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Total entries in this category: Published On: Aug 03, 2007 10:45 AM |
Australia and the Singapore Treaty and the Patent Law TreatyIP Australia has issued a public
consultation notice as the Government is considering whether or not Australia
should join the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, the Patent Law Treaty
(PLT) and various machinery treaties related to WIPO ...
According to the public consultation
paper, the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks updates the Trademark
Law Treaty to address kinds of trade marks such as sound and scent
marks not previously dealt with and to address administration requirements
resulting from technological
development.
Apparently, the Government considers that the Trade Marks Act 1995 is already consistent with any obligations which would arise if Australia joined the Singapore Treaty and anticipates that Australians filing trade marks overseas would benefit from the procedural developments. Apparently, only Singapore has completed ratification. According to the public consultation paper, the PLT aims to harmonise and streamline national and regional patent applications made directly to foreign countries (i.e., outside the PCT process). As with the Singapore Treaty, IP Australia considers that accession by Australia would not require any changes to the Patents Act 1990. There are apparently unspecified changes to the Madrid Agreement on Trademarks also under contemplation which may have some effect on Australia, as a particpant in the Madrid Protocol. IP Australia will be holding a series of public consultation meetings around Australia. For details see here (pdf). For the Consultation Paper specific to the Singapore Treaty, see here (pdf); the Treaty itself is here. The Consultation Paper on the PLT is here (pdf); the Treaty itself is here. The "other" Treaties paper is here (pdf). Posted: Tuesday - May 22, 2007 at 06:57 PM | |