For a complete list of ACIPA's forthcoming and past conferences and symposia, please see below.

The patenting of genetic material has proved to be a controversial issue. While there have been a number of reports and inquiries that look at the potential impact of gene patenting, these have largely been limited to the patenting of human genes and the implications that this has for medical research. Despite its clear importance, there has been little consideration given to the patenting of animal and plant genes: one notable exception to this being the ongoing Senate Inquiry into food production in Australia, including plant gene patenting (although this does not extend to animal genes). This one-day conference will look at gene patents for plants and animals and the implications that they have for Australian agriculture. The aim of the conference is to stimulate debate and discussion on this very important but largely neglected topic. The conference is designed for lawyers, patent attorneys, researchers, growers, and others involved in agricultural research.

Speakers include: 
Mr Steve Ainsworth, General Manager, Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd
The Impact of Gene Patenting on the Cotton Industry

Prof Mike Goddard, Professorial Fellow in Animal Genetics, Melbourne School of Land and Environment, The University of Melbourne
Gene Patenting and its Ramifications for Animal Breeding

Mr Lionel Henderson, Director, Business Development, CSIRO Plant Industry
Practical Implications of Gene Patenting on Plant and Animal Breeding

Dr Charles Lawson, Associate Professor in Law, Griffith Law School, Griffith University
Compulsory Licensing and how it will not work where there are problem patents

Prof Dianne Nicol, Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Tasmania
Genes as Patentable Subject Matter: Lessons from Recent US and European Cases

Dr Matthew Rimmer, Senior Lecturer in Law, ANU College of Law, The Australian National University
Climate Ready Crops: Climate Change and Agricultural Intellectual Property

Cost:                   This is a FREE Conference
Registration:      Email c.ballard@law.uq.edu.au
Enquiries:           c.ballard@law.uq.edu.au  Phone: 07 3346 7506

Capturing the Value from Innovation in Horticulture:
Commercial Use of Intellectual Property
Free Symposium

Thursday, 3 September 2009

Launceston Tram Shed Function Centre, Inveresk Rail Yards, 4 Invermay Rd, Launceston

The Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) in conjunction with Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL), and supported by the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR), held a free Symposium to examine the ways of capturing the commercial value of intellectual property in horticulture and other agricultural sectors. The Symposium was designed for growers, distributors, processors and others involved in horticulture industries.

The Symposium looked at the practical application, using case studies, of:

• The role of patents for protecting plant innovations both in Australia and overseas
• Plant Breeder’s Rights and ways to maximise the benefits
• Branding and labelling to protect your business
• Role of R&D investment for commercial outcomes

Speakers and Topics included:

Prof Brad Sherman, Director, ACIPA, The University of Queensland
Intellectual Property and Horticulture

Kathryn Adams, Senior Research Fellow, ACIPA, Griffith University
Plant Breeder’s Rights

Dr Gavin Porter, General Manager, Australian Nurserymen’s Fruit Improvement Company
Commercialisation of New Plant Varieties: Practical Issues

Jay Sanderson, Research Fellow, ACIPA, Griffith University
Patents and the Australian Horticulture Industries

Jane Hutchison, Associate, Davies Collison Cave
Obtaining Patent and/or PBR Protection

Christine Lowe, Partner,
Trade Marks, Variety Names and Scientific Names

Michael Hart, Leader, Industry Development, Vegetable Centre, Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research
The Tassie Vegetable Story

Dr Philip Roeth, IP and Commercialisation Manager, Horticulture Australia Limited
HAL’s Approach to R&D Investment: IP Ownership and Commercialisation

This Free Symposium was funded through HAL Project HG07051.

What's in a Name? Plant Variety Names and Trade Marks in Horticulture
Free Conference

Wednesday, 22 October 2008

Theatrette, Ground floor, Innovation Building, Digital Harbour, 1010 LaTrobe St, Docklands, Melbourne

The Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) in conjunction with Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) held a free Conference that looked at the important role that naming and branding plays in Australian horticulture. The Conference was designed for researchers, growers, industry associations and others involved in horticulture to examine the importance of naming as a means of branding and commercialising horticultural products.

The Conference examined:

• the naming of plants from scientific, plant breeder’s rights and trade mark perspectives;
• situations where naming has played a key role in branding and marketing; and
• the role of certification trade marks in branding and quality assurance.

Speakers and topics included:

Prof Brad Sherman, Director, ACIPA, The University of Queensland, and Member of Plant Breeder’s Rights Advisory Committee
Opening Address

Dr Roger Spencer, Horticultural Botanist, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
Naming a Plant Variety: The Scientific Realities

Benny Browne, Principal, Griffith Hack, and Member of Plant Breeder’s Rights Advisory Committee
Naming a Plant Variety: The Plant Breeder’s Rights Perspective

Christine Lowe, Partner, Davies Collison Cave
The Role of Trade Marks in Branding for Horticulture

Michael Hart, Manager, Vegetable Centre, Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research
The Tassie Vegetable Story

Jon Durham, Managing Director, Apple & Pear Australia Ltd
The Pink Lady™ Story

Bridgette Engeler Newbury, Director, Incognito Sum
What’s in a Name? A Marketing Perspective

Gavin Jones, Director, Adjudication Branch, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
Certification Trade Marks

Kym Ludvigsen, Chairman, Australian Vine Improvement Association
Certification Trade Marks: A Case Study

Beverly Philip, Trade Marks Examiner, Trade Marks Office, IP Australia
Pulling it all Together: What Makes a Strong Trade Mark?

This Free Conference was funded through HAL Project HG07051.

