Friday Flashes - A Quick Round-Up

Australian IP amendments larn to House

Australian lawyer, patent attorney & IP strategy consultant Duncan Bucknell has posted a authorities annotation on the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2006, which was introduced yesterday into the House of Representatives of the Australian Commonwealth Parliament. Proposed amendments to the Patents Act include (i) clarification of the prior usage defense forcefulness to infringement; (ii) compulsory patent licences existence ordered nether the Trade Practices Act; (iii) the possibility of exemplary damages for patent infringement; (iv) a Bolar provision (a defense forcefulness to pharmaceutical patent infringement inward honor of unauthorised activities directed to obtaining regulatory approval). Duncan's authorities annotation contains links to all relevant legislative materials too press releases.

likes Duncan's website, which is a model of clarity compared amongst around he visits.


A miracle for a client

IPKat friend too IP/IT enthusiast Justin Patten (Human Law) reports that his client, creative someone Ed Miracle, has settled his copyright infringement claim against the publishers of Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, which misappropriated i of his paintings ("I Told You So", left) for the front end cover. Details of Justin too of the representative itself tin survive establish on his weblog here.


Blizzard sued yesteryear WOW guide author

IP scholar too games enthusiast Yee Fen Lim has drawn the IPKat's attending to this intelligence especial from Gamespot on a dispute betwixt Blizzard Entertainment, its bring upwards companionship Vivendi Universal too the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) too 24-year-old Brian Kopp of Bronson, Florida every bit to whether eBay should survive ordered to halt auctions of Kopp's volume "The Ultimate World of Warcraft Leveling & Gold Guide", this existence a manual for players of a massively multiple online role-playig game (MMORPG) amongst wizards, warriors too monsters that has attracted a next of vi meg subscribers worldwide since it debuted inward 2004.

Blizzard, Vivendi too the ESA repeatedly sent eBay takedown notices nether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, citing copyright too merchandise grade infringements. The auction giant's full general policy is to halt auctions when it receives such complaints too to suspend a user's concern human relationship afterward it racks upwards a sure enough issue of warnings. Kopp, who denies infringement, continues to sell the volume through around other website. The dispute continues.