Technology – Page 9 – IP Law Watch

Flying Doughnuts – Future Reality?

Dec 09 2014

Airbus filed a suite of patent applications recently, one of which includes a futuristic looking new concept for a passenger aircraft.

Dubbed the ‘flying doughnut’, and looking like a craft one would expect to see only in a science fiction movie, the aircraft features a circular cabin accessed via a cavity in the middle, contained in the middle of a giant triangular wing.

The aircraft design allows for a wider passenger cabin than traditional passenger aircrafts, with the circular cabin making the most of the greater width. An important advantage of this new aircraft is that the circular cabin is better able to withstand pressurisation loads without compromising cabin space.

Apple Denied App Store Trade Mark in Australia

Dec 05 2014

It has been a bumper week for IP decisions in Australia. Earlier, we reported on the Coke v Pepsi and Cantarella decisions. Now, in a third major judgment, the Federal Court of Australia (Federal Court) has refused registration of Apple’s trade mark application for APP STORE in Australia.

Apple Inc. v Registrar of Trade Marks [2014] FCA 1304 was an appeal from a decision by the Registrar of Trade Marks (Registrar). The Registrar found that the trade mark APP STORE was ‘purely’, ‘directly’ or ‘inherently’ descriptive, as it would be well understood by modern digital-savvy consumers to refer to a ‘store’ that sells or provides ‘apps’. Read More

High Court of Australia Decides Landmark Trade Mark Case

Dec 05 2014

Decision in Cantarella Bros Pty Ltd v Modena Trading Pty Ltd Clarifies Test for Distinctiveness of Trade Marks in Australia

This week, the High Court of Australia (High Court) handed down only its third decision considering trade mark issues since the enactment of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth). This decision could make it easier to register foreign language words as trade marks.

Business Method Patents in Australia: Mere Computer Implementation Not Enough

Nov 20 2014

Research Affiliates LLC v Commissioner of Patents [2014] FCAFC 150

On 10 November 2014, the Australian Full Federal Court (Court) held that a method of creating an index of securities using a standard computer was a ‘scheme’, and, hence, not a patentable invention.

The Court applied the Australian High Court test from National Research Development Corporation v Commissioner of Patents (1959) 102 CLR 252 that a patentable invention must produce an “artificially created state of affairs”. The Court said that this test is not satisfied by mechanistic application of artificiality or physical effect, but by understanding the claimed invention as a matter of substance not form. Read More

DATA, DATABASE, METADATA, BIG DATA, PERSONAL DATA, DATA MINING…..

Oct 30 2014

Because we are besieged by terms that include the word “data,” the phrase “big data” does not immediately capture attention. Big Data is comprised of little data, but it is more than a database. Data is shorthand for information stored digitally. The world is awash with information and we have not yet approached the high tide of information, of data, that is coming.

Each of us, as individuals, generates and is defined by data; and a subset of that is called personal data (with the subset being, roughly speaking, data identifying you or a device reasonably traceable to you). Our societal awareness of our personal data is rising as is legislation relating to how that is generated and managed. Read More

‘Like-Gating’? Facebook Says Dislike

Oct 09 2014

Facebook Changes to its ‘Platform Policy’ can Affect Your Page

Facebook has announced a change to its Policy Platform that may affect the majority of users.

The policy change advises that Facebook will no longer allow advertisers to incentivise people to use social plugins or to like a Facebook Page (Page). This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It is still acceptable to incentivise people to login to your app, check-in at a place, or enter a promotion on your app’s Page. Read More

More Transparency on the Use of App Users’ Personal Data!

Oct 02 2014

Italian Data Protection Authority Focuses on Medical and Wellness Apps Sector

On September 10, 2014, Italian Data Protection Authority (Authority) released the findings of a survey conducted on the medical/wellness apps sector within the initiative ‘Privacy Sweep 2014’, promoted by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network, which enhances the cooperation amongst international data protection authorities.

As a result of such survey, just 15% of the medical apps surveyed – out of a total of 1,200 – provide clear privacy policies and the Authority is now considering issuing specific measures or sanctions for non-compliant subjects. Read More

Abstract Ideas and the USPTO

Jul 11 2014

The Patent Office’s First Take on CLS Bank v. Alice

On 25 June 2014, new examination guidelines (the Guidance) from the United States Patent Office were issued in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International. This case addressed the subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 of claims related to an abstract idea. The Guidance provides preliminary instructions for analysing claims involving an abstract idea and its applicability to technology areas, including the software and business method fields, which are worthy of attention from applicants.

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