I am thrilled to introduce Elly to the team at Burns IP.

To avoid a 33%-50% increase in official fees for patent applications in New Zealand, one should endeavour to do the following before 13 February 2020:

1) File a new patent application with a complete specification.

2) Request for examination or re-examination.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has set a precedent for U.S. patents with its decision in Nuvo Pharmaceuticals v Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Inc., which offers guidance on the written description of patents.

If you are selling food products in Australia, then you may need to comply with Australia’s Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard (“the Standard”).

To combat fraudulent submissions, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has passed a new rule: in all trademark matters before the USPTO, foreign-domiciled trademark applicants are required to use an attorney who is licensed to practise law in the United States (U.S.). This rule comes into effect on 3 August 2019.

The addition of Canada to the International Trademark Registration system (commonly referred to as the Madrid System, named after the city where the initial treaties were adopted) is a significant expansion of the scope of the Madrid System for both existing and new International Trademark owners.

In late November last year, QANTM IP issued a media release announcing that QANTM IP Limitedand Xenith IP Group Limited have entered into an agreement to merge. On the 21 March 2019, the ACCC (Australia’s competition watchdog) issued a statement that they would not oppose this merger stating…

On 1 May 2019, Federal Court of Australia Judge, O’Callaghan J, handed down his decision in the Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC v Bega Cheese Limited (No. 8)[2019] FCA 593 case.

The case centred around who owned the “peanut butter trade dress” between two rival food companies, Kraft and Bega…

In 2001, the innovation patent system was introduced in Australia to provide a “second tier” of protection. Innovation patents are distinct from standard patents in that they have shorter terms (eight years rather than twenty) and are designed to protect inventions that do not satisfy the inventive threshold required for standard patents. Rather than protecting a brand-new invention, the innovation patent protects an incremental advance on an existing invention.

In a surprising blip in the usually successful litigious history of McDonald’s, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has revoked the multinational fast food giant’s “BIG MAC” trade mark in the European Union (EU).

GOOGLE ADS & PROTECTING YOUR TRADEMARKS IN AUSTRALIA

TRADEMARKS AND TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

My sincere thank you to those who nominated Burns IP for “Boutique Diversity Firm of the Year” in the Women in Law Awards 2018.

I am so proud to announce we are a national finalist.

I am wholly committed to diversity practices and policies, particularly those that benefit professional women in the workplace and here’s why… It’s good for your business.

MAJOR BREXIT UPDATE FOR TRADEMARK OWNERS

Over two years ago, a majority of British voters supported the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU). That day of Brexit, Friday 29 March 2019, is now almost upon us.

How will BREXIT impact your European Community trade marks?

These IP tools are available to you - not just IP lawyers…

IP Australia has some world-leading search and monitoring tools that let you quickly access your Australian trade mark and patent portfolio, monitor the status of your IP and conduct clearance searches.

Do you want to know what your competitors are up to? You can keep track of their activity with a Trademark Watch.

Do you want to know what your competitors are up to? You can keep track of their activity with a Trademark Watch.

Australia’s innovation patent system may be phased-out as early as July 2018.

Before the innovation patent system is abolished, potential patent owners should use this system to its fullest. We recommend that all innovation patent applications are filed as soon as possible to take advantage of protecting your IP under this low cost, low threshold registration system.

IP Australia has advised that it will implement fee changes that will affect trademark, patent, and design registrations in Australia. These fee changes will take effect at 12 a.m. (AEDT), on 10 October 2016.

For Australian businesses, China is identified as the number one export target market, followed closely by the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Japan.

Have you taken steps to protect your trademarks in your future export markets?

The Internet is inherently trans-border in nature and is unconstrained by the boundaries usually associated with other broadcast media such as radio and TV. While some companies lament the loss of control of their message and branding through social media, for many it is recognised as a powerful tool in forming a company’s reputation.

This shift has created many new legal challenges in defamation, privacy, intellectual property and consumer laws. What do you need to know to protect your business and social media sites?