Horticulture Research & Development for Commercial Business:
Managing your Intellectual Property
FREE Symposium

Thursday, 1 May 2008

Theatre, Technology Park Function Centre, 2 Brodie Hall Drive, Bentley WA

The Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) in conjunction with Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) held a free symposium to bring together scientists, researchers and members of the horticulture industry. The objective of the Symposium was to identify potential benefits from R&D and intellectual property management for horticulture industries. It also aimed to highlight some of the practical issues that have to be dealt with along the way. Scientists, producers, industry associations, processors and marketers will benefit from this Symposium. The Symposium included:

• An overview of intellectual property;
• The identification of some of the issues arising in Australia and overseas with Plant Breeder’s Rights;
• An explanation of the use of patents to protect plants;
• Case studies from those in the industry using PBR, trade marks and other forms of intellectual property to gain major benefits, but at what cost?; and
• Case studies from researchers outlining how they approach intellectual property management and commercialisation/adoption strategies.

Speakers and Topics:
Terry Hill, Director, Horticulture Industry Development, Dept of Agriculture and Food WA
Opening Address
Kathryn Adams, Senior Research Fellow, ACIPA and the first Registrar of Plant Breeder's Rights
Intellectual Property: An Overview
Dr Louise Barton, Research Fellow, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia
The UWA Turf Research Program: Approach, Outcomes and Extension
Jon Durham, Managing Director, Apple & Pear Australia Ltd
Pink Lady™: So much more than an Apple
Jane Malden, Project Manager, Commercialisation, Office of Industry and Innovation (Vice-Chancellery), The University of Western Australia
Commercialisation of Intellectual Property: A University Perspective
Ray Moir, Chief Executive Officer, Turf Producers Australia Ltd
R&D and Commercialisation of Intellectual Property in the Turf Industry
Geoff Reiser, Managing Director, Synovate
Commercialisation of New Plant Varieties
Jay Sanderson, Research Fellow, ACIPA
Patents and the Australian Horticulture Industries
Doug Waterhouse, President, UPOV and Director, Plant Breeder's Rights Office
Plant Breeder’s Rights: IP Australia’s Perspective
Ray Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Western Potatoes Limited
Potatoes: PBR and the Value Chain

This Free Symposium was funded through HAL Project HG07051.

20 Years of Plant Breeder's Rights in Australia
Canberra
Friday, 8 June 2007

2007 marks the twentieth anniversary of plant breeder’s rights in Australia. Since the Plant Variety Rights Act was passed in 1987 over 2,000 new varieties of plants have been given protection. In passing the new law, the Government hoped that plant breeder's rights would stimulate plant breeding in Australia. It was also hoped that the new scheme would encourage foreign breeders to import new varieties into Australia. Opponents of the scheme believed that the new law would restrict access to genetic material and in so doing stifle plant breeding. It was also argued that plant materials should not and could not be owned as they were part of nature.

This symposium used the twentieth anniversary of plant breeder’s rights as an opportunity to reflect upon the relative successes and failings of the scheme. Speakers at the symposium examined ways in which plant breeder's rights law might develop in the future. The symposium provided up-to-date information and analysis from a range of grower, industry, user, government, and professional perspectives.

» Click here to download a copy of the symposium program.

Speakers and Topics:

(Click on the Speaker's name to download a copy of their presentation.)

Doug Waterhouse, President of UPOV, Registrar of Plant Breeder's Rights and Director of Plant Breeder's Rights Office (Keynote Speaker)
International and National Perspective of PBR over the last 20 Years

Kathryn Adams, Senior Research Fellow, ACIPA and the first Registrar of Plant Breeder's Rights (Symposium Chair)

Dr Paul Brennan, Consultant, and Member of the Plant Breeder's Rights Advisory Committee (PBRAC) and the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP)
Plant Variety Intellectual Property Rights in a challenging and Changing Future

(See Dr Paul Brennan's website for his full paper http://www.cropgeninternational.com/media/PBR_Future_070506_v2.pdf)

Geoff Budd, General Counsel, Grains Research & Development Corporation
Plant Breeder's Rights and the Grains Industry: How to get Practical Outcomes using the Legal Framework

Donald Coles, Managing Director, Valley Seeds
A Users Perspective of Plant Breeder's Rights: Risk or Reward?

Graham Fleming, Fleming's Nurseries Pty Ltd
Enforcing Plant Breeder's Rights: A Perspective from a Rights Owner/Licensee

Garry Fullelove, Business Manager, Dept of Primary Industries & Fisheries (QLD)
Plant Breeder's Rights from the Perspective of an Organisation Tasked with Economic Development

Dr Matthew Rimmer, Associate Director, ACIPA
Rebel, Rebel: Plant Breeder's Rights and Trade Mark Law

Jay Sanderson, Research Fellow, ACIPA
Disparity Between Science and Law? Distinctiveness and Essential Derivation as (possible) Examples

Dr Warwick Stiller, Cotton Breeder, CSIRO
Plant Breeder's Rights, Patents or Something Else?

Ralph Wilson, Apple Grower
What about Grower's Rights and Obligations (No presentation available)

Copyright: From 'The Da Vinci Code' to YouTube
Brisbane
Friday, 16 February 2007

Opened by The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, Attorney-General Australia

A number of important events occurred in copyright law in 2006. In the United Kingdom, the High Court ruled that Dan Brown's bestseller 'The Da Vinci Code' did not infringe the copyright in the historical text, 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail'. In Australia, there was a raft of policy developments: with legislation released on copyright exceptions and enforcement provisions; a new regime for technological protection measures; and an ongoing dialogue on the problem of orphan works. Some cultural and technological trends also came to the fore in 2006: performing arts companies grappled with questions of authorship and ownership in collaborative ventures, and public broadcasters experimented with podcasting and vodcasting. There was much discussion, particularly in the United States, about digital television and the Broadcast Flag. The phenomenon of YouTube also raised complex issues surrounding copyright law and Internet videos.

