No matter what sort of business you're running, your intellectual property is almost always a crucial asset for you to protect. Whether you operate a publishing house with volumes of copyrighted books or just a local mom-and-pop store with a distinct name and slogan, your ideas belong to you, and you deserve to keep the exclusive rights to them.
New amendments to IP laws are being introduced all the time, making it tough to keep up.
This means you need to know IP laws. Handing this challenge would be hard enough already, as the laws on IP in Australia are fairly long and complicated, but what makes the issue even thornier is that the laws are always changing! New amendments are being introduced all the time, making it tough for companies to keep up. You've always got to stay on your toes.
Plenty of new changes as of 2015
Keeping up with copyright law in Australia is never easy, and it just got a little more difficult in 2015. According to IP Australia, we saw a couple of key changes two years ago with the passage of the IP Laws Amendment Act 2015.
One such amendment was a change to the IP laws regarding medical products, allowing manufacturers of certain medicines to export pharmaceuticals to countries experiencing health crises with fewer copyright hurdles to clear first. Another change involves plant breeders' rights – breeders are now able to enforce their rights to the new plant varieties they grow. Little changes like this tend to add up, and they underscore the importance of keeping up with the law.
Know your assets – and your rights
If you're running a business, it's important to protect yourself against intellectual property threat that might impede your ability to make a profit. Mondaq advises staying keenly aware of your assets and what you're worth, as well as what your protection options are if there's a conflict.
No one is immune to IP theft. Even if you don't think your company has any valuable trade secrets to steal, you'd be surprised. Something as simple as your logo can be used against you – but fortunately, design protection in Australia is robust enough that you have recourse against that. It's always good to know your options.
Get legal help when necessary
Whenever you find yourself in a conflict over your company's intellectual property, it pays to turn to copyright lawyers in Sydney who know how to handle such a situation. At Alder IP, we have a whole team of experts who do. It's what we're passionate about.
Talk to us, and we'll make it easy to understand IP regulations and get aggressive about defending what's yours.