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The Australian Federal Court’s recent decision in Universal Music v Palmer, in which Mr Palmer was ordered to pay AU$1.5 million for his unauthorised use of the song We’re Not Gonna Take It, reaffirms that the Court is prepared to award significant financial remedies to intellectual property owners whose rights are infringed. Key takeaways The … Read more
Two major pharmaceutical companies have challenged Australia’s Commissioner of Patents in the Federal Court about the time limits within which an application can be made to extend a patent term. KEY TAKEAWAYS Ono Pharmaceutical and Bristol Myers Squibb have sought judicial review by the Federal Court of an Australian Patent Office (APO) ruling which rejected … Read more
In September 2020 we reported that the UK Intellectual Property Office (‘UKIPO’) had launched a call for views on the relationship between artificial intelligence (‘AI’) and intellectual property rights. The outcome of that consultation has now been published. We summarise the key takeaways below. Key findings The majority of respondents agreed that: the law in … Read more
Herbert Smith Freehills' European IP team have had a feature article on the EU's IP Action Plan published in the April edition of PLC Magazine – see EU Action Plan on IP – the challenge ahead here.
The article looks at the current challenges for the EU in relation to IP, its key focus areas and plans for future regulation and legislation, including:
• The Unified Patent Court (UPC)
• Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs)
• Compulsory licensing
• Standard Essential Patents (SEPs)
• AI and emerging technologies
• Counterfeiting
• Designs
• Geographical Indications
• Data
• The Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe
Read more
Businesses who deal with consumers will generally wish to have a good relationship with Government, regulators and other public authorities. However, there are times when a company’s interests are such that they come into conflict. At those times companies may wish to consider how that conflict might be resolved if it were to reach court. Last June, we created a guide to Regulatory Disputes in the Consumer Sector. Our guide and podcast are designed for businesses that interact with consumers, for example, selling products to the public direct or through retailers, who might have to consider how to proceed when regulatory matters become contentious, and indeed those who work at regulators themselves. Read more
The life sciences and healthcare sector is subject to complex regulation and decisions of Government bodies can have a significant impact on the availability and production of pharmaceutical products. Where Government bodies take decisions of this nature, and there is no other recourse available, judicial review provides an avenue to healthcare companies and others to challenge Government decisions. Herbert Smith Freehills has had a practice note published in Practical Law which considers the various grounds of judicial review, the application of these grounds to specific cases in the healthcare sector and some particular considerations to be taken into account when making a judicial review application. Read more
In a recent decision, the High Court has found that a clause in a settlement agreement which was aimed at protecting a business’s IP rights was not penal, despite imposing “undoubtedly extremely harsh” consequences for breach of certain obligations in a settlement agreement. Under the clause, the relevant party would cease to receive any payment … Read more
Key points: In Australia responding to the urgent need for COVID-related medical devices the TGA implemented a number of emergency measures to bring medical devices to market faster. The emergency regulatory measures have proven agile, flexible and successful with the potential risks to the public well managed. The regulatory measures have potential utility beyond the … Read more
Last year the UK High Court decided that an AI system cannot be named as inventor on a patent application within the meaning of the Patents Act 1977, simply because an AI is not a person – but with the UKIPO recently calling for views on AI inventorship, could a change in law be on … Read more
