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
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.
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
Disclosure in patents, an economic analysis using computational linguistics. This project aims to analyse the disclosure of patents. To achieve economic growth, the patent system aims to provide incentives for research and development as well as to ensure knowledge is accessible as widely as possible. This project will explore and demonstrate the usefulness of computational linguistics in the economic analysis of disclosure in patents. In particular, the project will look at the role of readabi ....Disclosure in patents, an economic analysis using computational linguistics. This project aims to analyse the disclosure of patents. To achieve economic growth, the patent system aims to provide incentives for research and development as well as to ensure knowledge is accessible as widely as possible. This project will explore and demonstrate the usefulness of computational linguistics in the economic analysis of disclosure in patents. In particular, the project will look at the role of readability in the patent application and examination process. This will provide a strong potential to inform and improve patent examination processes and patent policy. Expected outcomes will enable society to achieve greater use of the knowledge embedded in the patent system, thereby contributing to higher economic growth.Read moreRead less
The Use of Information and Cryptographic Technology to Restrict Competition. This project will deliver the following benefits:
- Improve the understanding of how security technologies can be misapplied to restrict competition;
- Development of an early warning mechanism to assist regulators in determining when anti-competitive behaviour is occurring thorough the use of security technologies;
- provide assistance to the Australian Government, and thus the Australian economy, by developing an i ....The Use of Information and Cryptographic Technology to Restrict Competition. This project will deliver the following benefits:
- Improve the understanding of how security technologies can be misapplied to restrict competition;
- Development of an early warning mechanism to assist regulators in determining when anti-competitive behaviour is occurring thorough the use of security technologies;
- provide assistance to the Australian Government, and thus the Australian economy, by developing an international framework that can be promoted to Australia's major trading partners to achieve a harmonisation of complimentary competitive regulation.
- The provision of criteria for consideration by Australian industry in developing new products that may incorporate security technologies
Read moreRead less
An Institutional Framework to Facilitate Sustainable and Integrated Natural, Cultural and Built Resources Governance. Effective management of natural and cultural resources for sustainability is an urgent national priority. The laws and policies governing land ownership and use are outdated, complex, disjointed and fail to provide coherent information to decision makers responsible for managing natural and cultural resources. This presents a significant barrier to ensuring sustainable developmen ....An Institutional Framework to Facilitate Sustainable and Integrated Natural, Cultural and Built Resources Governance. Effective management of natural and cultural resources for sustainability is an urgent national priority. The laws and policies governing land ownership and use are outdated, complex, disjointed and fail to provide coherent information to decision makers responsible for managing natural and cultural resources. This presents a significant barrier to ensuring sustainable development of resources jeopardising Australia's future environmental well being. This research aims to be the first to provide a legal and policy framework which integrates land ownership and principles of sustainable development to facilitate greater understanding and management of our environmental and social obligations for future generations. Read moreRead less
A legal framework for specifying and defining carbon property rights. This project will critically examine the national framework for the trading of carbon offsets credits. Based on case studies and analysis of international experience, this project will develop concepts and principles to guide the Australian States in providing clear and consistent legal definitions of transferable carbon property rights.
An Integrated Legal Regime for a Sustainable Carbon Cycle. The reduction of carbon emissions is a priority for governments worldwide. In Australia, the Federal Government is in the process of introducing a carbon emissions reduction scheme. Key elements of that scheme relating to the legal treatment of carbon in all forms relies upon the disparate property law frameworks of the respective States and Territories inherited from England in the 19th Century. The object of this project is to create a ....An Integrated Legal Regime for a Sustainable Carbon Cycle. The reduction of carbon emissions is a priority for governments worldwide. In Australia, the Federal Government is in the process of introducing a carbon emissions reduction scheme. Key elements of that scheme relating to the legal treatment of carbon in all forms relies upon the disparate property law frameworks of the respective States and Territories inherited from England in the 19th Century. The object of this project is to create a consistent and coherent approach to this national (and international) issue to make the operation of any scheme more effective thus leading to a reduction of carbon emissions.Read moreRead less