post Friday March 1, 2013
The Australian Government continues to lead the way in intellectual property (IP) reform in order to adapt to the changing global economy and value chains of today’s marketplaces. The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) works to create an IP system that benefits both public and private interests.
The Raising the Bar act is aimed at addressing six main areas of IP reform:
In each of those main areas, the Australian IP office is working to create more transparency, efficiency, increased fairness and close loopholes.
A central focus of this act is to create an environment where research can be conducted knowing that there are tangible benefits to innovation and the creation of groundbreaking IP. One barrier to innovation throughout the world is the potential for lackluster protection of IP. If there is no financial benefit for a business to create new ideas, this and future generations of new technology will likely decline rapidly.
Since February of 2012, various portions of the Raising the Bar act have been enacted. The entirety of this legislation will be in effect starting April 15th, 2013. This act will work to usher further refinement of IP law and potentially reinvigorate the Australian IP market. According to the Australian IP office, there are a substantial amount of resources that can be found on their website to better adapt to these changes.
Discussion: How has Australia encouraged other countries to manage IP markets? In what ways does this legislation affect the global IP crisis? Do inventors and innovators receive more stringent requirements for IP protection, and how does this encourage or discourage the strength of Australian and global innovation?
Source:Australian IP Office
Image source:Free Digital Photos
