On 1 October 2009, the University of Western Australia sought leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a recent decision of the Full Federal Court about ownership of intellectual property.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson stated that ‘this course of action is a matter of principle ... the judgment has important ramifications for all university-initiated research. It could stem the potential flow on benefits of intellectual property resulting from such research to the broader community.’
The Full Federal Court had confirmed Justice French’s decision in University of Western Australia v Gray that Dr Gray owned the intellectual property in the inventions he created while employed by the University. It is interesting to note that Justice French is now Chief Justice of the High Court.
This article was written by Kristin Stammer, Partner, Sydney.
Endnotes
1. More information regarding the decision of the Full Federal Court.
More information
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