Speakers at this conference addressed these and other related issues. The conference provided up-to-date information and analysis from a range of academic, government, industry, and professional perspectives.

» Click here for the conference program and abstracts.

Speakers and Topics:

(Click on the speaker's name to download a copy of their presentation. Not all presentations are available.)

The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, Attorney-General
Opening Address
Dr David Brennan, Copyright Consultant, Screenrights - The Audio Visual Copyright Society, and Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne
Waving the Flag in the Digital Jungle
Carolyn Dalton, Special Counsel, Minter Ellison Lawyers
Copyright Law Reform and its Impact on Education in Australia
Helen Daniels, Assistant Secretary, Copyright Law Branch, Attorney-General’s Department
Copyright Law Reform in Australia
Sharon Givoni, Principal, Sharon Givoni Consulting, and General Editor of the Australian Intellectual Property Bulletin
Copyright: Holy Grail or Media Circus?
Emily Hudson, Research Fellow, Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia (IPRIA), Faculty of Law, The University of Melbourne
Orphan Works
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Associate Director and Senior Lecturer in Law, ACIPA, The Australian National University
YouTube: Copyright Law and Internet Video
Sarah Waladan, Executive Director, Australian Digital Alliance
Fair Dealing and the New Copyright Exceptions Legislation
Kimberlee Weatherall, Adjunct Research Fellow, ACIPA and Senior Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland
Open Source Software and Technological Protection Measures

11th Annual Copyright Conference
Brisbane
Friday, 17 February 2006

Opened by The Hon Justice Andrew Greenwood, Federal Court of Australia

A number of important events occurred in copyright law in Australia in 2005. New copyright legislation introduced as a result of the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement was accompanied by a number of significant copyright decisions, notably the Kazaa peer-to-peer litigation, Sony v Stevens, the Panel case, and Universal Music v Cooper. As well as providing important guidance on the scope of recent legislative changes, particularly in relation to digital copyright, these decisions also offered insights into judicial attitudes to copyright in Australia. Meanwhile the Federal Government announced two major reviews into aspects of copyright law: an inquiry into the future of copyright exceptions and a review of the new anti-circumvention laws. 2005 also marked the 30th Anniversary of the landmark decision of University of New South Wales v Moorhouse, which played a key role in shaping many features of the copyright landscape today.

Speakers at this conference addressed these and other related issues. The conference provided up-to-date information and analysis from a range of academic, judicial, government, industry, and professional perspectives. This conference was attended by copyright owners and consumers, academics, practitioners, librarians and policy-makers.

» Click here for the conference program and abstracts.

Speakers and topics:
Professor Pam Samuelson, Professor of Law and Information Management, Chancellor's Professor and Director, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Copyright and Consumer Protection
Chris Creswell, Copyright Law Consultant, Copyright Law Branch, Attorney-General's Department, The Copyright Act: "Looking Forward, Looking Back" (apologies to Slim Dusty)
Helen Daniels, Assistant Secretary, Copyright Law Branch, Attorney-General's Department, An Overview of the Government's Copyright Reform Agenda
Richard Mallett, Director Mechanical Licensing, Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), Digital Distribution Channels - Threat or Opportunity?
John Nicholas, SC, Nigel Bowen Chambers, Sydney, Copyright and the Courts
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Associate Director and Senior Lecturer in Law, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA), The Australian National University, Google: Search or Destroy
John Tuck, Head of British Collections, British Library, Copyright Issues in a National Legal Deposit Library Context
Kim Weatherall, Associate Director (Law), Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia (IPRIA) and Lecturer, Law School, The University of Melbourne, Drafting the Oz-DMCA: The New Anti-Circumvention Law in Australia

Presentations:

Professor Pam Samuelson, Copyright and Consumer Protection: A New Role or Oxymoron?
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Google: Search or Destroy
John Tuck, Copyright Issues in a National Legal Deposit Library Context
Kim Weatherall, Drafting the Oz-DMCA: The New Anti-Circumvention Law in Australia

The Geneva Declaration: Intellectual Property and Development
Half Day Symposium
Canberra
Friday, 17 June 2005

The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals aim to reduce hunger and poverty, improve health and education, and ensure environmental sustainability. There has been much international debate about whether intellectual property rights could play an instrumental role in achieving these goals. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has been a focal point for discussions over intellectual property and development. Brazil, Argentina, and twelve other countries have proposed that WIPO should adopt a Development Agenda. In contrast, the United States has argued that WIPO should continue to promote intellectual property around the world as its way of fostering development.

This symposium considered a number of key issues of the debate over intellectual property and development, including:

» Click here for the conference program and abstracts.

Mr Geoff Burton, Director, Genetic Resources Management Policy, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government, IP and the International Trade in Genetic Resources
Dr Sasha Courville, Research Fellow in REgNet at The Australian National University and Chairperson of the Fairtrade Association of Australia and New Zealand, Protecting the Integrity of Fairtrade Labelling
Dr Warwick Neville, Solicitor, Bioethicist, and Researcher, RegNet, The Australian National University, Patent law, Health Care and Access to Essential Medicines
Mr Ian Oi, Project Leader, Creative Commons Australia, and Special Counsel, Blake, Dawson and Waldron, Copyright Law, Access to Knowledge, and the Creative Commons
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Director, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, Faculty of Law, The Australian National University, Indian Spices: Intellectual Property, Agriculture and Food Security
Ms Tanya Spisbah, Knowledge Diffusion or Development Delusion - Technology Transfer in the WIPO Development Agenda

Copyright: New Futures, New Agendas Conference
Brisbane
Friday, 18 February 2005

Opened by The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, Attorney-General Australia

With the release of the Federal Government's review of its Digital Agenda reforms and the belated release of a raft of measures designed to implement performers' rights in Australia this year, the Federal Government moved one step closer to finalising reform issues that have been on the agenda for nearly a decade. 2004 also saw the development of a new agenda for copyright law in Australia . In particular, the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement, signed on 18 May 2004 and entered into force on 1 January 2005, introduced a range of new issues for Australian copyright law, including the extension of duration of term. It also raised the question of the possible introduction of a fair use defence to replace the existing fair dealing provisions. At the same time, Indigenous communal moral rights and the possible introduction of a resale royalty right also remained on the reform agenda. At the international level, WIPO also moved one step closer to the finalisation of the Broadcasting Treaty, which is likely to have a significant impact on the future of copyright law in Australia . Speakers at this conference addressed these and other related issues.

