Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill

Article  \  10 Apr 2014

The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2014 was introduced into the Australian House of Representatives on 19 March 2014.

The bill, which is likely to be passed, contains a mixed package of measures addressing various issues.

Amongst these the bill will:

  • implement Australia's obligations under the TRIPS Protocol*
  • provide for cheaper litigation options under the Plant Breeder's Act
  • provide for single patent application and examination processes for Australia and New Zealand
  • provide for a single trans-Tasman patent attorney regime
  • implement a number of administrative changes and corrections in the Patents, Trade Marks and Designs Acts.

We will keep you informed about the bill's progress.

* The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members