Intellectual Property - Mallesons Pulse Blog

Bad intentions: Can you copy elements of a competitor’s design?

27 April 2026

By Kate Hay, Cate Nagy, Jacob Flynn, Bianca Terlato

The recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia in Bodum AG v H.A.G Import Corpn (Australia) Pty Ltd [2026] FCA 238 illustrates that even deliberate copying of a competitor’s design elements does not necessarily breach the Australian Consumer Law or amount to passing off.

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Digging too deep: When patent amendments become an abuse of process

24 April 2026

By Kate Hay, Suzy Madar, Sarah Huang

This is a short note to report on a successful interlocutory application seeking a declaration that a patent amendment amounted to an abuse of process.

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Supercharging section 40: Full Court confirms date for assessing best method for divisional patents

17 April 2026

By Matthew Swinn, Danielle Sharplin, Sarah Huang

In The NOCO Company v Brown and Watson International Pty Ltd [2026] FCAFC 44, the Full Court of the Federal Court has affirmed previous decisions that the relevant date for assessing a patentee’s disclosure of the best method under s 40(2)(aa) of the Patents Act 1990 is the date of filing the patent in suit, not any earlier priority or parent document.

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Australia reformulates its position on patent term extensions

15 December 2025

By Matthew Swinn, Kate Hay, Suzy Madar, Jacob Flynn

The Full Federal Court of Australia has determined that pharmaceutical formulations are not eligible for patent term extension in Australia.

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Creators first? No text and data mining for Australia

30 October 2025

By Cate Nagy, Luke Hawthorne, Christine Porter

The Albanese Government has commenced consultations on updates to Australia’s copyright laws in light of emerging challenges presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI), while explicitly ruling out introducing a broad Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception.

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From trespass to trust: the Full Court expands equitable remedies for wrongfully obtained copyright works

3 September 2025

By Kate Hay, Jacob Flynn, Emma Higgins

The Full Court has broken new ground in The Game Meats Company of Australia Pty Ltd v Farm Transparency International Ltd [2025] FCAFC 104, imposing a constructive trust over copyright in footage obtained by trespass.

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Collaborating? Here’s how to avoid a web of IP issues

22 August 2025

By Suzy Madar, Kate Hay, Jacob Flynn, Emily King

Commercial collaboration can create unbeatable opportunities for innovation and securing return on investment.

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A new code for care: decoding the impact of Genomics Australia

19 August 2025

By Suzy Madar, Emily King

The Australian health sector is entering a transformative phase with the official launch of Genomics Australia on 1 July 2025 and a new Australian Health Genomics Commissioner.

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Expert evidence blows up detonator patent litigation

25 July 2025

By Suzy Madar, Luke Hawthorne, Jacob Flynn, Lily McCubbin

In a long, but intricately reasoned first instance judgment, Australia’s Federal Court has ruled on the validity and infringement of patents relating to wireless detonators.

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Branched meanings: Lexicography of ‘branched alkyl’ decides Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute

1 July 2025

By Suzy Madar, Emily King

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) recently decided that Moderna’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, SPIKEVAX®, did not infringe Alnylam’s patents because the cationic lipid used in the vaccine, SM-102, was not a cationic lipid with a ‘branched alkyl’ group.[1] The case turned on the proper construction of ‘branched alkyl’.

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