contribution from Mike Lloyd of Patent-Insights. Mike previously contributed an article on the impact, from an Australian perspective, of COVID-19 on international patent, trade mark, and registered designs filings. Further details about the author can be found at the end of the article. The Australian Federal Government on 1 October 2020 announced a renewed focus and A$1.5 billion investment in manufacturing, in particular in the following six target…

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DABUS Denied – Machines Cannot be Inventors, and the English High Court Agrees

By Mark Summerfield

September 29, 2020

In Thaler v The Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs And Trade Marks [2020] EWHC 2412 (Pat), the England and Wales High Court has dismissed an appeal by Dr Stephen Thaler from a decision of the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), which determined that one or more natural persons must be named as inventor(s) on a patent application and, therefore, that two UK applications naming an ‘artificial intelligence’ called DABUS as inventor were deemed to be…

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Has COVID-19 Affected Patent, Trade Mark or Design Filing Activity – an Australian Perspective

By Guest Author

September 24, 2020

This is a guest contribution from Mike Lloyd of Patent-Insights. Further details about the author can be found at the end of the article. COVID-19 has had many devastating impacts all around the world, both in terms of fatalities and other health impacts, and also in economic terms. While the economic impact is yet to be fully understood, it has led to significant drops in GDP activity in many countries. In Australia, the drop…

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COVID Update–Australian Patent Filings Down by Five Per Cent Since March

By Mark Summerfield

September 16, 2020

Most of the developed world has been in the grip of the medical, social, and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic since around March this year. I published my first monthly review of the impact on patent filings in early April, at which time it was really far too soon to discern any trends. But with data now available for the month of August it is becoming clear that – a surge in innovation…

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Beware Unregistered Patent Practitioners!

By Mark Summerfield

August 31, 2020

The title of this article is intentionally ambiguous. Does it mean that prospective clients should beware of unregistered practitioners? Or does it mean that unregistered practitioners should beware of getting caught out? Ideally, it would mean both. In practice, as things currently stand in Australia, it mostly means neither. Unregistered practitioners are not a problem that most innovators genuinely seeking professional representation are presently at great risk of encountering. By the same token, the number…

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How the Australian High Court Found that Refurbished Ink Cartridges do not Infringe Seiko Patents

COVID Update – October Filings Down, as Pandemic Pain not Shared Equally Among Attorney Firms

Australian High Court Finds that Sale of a Patented Product Exhausts Patentee’s Rights

Games — Now Less Patentable than Ever in Australia

COVID Update – Surprise Surge in September Patent Filings

What Can Patent Data Tell Us About the Australian Government’s Plan for Local Manufacturing?

DABUS Denied – Machines Cannot be Inventors, and the English High Court Agrees

Has COVID-19 Affected Patent, Trade Mark or Design Filing Activity – an Australian Perspective

COVID Update–Australian Patent Filings Down by Five Per Cent Since March

Beware Unregistered Patent Practitioners!

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