Will IP Australia Move From A Passive To A Proactive Role In Post-Grant Patent Enforcement?

Article by Kerin Forstmanis and George Cameron

The ACIP Interim Report

The Australian Government's independent Advisory Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP) has recently published an Interim Report as part of its ongoing review into post-grant patent enforcement strategies¹. ACIP has proposed a number of mechanisms aimed at addressing concerns that enforcement has become overly time consuming, expensive and complicated.

The most important proposals relate to the establishment of an IP Dispute Resolution Centre run by IP Australia. The centre may be modelled on WIPO's Arbitration and Mediation Centre, administering a number of different services including:

• validity and infringement opinions;