Gene Patents in Australia: Options for Reform. Controversies over the upsurge in gene patenting, access to pharmaceuticals, biopiracy, and ownership of genetic resources, lead many to question whether patent law is appropriate for biotechnology. Do patents thwart access to beneficial technologies such as drugs, research tools and new crops, while hampering policy options for health care and agriculture? This project addresses the urgent need for a comprehensive study of the impact of biotech pat ....Gene Patents in Australia: Options for Reform. Controversies over the upsurge in gene patenting, access to pharmaceuticals, biopiracy, and ownership of genetic resources, lead many to question whether patent law is appropriate for biotechnology. Do patents thwart access to beneficial technologies such as drugs, research tools and new crops, while hampering policy options for health care and agriculture? This project addresses the urgent need for a comprehensive study of the impact of biotech patenting, critically reviewing overseas developments, setting biotechnology in the broader policy context of intellectual property law, and empirically analysing patterns rather than relying on the anecdotal and piecemeal studies that dominate this area.Read moreRead less
Facilitation and Regulation of Research and Development Involving Human Genetic Databanks. Australia's medical biotechnology research feeds into our biotechnology industries, with flow-on benefits for national health and prosperity. Realisation of these benefits is contingent upon community protection and public trust. An effective and appropriate regulatory regime is a foundation requirement. This project aims to shape a national regulatory framework for human genetic databanks that both facili ....Facilitation and Regulation of Research and Development Involving Human Genetic Databanks. Australia's medical biotechnology research feeds into our biotechnology industries, with flow-on benefits for national health and prosperity. Realisation of these benefits is contingent upon community protection and public trust. An effective and appropriate regulatory regime is a foundation requirement. This project aims to shape a national regulatory framework for human genetic databanks that both facilitates research and maintains highest ethical standards. By examining the balance between facilitation and regulation, assessing existing law reform proposals, making recommendations for further reform, and placing this analysis in the international context, this project will significantly benefit the nation and the research community. Read moreRead less
Developing a systematic, inclusive and just jurisprudential account of TRIPS. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides for the international regulation of the knowledge economy. Yet much of its text is legally uncertain, undermining its utility. This project will provide the first comprehensive scholarly jurisprudential account of TRIPS. This will enable greater certainty and efficiency in the enactment and implementation of compliant domesti ....Developing a systematic, inclusive and just jurisprudential account of TRIPS. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides for the international regulation of the knowledge economy. Yet much of its text is legally uncertain, undermining its utility. This project will provide the first comprehensive scholarly jurisprudential account of TRIPS. This will enable greater certainty and efficiency in the enactment and implementation of compliant domestic legislation. The project will also provide the first socio-legal account of the WTO Dispute Resolution Body and the interpretive methodologies it employs for interpreting TRIPS. The project will also provide a jurisprudential account that promotes formally and substantively just dispute resolution outcomes.Read moreRead less
Intellectual property and 3D printing. This project aims to provide guidance for industry and policy-makers about intellectual property, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and innovation policy. It will consider the evolution of 3D printing, and examine its implications for the creative industries, branding and marketing, manufacturing and robotics, clean technologies, health-care and the digital economy. The project will examine how 3D printing disrupts copyright law, designs law, trade mark law, ....Intellectual property and 3D printing. This project aims to provide guidance for industry and policy-makers about intellectual property, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and innovation policy. It will consider the evolution of 3D printing, and examine its implications for the creative industries, branding and marketing, manufacturing and robotics, clean technologies, health-care and the digital economy. The project will examine how 3D printing disrupts copyright law, designs law, trade mark law, patent law and confidential information. The project expects to provide practical advice about intellectual property management and commercialisation, and boost Australia’s capacity in advanced manufacturing and materials science.Read moreRead less
Securing Australia's food and fibre futures: intellectual property and access to plant genetic resources. The project aims to improve the operation of the scheme that currently regulates access to plant genetic resources in Australia. It aims to ensure that the regulatory scheme does not hamper access to plant genetic resources but instead will enhance the development of new plants, which is essential for Australia's future food and fibre security.
Intellectual Property requirements in Free Trade agreements: implications for development in Pacific Island Countries. This project investigates ways in which intellectual property laws can be used to promote development in the Pacific Island Countries. It will inform and support Australia's trade negotiations with the region in the context of Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus.
...and by opposing, end them: A Comparative Examination of Opposition Processes in Patent Law. Patent law is central to the key Australian economic aim of encouraging an innovative culture. One aspect of patent law, the opposition process, is directly linked to two important issues currently facing our patent system: improving patent quality, and minimising predatory behaviour by powerful firms. This project will assess the operation of the opposition process here, and the practice of equivalent .......and by opposing, end them: A Comparative Examination of Opposition Processes in Patent Law. Patent law is central to the key Australian economic aim of encouraging an innovative culture. One aspect of patent law, the opposition process, is directly linked to two important issues currently facing our patent system: improving patent quality, and minimising predatory behaviour by powerful firms. This project will assess the operation of the opposition process here, and the practice of equivalent international procedures in other jurisdictions, in order to inform Australian policy in current and ongoing negotiations towards global harmonisation. Material from this project will lead directly to proposals for improving the Australian patent system, and ensuring that it promotes, and does not retard, innovation. Read moreRead less
'Nothing Can Be Created Out of Nothing': Workers, Their Know-How and the Employment Relationships that Support Them. The importance of innovation, either in the form of intellectual property or know-how, to the Australian economy cannot be over-stated. Unlike statutory intellectual property schemes, worker-created know-how is both 'incentivised' and controlled through the contractual provisions of the worker-employer relationship. This project, through its empirical focus, will explore if (and h ....'Nothing Can Be Created Out of Nothing': Workers, Their Know-How and the Employment Relationships that Support Them. The importance of innovation, either in the form of intellectual property or know-how, to the Australian economy cannot be over-stated. Unlike statutory intellectual property schemes, worker-created know-how is both 'incentivised' and controlled through the contractual provisions of the worker-employer relationship. This project, through its empirical focus, will explore if (and how) the law, as it relates to know-how, promotes innovation in the workplace. Through the development of guidelines for best practice and reform proposals to fill gaps in the law, this research will increase the potential for innovation in all worker-employer relationships which will, in turn, maximise this country's creative and technological capability. Read moreRead less
Mine, yours, theirs, and ours: examining the tension between private and community interests in property. Property is increasingly characterised by a tension between private rights and broader community interests, such as those relating to the environment, heritage and the public cultural domain. This project will create a new understanding of the nature of property which takes into consideration the need to balance community and individual interests.
Promoting Plant Innovation in Australia: maximising the benefits of intellectual property for Australian agriculture. The development of new plant varieties is crucial to the ongoing competitiveness and sustainability of Australian agriculture. It also has wider social, cultural and economic consequences. Intellectual property laws have the potential to promote and hinder the developments of new plant varieties. In recent years there has been a shift towards the use of patents to protect plant i ....Promoting Plant Innovation in Australia: maximising the benefits of intellectual property for Australian agriculture. The development of new plant varieties is crucial to the ongoing competitiveness and sustainability of Australian agriculture. It also has wider social, cultural and economic consequences. Intellectual property laws have the potential to promote and hinder the developments of new plant varieties. In recent years there has been a shift towards the use of patents to protect plant innovations: a trend which has the potential to transform existing research and development arrangements and industry practices in Australia. By providing policy-makers and stakeholders with recommendations on how to respond to and manage these changes, the project will promote plant breeding in Australia and also enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of Australian agriculture.Read moreRead less