» Click here for the conference program and abstracts.

Speakers and topics:
The Hon Justice Kevin Lindgren, Federal Court of Australia, Copyright and Indigenous Communal Moral Rights
Professor Graeme W Austin, J Byron McCormick Professor of Law, James E Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, De-Constitutionalising Copyright
Associate Professor Robert Burrell, Associate Professor of Law, The University of Queensland and Associate Director, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, Fair Use and the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement
Lindy Morrison, Musical Director/Performer and Director on the Board of the Music Council of Australia and Artist Director on the Board of the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia, The Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2004 and Performers' Rights
Dr Manon Ress, Director, Information Society Projects, Consumer Project on Technology, Washington DC, The Broadcasters, Cablecasters and Webcasters Treaty: The Wrong Paradigm for Access to Knowledge?
Dr Dale Spender AM, Principal Director, Digital Style Pty Ltd, What the Creative Commons offer Authors
Professor Alain Strowel, Professor of Law, Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis, Brussels and University of Liège, and Attorney at Covington & Burling, Brussels, A Copyright Journey in the EU and the EC Enforcement Directive
Tamara Winikoff, Executive Director, National Association for the Visual Arts, Artists: What Do They Want, and When Do They Want It?

Papers:
The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, Attorney-General, Opening Address

Australian Government Intellectual Property Management and Accrual Budgeting: Frameworks under the FMA Act and CAC Act
Half Day Symposium
Canberra
Friday, 10 December 2004

This symposium addressed the systems and procedures for the management and accrual budgeting of the Australian Government’s intellectual property required by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth) and Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (Cth), and develop the practical intellectual property policies and management practices to put these framework obligations into effect. Each of the speakers has extensive experience and dealings with key areas of the Australian Government’s FMA Act and CAC Act obligations. This is an opportunity to benchmark the latest developments in Australian Government intellectual property practice and find out more about the existing systems and procedures for the management and accrual budgeting of public sector intellectual property.

The target audience was government FMA Act agencies and CAC Act bodies, government policy makers and advisers providing legal and consulting services to government and industry.

» Click here for the conference program and abstracts.

Speakers and topics:
Paul Armarego, Principal, KGS Solutions, Existing Australian Government Intellectual Property Policies and Practices
Brett Kaufmann, Assistant Secretary, Accounting Policy Branch, Department of Finance and Administration, Identifying Value in Public Sector Intellectual Property (Accounting Standards)
Marc Mowbray-d’Arbela, Assistant Secretary, Legislative Review Branch, Department of Finance and Administration, The Formal Requirements Under the FMA Act and CAC Act
David Nyskohus, Audit Manager, Australian National Audit Office, The Findings and Recommendations of the Auditor-General’s Performance Audit Report Intellectual Property Policies and Practices in Commonwealth Agencies
Miryam Santoso, Senior Manager, Deacons Projects, The Elements of an Intellectual Property Policy

Intellectual Property & Farmers' Rights Conference
Friday, 12 November 2004
Canberra

Opened by Mr Peter Reading, Managing Director, Grains Research and Development Corporation

This conference considered the impact of intellectual property upon farming, agriculture and biotechnology. It considered the various interests of farmers and growers, research and development corporations, technology developers, and government agencies.

In 2004, there have been a number of key developments in patent law, plant breeder's rights, and contract law. Locally, the Federal Court of Australia has handed down an important decision in litigation between Cultivaust and the Grain Pool of Western Australia with respect to plant breeder's rights and farm saved seed. The Supreme Court of Victoria ordered the destruction of patented stone fruit trees in Swan Hill because of a breach of contract. Overseas, the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada held that a prairie farmer, Percy Schmeiser, had infringed a patent held by Monsanto in respect of glyphosate resistant canola. This forum explores the ramifications of these important precedents in law and policy.

Internationally, there has been much debate about international trade, and the protection of geographical indications of origin. The European Union has advocated extended international protection of certain wines, spirits, and foodstuffs, such as Feta, and Parma Ham. Australia and the United States have been reluctant to support a formal multilateral system of registration for geographical indications for all products.

This conference also considered the issue of gene technology regulation. The Gene Technology Regulator has approved the release of a number of GM canola crops owned by Bayer and Monsanto. However, state governments - Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia - have imposed moratoriums on GM crops, expressing concerns about the impact on export markets. The conference considers possible resolutions to this impasse between the Australian Government and the state governments.

» Click here for the conference program and abstracts.

