Intellectual Property Law

POLICY BRIEF TOPICS

This year the Productivity Commission in their recent draft Report on Intellectual Property Arrangements[1] has proposed a number of policy solutions with respect to the Australian intellectual property law. The final report is expected to be handed to the Australian Government in September 2016. You are invited to write a submission to the Productivity Commission on one of the following topics.

1. Parallel import restrictions on books

One of the proposals made by the Productivity Commission is to repeal the prohibitions on parallel imports of books that are available under Australian copyright law. Please choose one of the following options:

Option A: Authors’ Society of Australia strongly disagrees with this proposal. They hired you to prepare a policy brief outlining the reasons and evidence for maintaining parallel import restrictions. They are also wondering if any positive experience from overseas jurisdictions could be used as evidence to support their position. They plan to submit the policy brief to the Australian Government as well as upload it online on their website to stimulate a broader public discussion on the proposed reform.

Option B: The University of Newcastle would like to submit their independent opinion on this question. They invited you to prepare a policy brief discussing the reasons for and against the repeal of parallel importation restrictions and suggesting a neutral academic opinion on the problem. They would like you to also use the experience from overseas jurisdictions to support the position. They plan to submit the policy brief to the Australian Government as well as upload it online on their website to stimulate a broader public discussion on the upcoming reform.

2. Patent protection for business methods and software

Under Australian patent law, business methods and software can be patented. The Productivity Commission in the abovementioned draft Report have spoken against the need of such protection. Choose one of the following options:

Option A: Australian Business Alliance does not agree with this conclusion. They hired you to prepare a policy brief outlining the reasons and evidence for maintaining patent protection for business methods. They are also wondering if any positive experience from overseas jurisdictions could be used as evidence to support their position. They plan to submit the policy brief to the Australian Government as well as upload it online to stimulate a broader public discussion on the upcoming reform.

Option B: The University of Newcastle would like to submit their independent opinion on this question. They invited you to prepare a policy brief discussing the reasons for and against the protection of business methods and software and suggesting a neutral academic opinion on the problem. They would like you to use experience from overseas jurisdictions to support the position. They plan to submit the policy brief to the Australian Government as well as upload it online on their website to stimulate a broader public discussion on the proposed reform.

3. Fair use

The Productivity Commission in their abovementioned draft Report have proposed the introduction of fair use in Australian copyright law. The academic publisher Oxford University Press believe that this would negatively affect the academic publishing sector in Australia. They hired you to prepare a policy brief outlining the reasons and evidence against the introduction of fair use. They are also wondering if any experience from overseas jurisdictions could be used as evidence to support their position. They plan to submit the policy brief to the Australian Government as well as upload it online to stimulate a broader public discussion on the proposed reform.

[1] Available at