Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

Ambassador Dacio Castillo (Honduras)
A NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT
20. The representative of Australia foreshadowed his delegation's intention to notify the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act passed by the Australian Parliament on 15 April 2012. The Act introduced a wide range of reforms to improve the fit and function of Australia’s IP system in six key areas: raising the quality of granted patents; free access to patented inventions for regulatory approvals and research; reducing delays in resolution of patent and trade mark applications; assisting the operations of the IP profession; improving mechanisms for trademark and copyright enforcement; and simplifying the IP system. Most of the provisions in the Raising the Bar Act would come into effect on 15 April 2013. However, the experimental use and regulatory approval exemptions had come into force immediately. Australia was in the process of developing the substantial regulations that would be required under the Act. The draft regulations were intended to be available for public consultation in August 2012 and finalized in early 2013.
IP/C/M/70