Speakers:
Kathryn Adams, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, Griffith University
Craig Cormick, Manager, Public Awareness, Biotechnology Australia
Professor Mark Janis, H. Blair & Joan V. White Intellectual Property Law Scholar, College of Law, University of Iowa
Peter Lawrence, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Tasmania
Jacqueline Peel, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, The University of Melbourne
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Lecturer, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, The Australian National University
Graeme Smith, Broadacre Farmer, Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia, National Farmers' Federation Farm Chemical Sub Committee Member
Paul Strickland, Counsellor, Delegation of the European Commission to Australia and New Zealand
Associate Professor William Van Caenegem, Faculty of Law, Bond University

Genetically Modified Crops: Challenges for Farmers
Symposium
Orange NSW
Thursday, 21 October 2004

Debates about the merits of genetically modified (GM) crops have generated a great deal of heat, but very little light, over recent years. Amongst policy makers the discussion has been dominated by arguments over the possible health and environmental impacts of a move to GM. Consequently, it is these concerns that have taken centre stage within the regulatory frameworks that have been set up to assess and monitor GM crops. The impact of a move to GM on the agricultural sector has accordingly attracted much less attention than it might otherwise have done. In so far as farmers’ interests have been considered at all, the debate has been dominated by exchanges over the implications of GM for farmers in developing countries. It is now clear, however, that a move towards the widespread cultivation of GM crops would have a significant impact on farming in Australia. Growers therefore need access to reliable information about the implications of GM across a range of issues, including crop yield, pesticide use and legal rights and liabilities.

To this end, the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) organised a symposium on the implications of GM Crops for growers to be held during the Australian National Field Day (ANFD) in Orange on Thursday, 21 October 2004. This free symposium was designed to give growers the opportunity to hear presentations on the implications of GM Crops from representatives from Commonwealth and State Government, Research and Development Corporations and fellow growers.

Speakers:
Robert Burrell, Associate Director, ACIPA, The Australian National University
Dr Lindsay Cook, Chief, Division for Plant Industries, NSW Agriculture
Adam Kay, General Manager, Cotton Seed Distributors
Julie Newman, National Spokesperson, Network of Concerned Farmers
Dr Peter Thygesen, Scientific Adviser, Office of the Gene Technology Regulator

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources:
Implications for Australian Agriculture Symposium
Canberra
Friday, 20 August 2004

Australia recently concluded negotiations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The Treaty deals with key genetic resources that Australia depends on for its future agricultural competitiveness. How that Treaty is implemented and how those genetic resources are administered has significant consequences for Australian agriculture.

This symposium provided background to the Treaty’s negotiation and implementation. It also looked at the likely interpretation of the intellectual property provisions, the operation of the Treaty’s Multilateral System and its financial measures provisions. It also looked at the implications that the Treaty may have for Australian agriculture. In particular, the symposium looked at the likely impact of the Treaty on the grain and horticulture sectors, where access to key elite germplasm in the public domain is central to future competitiveness, and its impact on plant breeding in Australia focusing on the need for germplasm banks and access to those resources.

» Click here for the conference program and abstracts.

Speakers and topics:
Kathryn Adams, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, Intellectual Property Clauses and their Impacts on Plant Breeder’s Rights and Patents
Geoff Budd, General Counsel, Grains Research and Development Corporation, Agreeing on the Standard Material Transfer Agreement: Is the Devil in the Detail?
Dr Lindsay Cook, Chief, Division for Plant Industries, NSW Agriculture, The Germplasm Bank Perspective
Paul Morris, Executive Manager, Market Access and Biosecurity, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia, The possible consequences for Australia and the Treaty’s Limits
Dr Nigel Steele Scott, Board Member, Horticulture Australia Limited, The Horticulture Industry Perspective

Freedom to Tinker: Patent Law and Scientific Research
Symposium
Friday, 19 March 2004
Canberra

In recent years, there has been some concern about patent rights inhibiting research and development, particularly in biotechnology and IT. There has been much discussion in Australia and overseas as to whether researchers should enjoy a defence in respect of patent infringement.
 
This symposium considered whether Australian patent law should have a defence for research use, and, if so, what its scope should be. It explored the impact of such an exemption upon a number of industries. It included representatives from the fields of agriculture, health-care, biotechnology, IT, and government.
 
The symposium was of interest to academics and researchers, business managers and policy-makers, legal practitioners and patent attorneys.

Papers:
Mr Brian Opeskin, Inventions, Patents and Research

Speakers:
Mr Bruce Alston, Senior Legal Officer, Australian Law Reform Commission
Mr Geoff Budd, Counsel, Grains Research and Development Corporation
Dr Simon Easteal, Human Genetics Group, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, and Scientific Advisory Committee, Genetic Technologies Limited
Dr Thomas Faunce, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, The Australian National University, and the Medical School, The Canberra Hospital
Dr Ian Heath, Director-General, IP Australia
Ms Miranda Lee, Executive Officer, Australian Digital Alliance
Mr Brian Opeskin, Commissioner, Australian Law Reform Commission
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, The Australian National University
Mr Doug Waterhouse, Registrar, Plant Breeder's Rights Office, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

This symposium was sponsored by the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Australian Research Council.

Copyright: Unlucky for Some? Conference
Friday, 13 February 2004
Brisbane

Opened by The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, Attorney-General Australia

This conference, organised by the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture at Griffith University and The Australian National University, was the ninth annual copyright conference in this series held in Brisbane.

The conference provided up-to-date information and analysis from a range of academic, judicial, government, industry, and professional perspectives.

Topics discussed included: the Attorney-General's Digital Agenda copyright reforms review; the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement; Indigenous community moral rights; the legal regulation of digital music; as well as updates on recent Australian and international copyright cases.

