It has been announced that the official fees for various IP matters in Australia will be increasing with effect from 1st October 2020, while a small number of fees will decrease. Of particular significance for patent cases are increases in excess claim fees and in the renewal/maintenance fees. The latter will increase on a sliding scale up to AUS$2650 per year for standard patents and up to AUS$8000 for pharmaceutical patents that have been extended beyond their 20-year term. For trade marks,...

The UK has left the EU and the deadline for extending the transition period has now passed. This means that, from 01 January 2021, all registered EU trade marks (including International Registrations designating the EU) and designs will be automatically cloned to create equivalent national UK rights, with no fee payable.  These new national rights will be fully independent of the EU right but retain all the same filing dates and ownership.  This means the UK rights will be due for...

The payment of Annual Maintenance Fees (AMF) against registered Vanuatu trade marks has been introduced with effect from 1st March 2020. There is a three month inextensible deadline from the anniversary of the filing date within which to make an AMF payment. However, to date, the Registry has yet to commence collecting AMF fees, mainly as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown and the devastation caused by Cyclone Harold which passed through the region in early April and affected much of the...