The High Court of Australia has allowed Bed Bath ‘N’ Table Pty Ltd’s (BBNT) appeal from the decision of the Full Federal Court in its case against Global Retail Brands Australia Pty Ltd (GRBA).1
The key takeaway for businesses is that a finding against trade mark infringement does not prevent liability under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
Read MoreThe Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) recently designated a post-grant review (PGR) decision as precedential. In the decision, the Director issued a discretionary denial decision confirming that the proper analysis was a “totality of the circumstances” type analysis, taking into account all facts and arguments presented by the parties.
Read MoreThe Federal Government recently announced Australia’s first statutory orphan works scheme by way of the Copyright Amendment Bill 2025 (Cth) (Bill).
Read MoreThe Federal Court of Australia has clarified when a successful patentee must make an election for pecuniary relief in Vehicle Monitoring Systems Pty Ltd (VMS) v SARB Management Group Pty Ltd (SARB) (No 13) [2025] FCA 1078.
Read MoreThe Federal Circuit recently issued its first review of a derivation proceeding, a rarely used proceeding provided for by the America Invents Act (AIA).
Read MoreIn a recent decision of the Australian Trade Marks Office, Karen Walker Limited successfully opposed the registration of the mark ‘Runaway the Label‘ for clothing, footwear and headgear (class 25) and online retail services (class 35). We focus here on Delegate’s findings on deceptive similarity under s 44 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth).
Read MoreIn the recent decision of NOCO Company v. Brown and Watson International Pty Ltd [2025] FCA 8871, Moshinsky J has provided welcomed clarity around the relevant date by which the best method known to the applicant is to be identified for divisional patent applications. Namely, the relevant date is the date from which the term of the patent is calculated. This means that for divisional patent applications, it is the filing date of the earliest complete or PCT application, not the individual filing date of each divisional application. And thus, it is at the time of filing the PCT application that the best method known to the applicant needs to be included in the specification.
Read MoreOn 25 July 2025, K&L Gates secured an important win for its client, Midas Green Technologies, LLC. Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart granted Director review and denied institution of an inter partes review (IPR) petition filed by Midas Green’s competitor, Green Revolution Cooling, Inc., which had sought to invalidate U.S. Patent No. 10,405,457—currently being asserted by Midas Green in a parallel lawsuit pending in the Western District of Texas. The patent describes a modular immersion cooling system that circulates dielectric fluid to cool vertically mounted electronic appliances, such as computer servers, in a tank.
Read MoreEffective 1 September 2025, all hearings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) will be conducted in person. Parties involved must attend these hearings physically and in person unless they can demonstrate a valid reason for not doing so. Acceptable justifications typically include situations such as significant financial difficulty for the arguing attorneys, medical issues, or similar substantial barriers to travel.
Read MoreOur first article in this series highlighted the financial and reputational damage counterfeiting causes to brand owners and the significant societal consequences associated with the reproduction, sale and dissemination of counterfeit products around the globe. We looked at how having strong Intellectual Property (IP) protection, selling through social or e-commerce platforms that have rigorous seller verification processes and educating consumers, retail and social platforms about the difference between genuine and counterfeit products, are all fundamental strategies which can be effective in the fight against online counterfeiting. Supplementing these steps with strategic enforcement action and IP protection measures are equally important.
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