Technology – Page 9 – IP Law Watch

Now Trending: #jesuischarlie Trade Marks

Jan 29 2015

Can you Register a Rallying cry or Trending Slogan as a Trade Mark in Australia?

Following the Charlie Hebdo massacre, supporters of free speech and freedom of expression rallied behind the phrase JE SUIS CHARLIE. Within two days, “#jesuischarlie” had been tweeted over five million times. Less than a week after the shooting, trade mark applications for both “Charlie Hebdo” and “jesuischarlie” were filed in Australia. This follows as many as 50 applications for the phrase in France and similar applications in the United States, European Union and Belgium. Read More

IP Rights in Big Data

Jan 16 2015

In our last Big Data blog posting, we cautioned that the protection of the intellectual property rights (IP) in Big Data may warrant its own focus. While there are legitimate concerns about finding IP in data, because data may be an inert lump of code, bits, or pieces of information, it is worthwhile to think about the different kinds of IP that arise in conjunction with and in the context of Big Data. This blog entry focuses on the IP opportunities ‘in relation to’ Big Data.

Big Data Speaks Loudly and Carries a Big Stick

Jan 06 2015

“Speak softly and carry a big stick” connotes a policy of beginning gently but holding a decisive weapon in reserve. Big Data doesn’t do that. When Big Data ‘speaks,’ it tends to blurt out its conclusion and can have an immediate impact, deserved or undeserved, because Big Data is not based on careful statistical sampling and is not aimed at determining causation. Big Data correlates masses of good, bad and indifferent data, ie, it can be ‘messy’ and its correlations are not necessarily accurate relative to a desired question. So what will happen when ‘the data’ indicates an outcome that people believe or act on because the ‘data says so?’ That is the topic of this blog. Read More

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

Category:Technology