About Intellectual Property IP Training Respect for IP IP Outreach IP for… IP and... IP in... Patent & Technology Information Trademark Information Industrial Design Information Geographical Indication Information Plant Variety Information (UPOV) IP Laws, Treaties & Judgements IP Resources IP Reports Patent Protection Trademark Protection Industrial Design Protection Geographical Indication Protection Plant Variety Protection (UPOV) IP Dispute Resolution IP Office Business Solutions Paying for IP Services Negotiation & Decision-Making Development Cooperation Innovation Support Public-Private Partnerships AI Tools & Services The Organization Working with WIPO Accountability Patents Trademarks Industrial Designs Geographical Indications Copyright Trade Secrets WIPO Academy Workshops & Seminars IP Enforcement WIPO ALERT Raising Awareness World IP Day WIPO Magazine Case Studies & Success Stories IP News WIPO Awards Business Universities Indigenous Peoples Judiciaries Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions Economics Gender Equality Global Health Climate Change Competition Policy Sustainable Development Goals Frontier Technologies Mobile Applications Sports Tourism PATENTSCOPE Patent Analytics International Patent Classification ARDI – Research for Innovation ASPI – Specialized Patent Information Global Brand Database Madrid Monitor Article 6ter Express Database Nice Classification Vienna Classification Global Design Database International Designs Bulletin Hague Express Database Locarno Classification Lisbon Express Database Global Brand Database for GIs PLUTO Plant Variety Database GENIE Database WIPO-Administered Treaties WIPO Lex - IP Laws, Treaties & Judgments WIPO Standards IP Statistics WIPO Pearl (Terminology) WIPO Publications Country IP Profiles WIPO Knowledge Center WIPO Technology Trends Global Innovation Index World Intellectual Property Report PCT – The International Patent System ePCT Budapest – The International Microorganism Deposit System Madrid – The International Trademark System eMadrid Article 6ter (armorial bearings, flags, state emblems) Hague – The International Design System eHague Lisbon – The International System of Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications eLisbon UPOV PRISMA UPOV e-PVP Administration UPOV e-PVP DUS Exchange Mediation Arbitration Expert Determination Domain Name Disputes Centralized Access to Search and Examination (CASE) Digital Access Service (DAS) WIPO Pay Current Account at WIPO WIPO Assemblies Standing Committees Calendar of Meetings WIPO Webcast WIPO Official Documents Development Agenda Technical Assistance IP Training Institutions COVID-19 Support National IP Strategies Policy & Legislative Advice Cooperation Hub Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC) Technology Transfer Inventor Assistance Program WIPO GREEN WIPO's Pat-INFORMED Accessible Books Consortium WIPO for Creators WIPO Translate Speech-to-Text Classification Assistant Member States Observers Director General Activities by Unit External Offices Job Vacancies Procurement Results & Budget Financial Reporting Oversight
Arabic English Spanish French Russian Chinese
Laws Treaties Judgments Browse By Jurisdiction

Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 2015, Australia

Back

Superseded Text  Go to latest Version in WIPO Lex
Year of Version 2015 Dates Adopted: February 25, 2015 Type of Text Main IP Laws Subject Matter Patents (Inventions), Industrial Designs, Trademarks, Plant Variety Protection Notes The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 2015 amends the Patents Act 1990, the Designs Act 2003, the Trade Marks Act 1995 and the Plant Breeder’s Rights Act 1994 in order to: (i) implement the Protocol amending the WTO TRIPS Agreement (TRIPS Protocol), which enables Australian pharmaceutical manufacturers to export patented medicines under a compulsory license to least-developed and developing countries in need; (ii) allow for a single patent application and examination processes for Australia and New Zealand and a single trans-Tasman patent attorney regime in the framework of the Single Economic Market (SEM) initiative; (iii) make minor administrative changes to the Patents, Trademarks and Designs Acts to repeal unnecessary document retention provisions that are governed solely by the Archives Act 1983; and (iv) enable the owners of plant breeder’s rights the option to take action in the Federal Circuit Court against alleged infringers.
Date of entry into force: see section 2 'Commencement' of the Act.

The notification by Australia to the WTO under article 63.2 of TRIPS states:
'Implementation of the TRIPS Protocol and the 2003 General Council Decision (WT/L/540 and WT/L/540/Corr.1):
Schedules 1 and 2 further implement the TRIPS Protocol, which Australia formally accepted on 12 September 2007.
Schedule 1 of the Amendment Act amends the Patents Act 1990 to allow Australian pharmaceutical manufacturers to supply developing countries that meet specified criteria with the patented medicines they need.
Under the new scheme, Australian laboratories will be able to apply to the Federal Court of Australia for a compulsory licence to manufacture generic versions of patented medicines under specific conditions, and export these medicines to developing countries. Adequate compensation for the patent holder will be negotiated, to ensure that they are not disadvantaged by the arrangements.
The scheme is designed to be as easy to use as possible and is open to all developing countries provided they meet specified criteria.
Schedule 2 of the Amendment Act will amend the Patents Act 1990 to replace references to the interim waiver to the TRIPS Protocol as reflected in the WTO General Council Decision of 30 August 2003 on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration of the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (WT/L/540 and WT/L/540/Corr.1) with references to the TRIPS Protocol once it enters into force.

Jurisdictional option in relation to plant breeder's rights:
Schedule 3 of the Amendment Act amends the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994 to extend the jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia to include plant breeder's rights matters.
The Federal Circuit Court is designed to deal with less complex matters more quickly and informally than the Federal Court of Australia. This amendment will give the owners of plant breeder's rights the option of taking action in the Federal Circuit Court against alleged infringers.

Australia New Zealand Single Economic Market – patent initiatives:
Schedule 4 amends the Designs Act 2003, the Patents Act 1990, the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994 and the Trade Marks Act 1995 to implement single trans-Tasman patent application and examination processes as well as a bilateral arrangement between the Australian and New Zealand Governments for the trans-Tasman regulation of patent attorneys.
This arrangement will come into effect once both countries are able to give effect to it. Accordingly, sufficient time is required for each country to make the necessary amendments to legislation. Other amendments:
Part 1 (Items 1-7) of Schedule 5 of the Amendment Act makes minor administrative changes to the Patents Act 1990, Trade Marks Act 1995 and Designs Act 2003 to repeal unnecessary document retention provisions. These provisions currently require IP Australia to physically retain patent, trademarks and designs documents for an extended period of time. The retention and disposal of these documents is already comprehensively governed by the Archives Act 1983 and the records disposal authorities issued by the National Archives of Australia.
Part 2 (Items 8-22) of Schedule 5 of the Amendment Act makes a number of technical amendments to the Patents Act 1990 primarily to address minor oversights in the drafting of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012. This Act introduced a wide range of intellectual property reforms designed to help Australian businesses and researchers. It entered into full effect on 15 April 2013.'

Available Texts Main text(s) Main text(s) English Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 2015 PDF HTML
Legislation Is superseded by (1 text(s)) Is superseded by (1 text(s))
Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 2015 (AU426)
Treaties
WTO Document Reference
IP/N/1/AUS/P/11
IP/N/1/AUS/D/6
IP/N/1/AUS/T/10
IP/N/1/AUS/8
IP/N/1/AUS/C/17
WIPO Lex No. AU382