Federal Government's 2011 legislative plans for intellectual property

The Prime Minister has released the list of legislation proposed for introduction in the Autumn sittings of Federal Parliament, starting Tuesday 8 February.

The only proposed Bill affecting intellectual property is the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill, which will:

• raise patent standards and increase certainty in the validity of granted patents
• give researchers the freedom to innovate without the threat of litigation
• speed up the processes for determining patent and trade mark applications
• improve the operations of the intellectual property profession
• improve mechanisms for trade mark and copyright enforcement in Australia
• modernise aspects of Australia's intellectual property system