Speakers and topics:
Dr Elizabeth Adeney, Lecturer, School of Law, Deakin University, Moral Rights and Community Interests: How the Past Meets the Future
Kate Crawford, Lecturer, Dept of Media and Communications, The University of Sydney, Steal This Tune: Copyright, Theft and Music Online
The Hon Doug Drummond QC, Intellectual property Aspects of Free Trade Agreements
Stephen Fox, Principal Legal Officer, Copyright Law, Attorney-General's Dept, Australia's FTA with the US: 'What's luck got to do with it, to do with it'
Matthew Hall, Partner, Phillips Fox, The Digital Agenda Review: Not a Matter of Chance - A Matter of Choice (with apologies to William Jennings Bryan)
Michael Handler, RIRDC Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, Determining the Boundaries of Copyright Subject Matter
Senator Aden Ridgeway, Senator for New South Wales, Indigenous Copyright: The Moral Argument for Moral Rights
Michael Speck, Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), Online Music: Everything Old is New Again

Papers:
The Hon Philip Ruddock MP, Attorney-General, Opening Address

Media:

Intellectual Property and the Life Sciences: Agriculture, Health and Trade
Conference
Friday, 21 November 2003
Canberra

Opened by Emeritus Professor John Lovett, Managing Director, Grains Research and Development Corporation

Intellectual property plays a critical role in rewarding innovation and encouraging investment in the life sciences - particularly, in the fields of agriculture, medicine, and genetic resources. At the same time, the granting of broad intellectual property rights has the potential to inhibit further research and development.

This conference discussed the importance of intellectual property in respect of food and agriculture. It addressed the important role played by plant breeders' rights and patent law in the commercialisation of research in the field of agricultural biotechnology. It looked at a number of recent controversies over new plants and crops with enhanced properties, GM food labelling, and biopiracy.

This forum discussed the public debate over the patenting of genes, junk DNA, research tools, and medical diagnostics. It compared and contrasted government inquiries into gene patents by the Australian Law Reform Commission and the United Kingdom Department of Health. A number of possible reforms were explored - including the introduction of new defences for researchers, the use of compulsory licensing, and the application of competition law.

This conference finally considered the impact of recent trade negotiations on agriculture and biotechnology. In particular, it focused upon the recent Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement, The 5th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico and the Food and Agriculture Organization's Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources.

Speakers and topics:
Ms Elizabeth Evans-Illidge, Head of Marine Biology and Ecology Sub-project, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Marine Biodiscovery
Professor Anne Finlay, Commissioner, Australian Law Reform Commission, The Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into Patenting of Genes and Genetic Material - Some Key Issues
Professor Ross Garnaut, Professor of Economics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Trading Blows: On the Damage Done by the Collapse of the Cancun Trade Talks
Dr Lee Ann Jackson, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for International Economic Studies, School of Economics, University of Adelaide, GMOs, Product Definition and International Trade
Dr Charles Lawson, Research Fellow, ACIPA, Griffith University, Food and Agriculture Organization Agreement on Plant Genetic Resources
Dr Margaret Llewelyn, Reader in Law, Faculty of Law, The University of Sheffield, Intellectual Property Rights on Public Healthcare: A UK Response
Dr Dianne Nicol, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Law and Genetics, University of Tasmania, Bioprospecting in Antarctica
Dr Peter Stearne, Patent Attorney, Davies Collison Cave, Creativity, Co-existence and Confusion: Intellectual Property and its Interface with Agricultural Biotechnology and GM Foods

Media:

Intellectual Property and Agriculture Symposium
Thursday, 18 September 2003
Canberra

Opened by The Hon Judith Troeth, Senator for Victoria,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

This was a free symposium organised by the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA), The Australian National University and Griffith University, supported by the Grains Research & Development Corporation.

The ACIPA Intellectual Property and Agriculture Symposium was the first in a series of events that will explore intellectual property issues facing the rural sector in Australia. This symposium provided a general overview of some of the key intellectual property issues facing rural Australia. Following symposia will focus on more specific issues.

Speakers and topics:
Bruce Drinkwater, Legal Consultant, Southcorp Wines, Geographical Indications: Current Issues in the Wine Industry
Lisa Filipetto, Assistant Secretary, Services and Intellectual Property Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, International Negotiations – Geographical Indications
Dr Simon Hearn, Executive Director, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Commercialising Agricultural Research
Vince Logan, Executive Manager, Business Development, Grains Research & Development Corporation, Confessions of a Biopirate and Other Tales on the Commercialisation of Agriculture Research
Peter Neilson, Australian Manager, Crop & Food Research Australia, Commercialisation of Agricultural Varieties and Intellectual Property Protection
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Lecturer, ACIPA, The Australian National University, Franklin Barley:  Patent Law and Plant Breeders' Rights
Prof Brad Sherman, Director, ACIPA, Griffith University, Genetic Use Restriction Technologies: Implications for Intellectual Property Policy Making

Copyright L'amour: Unfinished Business
Friday, 14 February 2003
Brisbane

Opened by Professor Glyn Davis, Vice-Chancellor, Griffith University

This conference explored some of the unresolved copyright questions currently facing Australia, including: copyright law's role in regulating and protecting Indigenous artistic and cultural expression; the appropriate protection for performers; and the relationship between copyright law and contract. Other issues included the Federal Government's impending review of the impact of the Digital Agenda Act (2001) as well as a number of new issues such as the inevitable problems thrown up by new technologies and also human rights as an increasingly significant issue for copyright law.

Speakers and topics:
Libby Baulch, Australian Copyright Council, What's Wrong with the Copyright Law Review Committee's Copyright and Contract Report
Kylie Browne, Intellectual Property Branch, Dept of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Copyright Reform in Australia: Current and Future Issues
Robert Burrell, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture, The Australian National University, Copyright, Human Rights and Fair Dealing
Barton Hoyle, Copyright Law Branch, Attorney-General's Department, The Government's Review of the Digital Agenda Reforms
Dr Anselm Kamperman Sanders, Universiteit Maastricht, The Netherlands and Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, The Future of Copyright in Europe
Professor Tom O'Regan, Australian Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy, Griffith University, New Media, New Copyright
Dr Warwick Rothnie, Barrister, Victorian Bar and member of the Copyright Law Review Committee, Copyright Law Review Committee: Copyright and Contract
Justice von Doussa, Federal Court of Australia, Copyright and Indigenous Issues

Intellectual Property & Biotechnology: Access, Ownership and Control
Conference
Friday, 8 November 2002
Canberra

This one-day conference explored some of the legal, social, and medical challenges associated with the patenting of genetic materials. It discussed a number of recent controversies over the ethics of patenting biotechnological inventions. In particular, it focused upon the debate over stem cell research, the battle over Myriad Genetics’ patents related to breast cancer, and the WTO discussions on access to essential medicines.

