The Full Federal Court has unanimously upheld an appeal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, concerning Google’s AdWords service. It found that Google was responsible for the content of certain misleading advertisements appearing on its website, and that it, therefore, directly engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. Partners Miriam Stiel and Carolyn Oddie and Special Counsel Rebecca Sadleir report on the decision

Major changes to intellectual property protection in Australia are likely to become law in only a few weeks. Partners Tim Golder and Chris Bird and Lawyer Tracy Lu examine the key substantive features of the new provisions and provide some recommendations for clients to factor into their protection strategies

A recent Federal Court decision expands copyright and trade mark owners’ opportunities to argue that imitators’ labels constitute infringements. Partner Tim Golder and Lawyer Andrew Wilcock report.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has recently released the latest consultation paper in its review of packaging and labelling of medicines in Australia, which, on completion, is expected to have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry. Partner Richard Hamer and Lawyer Ali Ridley report

In this issue: we look at proposals being considered by Food Standards Australia New Zealand to amend the Food Standards Code, the Labelling Logic reforms, the proposed regulation of nutritive substances and novel foods, Truth in Labelling laws and the fast food nutrition labelling regime, and the introduction of a Small Business Commissioner in South Australia. The developments show examples of a trend back to more prescriptive regulation, as well as a splintering of regulation between different states, which reverse recent progress in achieving greater deregulation and national uniformity.

The Full Court of the Federal Court unanimously overturned the original decision in the Optus TV Now case that had given a very generous interpretation of ‘private and personal use’ and who ‘made’ the copies in question. Partner Andrew Wiseman and Paralegal Ashleigh Shand report on the appeal decision that will protect significant revenues for the copyright holders of television broadcasts

The recent pricing reforms to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which will come into effect shortly, will have implications for manufacturers of pharmaceuticals. Senior Associate Ric Morgan and Lawyer Ben Mee report.

IP Australia has released the outcomes of consultation on draft regulations that will give effect to important changes to the intellectual property system that will come fully into force this year. The strong focus on tightening examination and opposition procedures has largely been maintained, despite stakeholders’ concerns that some of the proposed regulations are too restrictive and timelines are unreasonably short. Partner Chris Bird and Senior Associate Linda Govenlock report.

The Federal Court has found that a Facebook user’s posts constituted misleading or deceptive conduct, highlighting the need for businesses to exercise significant caution regarding any social media communications, even when the author has considered them to be personal. Partner Miriam Stiel and Lawyer Tracy Lu report.

IP Australia has released a paper highlighting issues it intends to cover in its review of pharmaceutical patents. Partner Richard Hamer and Law Graduate Laura Myer report.

The High Court has refused leave to appeal the Optus TV Now decision which means that the Full Federal Court decision, which overturned the trial decision and prevented Optus from operating its TV Now service, stands. A review by the Australian Law Reform Commission may however make recommendations that see further changes to the law. Partner Andrew Wiseman and Lawyer Rob Clark report.

A unanimous decision of the Full Federal Court means that online simulcasts of radio programs are not ‘broadcasts’, meaning traditional radio broadcasters will need to obtain separate licences from, and pay additional royalties to, copyright owners to transmit radio programs on the internet. Partners Ian McGill and Miriam Stiel and Senior Associate Nathan Shepherd report on the case and its ramifications.

The first of the new generic Top-Level Domain extensions will soon go live, and now is the time for brand owners to implement their brand protection strategies. There have been almost 2000 applications for new TLDs and it is expected that hundreds of new TLD registries will be open by the end of the year. Partner Tim Golder and Senior Associate Mark Williams explain why it is of paramount importance that brand owners take steps to ensure the protection of their brands at the second level of the new domains and what those steps should be.

In a landmark decision that resolves the long-standing debate as to whether genes and their biological products warrant patent protection, the Australian Federal Court has found that isolated DNA and RNA are patentable subject matter. Partners Sarah Matheson and Dr Trevor Davies and Lawyer Yan-Lin Lee report.

The long-running battle with the ACCC over Google’s AdWords service has been decided in Google’s favour. The High Court unanimously held that Google did not engage in misleading and deceptive conduct by displaying advertisements in the form of ‘sponsored links’. Partner Carolyn Oddie and Special Counsel Rebecca Sadleir report on the case, which is positive news for companies involved in the dissemination of information on the internet.

The new, long-awaited standard regulating nutrition and health claims has commenced, with food businesses given three years to transition to compliance with the new comprehensive regime. Partners Richard Hamer and Andrew Wiseman, Senior Associate Ric Morgan and Lawyer Claire Agius report on the new standard.

Governments and public health experts throughout Australia are turning their attention to the health impacts of excessive consumption of ‘junk food’. Although the industry is currently subject to reasonably limited regulation, recent events both here and overseas suggest that the status quo may be under threat. Partner Peter O’Donahoo, Senior Associates Susie Stone and Tim Maxwell and Lawyer Mark Hosking report.

A recent US Supreme Court decision has provided some important guidance on the patentability of human genomic material in that country. Partners Sarah Matheson and Dr Trevor Davies, and Law Graduate Israel Cowen report on a ruling that puts the US at odds with most of its trading partners.

2012 saw some small, but positive, steps in the area of intellectual property enforcement within China, according to the recently released 2012 annual report of China’s Supreme People’s Court.

The recent independent review has recommended some important changes to the Franchising Code of Conduct. Partner Andrew Wiseman and Lawyer Nadia Guadagno report on some of the significant recommendations to the Code and its enforcement.