On 30 March 2006, the Intellectual Property
Laws Amendment Bill 2006 was introduced into the House of Representatives of the Australian
Commonwealth Parliament.

For a
copy of the bill — click here.

For a
copy of the explanatory memorandum — click here.

For a
copy of the Ministerial press release — click here.

For a copy of IP Australia’s press
release — click here..

Take
home

Proposed amendments to the Patents Act
include:

Clarification
of the prior use defense to infringement;

Adding
compulsory licenses of patents as a remedy under the Trade Practices Act;

Adding the
possibility of exemplary damages in patent infringement cases (this is
similar to the situation in the USA where treble damages may be
awarded for willful);

Adding a bolar
provision (a defense to infringement of pharmaceutical patents for activities
directed to obtaining regulatory approval);

Proposed amendments to the Trade Marks Act
include:

Power for the
Trade Marks Commissioner to revoke trade marks in certain circumstances;

Making more
documents relating to Trade Mark applications publicly available;

Other amendments include:

Clarification
of the effect of various aspects of the Plant Breeders Rights system in Australia.

Various minor
technical changes to the Acts.