Speakers and topics:
Mr Geof Burton, Director, Access Taskforce, Environment Australia, Australia's Place in the Sun - Genetic Resources Management and the Bonn Guidelines
Dr Mildred Cho, Research Fellow, Centre for Biomedical Ethics, Stanford University, The Effects of Gene Patenting on Genetic Testing and Research
Justice Michael Kirby, High Court of Australia, The Genome and Intellectual Property Law: Where UNESCO Angels Tread
Dr Dianne Nicol, Lecturer, Centre for Law and Genetics, University of Tasmania, Pharmaceutical Patents and Developing Countries
Dr Matthew Rimmer, Lecturer, ACIPA, The Australian National University, the Attack of the Clones: Patent Law and Stem Cell Research
Ms Anna Sharpe, Partner, Clayton Utz and member of the Plant Breeder's Rights Advisory Committee, Plant Breeder's Rights and Patent Law
Professor Brad Sherman, Director, ACIPA, Griffith University, Regulating Access to Genetic Resources: Biodiscovery and Intellectual Property Law
Dr Jagveer Sindhu, Director, The Asia & Pacific Seed Association, Thailand, Plant Breeder's Rights in the Asia Pacific

Shaping the New Agenda: Emerging Issues for Copyright Conference
Friday, 8 February 2002
Brisbane

This conference looked at a number of important copyright issues that had been neglected in recent years. These included copyright enforcement, the impact of copyright law on free speech, copyright and the open archive movement, Crown copyright, indigenous moral rights and droit de suite. With the Digital Agenda reforms in place, these issues seemed set to dominate policy debate in the coming years.

Speakers and topics:
Libby Baulch, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Copyright Council, Crown Copyright
Robert Burrell, Lecturer, Kings College, University of London, New challenges for European Copyright Law
Tom Cochrane, Queensland University of Technology, Copyright and the Open Archive
Mark Davison, Monash University, Legal Protection for Databases
Stephen Fox, Attorney-General's Dept, Copyright Enforcement
Jonathan Kenna, Deacons Lawyers, Improving Protection of Indigenous Arts and Cultural Expressions
Warwick Rothnie, Copyright and Free Speech
Anna Ward, VISCOPY, Resale Royalties

Intellectual Property in Agriculture: The International Policy Agenda
Conference
Friday, 23 November 2001
Canberra

This conference examined international issues in intellectual property in the wake of the WTO Ministerial Conference at Doha. International experts, Australian analysts and industry representatives explored the policy implications of such issues as plant patenting and plant variety rights, access to genetic resources, and geographical indications.

Speakers and topics:
Lindsay Adler, Business Manager, CSIRO Plant Industry, Managing IP and Public Interest Research
Bruce Drinkwater, Consultant, Southcorp, Wine Geographical Indications and International Negotiations
Dr Ian Heath, Director General, IP Australia, Emerging International Issues in IP
Dr Margaret Llewelyn, Faculty of Law, Sheffield University, Patents, Breeders Rights and Plant Innovations - The European Perspective
Cheryl McCaffery, Principal, EclIPse IP Management, Strategic Issues in Managing Biotechnology IP
Allan McKinnon, Assistant Secretary, Agriculture Trade Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Agriculture and IP Issues in the WTO
Dr Kate Murashige, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Pharmaceuticals And Agriculture: Will Intellectual Property Play Out In Similar Ways?
Dr John H Skerritt, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, IP and Agriculture Biotechnology in Developing Countries
Antony Taubman, Senior Lecturer, ACIPA, ANU, Cereal Offenders? Owning, Controlling and Exploiting Biological Resources
Bernard Wonder, Deputy Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Agricultural Intellectual Property and Future Prosperity - Meeting the Policy Challenges

Copyright: The Challenges of New and Old Media Conference
Friday, 9 February 2001
Brisbane

This conference focused on both new and old forms of media as a way of examining a number of topical issues in copyright law, including fair use, moral rights and digital copyright protection. In particular, it looked at the way traditional copyright principles have been applied in relation to film and television. It also looked at the way in which copyright law has dealt with the problems posed by digital technologies.

Speakers and topics:
Simon Cordina, Director, Legal and Broadcasting Policy, Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations, The Director's Copyright Debate
Professor Jane Ginsburg, Morton L Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law, Columbia University, New York, Napster: A Cautionary Tale
Richard Harris, Executive Director, Australian Screen Directors Assocation, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner: Directors to get a Place at the Rights Table
Carolyn Hough, Acting Principal Legal Officer, Intellectual Property Branch, Attorney-General's Department, Copyright Amendment Digital Agenda Act: The New Retransmission Scheme
Professor Bernt Hugenholtz, Director of the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, Sleeping with the Enemy: Copyright Contracts in a Digital Environment
Professor Sam Ricketson, Barrister and Professor of Law, Melbourne University, An Australian Perspective
Nick Smith, Copyright Advisor, Australian Libraries Copyright Committee and Executive Officer, Australian Digital Alliance, New Media, New Control: The Expansion of Copyright in the Digital Environment
John Edquist, The New Moral Rights Legislation

