The Federal Court of Australia has allowed an application for preliminary discovery of documents related to the components of a ‘sealing composition’ and methods of using it to seal passages. In the case of Sovereign Hydroseal Pty Ltd v Steynberg [2020] FCA 1084, the Federal Court considered whether preliminary discovery can be used by a patentee to inform its decision-making in relation to whether to commence a proceeding in respect of potential patent infringement. [Read more…]
patent infringement
Indirect patent infringement – lessons from Quaker Chemical
September 16, 2020 by
In the recent decision of Quaker Chemical (Australasia) Pty ltd v Fuchs Lubricants (Australasia) Pty Ltd (No 2) [2020] FCA 306 (Quaker Chemical) the Federal Court of Australia decided that a company had indirectly infringed two (2) patents by supplying its customers with a product, because its use by customers would have infringed the methods of the patents. [Read more…]
Computer-implemented inventions and patentability
November 21, 2019 by
The question of patentability of so called “computer-implemented” inventions has been the subject of legal debate in Australia for a number of years. The September 2018 of the Full Court of the Federal Court in Encompass Corporation Pty Ltd v Infotrack Pty Ltd [2019] FCAFC 161 was long anticipated by intellectual property lawyers and patent attorneys alike, who were eager to see a more substantial analysis about the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. However, the expanded five-judge bench of the Full Federal Court expressly declined to provide this guidance because they did not believe the case raised any significant question of principle in this regard, and focussed on ‘manner of manufacture’ as a ground for revocation. [Read more…]
Security for legal costs in cross-claims for patent invalidity
March 25, 2019 by
The usual position in relation to security for costs in disputes before the Federal Court of Australia is that a respondent (including a cross-respondent) may make an application for security for its legal costs to insulate itself if it is successful in defending the allegations made by an applicant against it. What is the situation regarding security for costs where a respondent ‘cross-claims’ for revocation of a patent because it alleges that it is invalid and should never have been granted in the first place? [Read more…]
Is your patent being infringed?
February 9, 2019 by
A patent grants the owner (Patentee) exclusive rights to exploit the patented invention (as defined in the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) (Patents Act)) within Australia. If another party uses the patent without the authorisation of the Patentee, they will infringe. In this article we consider the high level issues to consider when attempting to determine whether a patent has been infringed. [Read more…]
