Last month, we reported on the non-exposure of IP Australia's 'exposure draft' of proposed patent reform legislation, and expressed our concerns about the apparent secrecy surrounding a matter of such broad public interest as the workings of Australia's patent system.We are therefore very pleased to report that the exposure draft of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2011, along with the draft Explanatory Memorandum, is now available to the public.
IP Australia is inviting submissions, which are due by 4 April 2011. For those to whom the exposure draft has been exposed since December, this has been a relatively generous time period. For everyone else, one month is a challenging timeframe for the digestion of the 102 page draft Bill, and 118 page Draft Explanatory Memorandum, and preparation and filing of any submissions.
We note that IP Australia has preempted the possible submission of comments relating specifically to the vexed issue of gene patents. We would likewise encourage anybody considering a submission to focus on issues specifically raised by this Bill. There have been ample opportunities already for submission to inquiries directed to the gene patents issue, which is currently being addressed by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee.
Tags: Australia, Law reform, News, Patent law, Raising the Bar
2 comments:
Correction to submission due date - 4 Apr rather than 4 Mar (tomorrow!)
Oops - thanks for pointing out the error! I have corrected the date.
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