The Limits of Copyright Conference
Friday, 11 February 2000
Brisbane

The emergence of the information economy has brought new issues to the attention of copyright creators, consumers, policy makers, practitioners and academics. This conference explored the limits of copyright in the context of these technological, legal and economic changes. In exploring the Limits of Copyright, the conference considered questions such as:

Speakers and topics:
Libby Baulch, Executive Officer and Principal Legal Officer, Australian Copyright Council, Contracting-out of the Copyright Defences
Brett Cottle, Chief Executive Officer, Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd, Competition and Market Developments as Limits on Copyright in the Music Industry
Prof Bernt Hugenholtz, Professor of Information Law and Copyright Law, University of Amsterdam and Co-Director of the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, A Shopping List of Limitations: Harmonisation of Copyright Law, European Style
Sir Anthony Mason, Chancellor, University of New South Wales and National Fellow, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Subject Matter and the Limits of Copyright
Assoc Prof Jill McKeough, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales and Member, Intellectual Property Competition Review Committee, Sense and Sensibility: The Work of the Intellectual Property Competition Review Committee
Prof Sam Ricketson, Faculty of Law, Monash University, The Old Three-step Test: Adapting an Old Routine for a New Era
Warwick Rothnie, Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Copyright Infringement and the Limits of Copyright
Dr Brad Sherman, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Griffith University, The Nature of the Copyright Work

Copyright Futures Conference
Friday, 12 February 1999
Brisbane

Australian copyright law is now going through the most wide-ranging and substantial process of reform and review since the 1960s. This conference examined the directions and implications of change. It covered major issues such as proposed new legislation, digital communications, moral rights, competition policy, and the simplification of copyright law.

Speakers and topics:
Warwick Rothnie, Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Protecting Databases
Assoc Prof Andrew Christie, Law School, University of Melbourne, The Simplification of Copyright Subject Matter and Rights
Kylie Browne, Intellectual Property Branch, Dept of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, The Tension in Copyright Reform
Helen Daniels, Attorney-General's Dept, Moral Rights are Part of our Copyright Future
Annabelle Herd, National Library of Australia, Please Enter Your Credit Card Details Now: The Future of Access to Information in a Digital Age
Prof James Lahore, Special Counsel, Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Professor of Law, University of Melbourne, Exceptions to Copyright and Fair Dealing: The European Perspective
Simon Lake, Chief Executive, Screenrights, Is There a Future for the User-pays Principle in Copyright?
Prof Sam Ricketson, Monash University, An Appreciation of the CLRC's Exceptions Report

Defining the Public Domain Conference
Friday, 13 February 1998
Brisbane

This conference re-evaluated the character and status of the public domain in copyright law. The concept of the public domain plays a critical role in delimiting the rights of copyright owners. Whether through particular legal roles concerning the duration of copyright, or through doctrines of fair dealing or infringement, the public domain is central to establishing a balance between the interests of creators and consumers.

Technological change has made the task of defining the public domain critical in current law reform and policy. As well as dealing with the issues raised by digital technologies, this conference considered wider cultural and historical contexts for understanding the public domain.

This conference provided an up-to-date overview of trends in this area and their likely impact on Australian Law.

Speakers and topics:
Libby Baulch, Executive Officer, Australian Copyright Council, Fair Use and Fair Dealing
Michael Fraser, Chief Executive Officer, Copyright Agency Limited, Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair: From Analogue to Digital Fair Dealing
Colin Golvan, Owen Dixon Chambers, The Public Domain and Indigenous Art
Catherine Hawkins, Attorney-General's Dept, Digital Agenda Reforms and the Public Domain
Sir Anthony Mason, Public interest Objectives and the Law of Copyright
Warwick Rothnie, Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Idea and Expression in a Digital World
Brad Sherman, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Griffith University, Introducing the Public Domain
Peter Treyde, Attorney-General's Dept, Simplification of the Exceptions to the Exclusive Rights Comprising Copyright
Leanne Wiseman, Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology, Educational Use and the Limits of Copyright
Jamie Wodetzki, Solicitor, Minter Ellison, Taking a Byte from Software's Proprietary Bits: How Far Can You Go?

The Future of International Intellectual Property Law Conference
Friday, 7 February 1997
Brisbane

This conference evaluated three major current proposals for change. These were the Berne Protocol, the New Instrument - which is in effect an update of the Rome Convention - and the draft treaty on databases. These new agreements are intended to bring the law into the digital age. They seek new and stronger protections for multimedia, networked information, and digital works of all kinds.

As a likely signatory of these treaties, Australia will have to amend its laws in response to the changes. This will require in some circumstances a radical rethinking of certain concepts in Australian intellectual property law.

This conference offered participants an up-to-date overview of trends in this area and their likely impact on Australian Law.

Speakers and topics:
Libby Baulch, Executive Officer, Australian Copyright Council, Singing in the Rain: Will the Digital Umbrella Work?
Lionel Bently, Lecturer, King's College London, A History of International Intellectual Property Law
Michael Crosby, Performers' Rights - Dream or Reality?
Claus Dirnberger, Executive Officer, Services and Intellectual Property Branch, Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Trade-related Intellectual Property: Possible Implications of the WIPO Diplomatic Conference on Copyright and Certain Neighbouring Rights Questions for the TRIPS Agreement
Peter Drahos, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, The Australian National University, Intellectual Property and States: Past, Present, Future
Stephen Fox, Attorney-General's Dept, Where to Now - The Australian Government Response
Catherine Hawkins, Attorney-General's Dept, Copyright and Neighbouring Rights: An Overview of the New WIPO Standards
Warwick Rothnie, Senior Associate, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Fair Dealing
Julian Thomas, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy, 'Sui Generis' Protection of Databases?
Jamie Wodetzki, Solicitor, Minter Ellison, The New International Copyright Regime: What About the Copyright Consumer?