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IP Australia has issued a second consultation paper - with draft drafting instructions:

• Flexible Search and Examination
• Streamlining the Patent Process

As with the first round of the second round, comments are required by 12 Feb 2010.

The new paper and drafting instructions can be found here (pdf).

Links to all the papers, pdf and word, via here.

IP Australia has published a second round of consultation paper (pdf) on its proposals for reform of intellectual property laws and procedures in Australia. Topics covered include:

• Getting the Balance Right
  Exemptions to Patent Infringement
  Resolving patent opposition proceedings faster
  Resolving trade mark opposition proceedings faster
  Resolving divisional applications faster
• Getting the Balance Right
• Exemptions to Patent Infringement
• Resolving patent opposition proceedings faster
• Resolving trade mark opposition proceedings faster
• Resolving divisional applications faster

Submissions are due by 12 February 2010. In a move definitely to be encouraged, the proposed drafting instructions have also been published (pdf) for comment. (Links to the "Word" version as well as the pdf version and the previous round of consultation papers via here.) Some further papers will be published soon on:

• Flexible Search and Examination
• Streamlining the Patent Process

IPRIA has organised a seminar in Melbourne on 15 September and Sydney on 16 September to discuss whether freeing parallel imports will make books cheaper. Speakers include both Prof. Fels, who started it all, and Dr Rhonda Smith. Details from here. Has anyone established how far the prices of CDs and computer software fell once the markets for those products became open?

IP Australia has released 3 further consultation papers on "IP Rights Reforms":

• resolving divisional applications faster
• resolving patent oppositions faster
• resolving trade mark oppositions faster

Submissions are sought by 17 August 2009. Download the papers (pdf or .doc) from here. There are also links to the earlier papers on 'Getting the Balance Right' and 'Exemptions to Patent Infringement'.

The Attorney General opened the Copyright Futures conference in Canberra yesterday. As part of his speech he mentioned that last week he held a roundtable forum with 'about 30 of the key representative groups'. Wonder what that was about? According to the Attorney-General, some of the emerging themes were:

• whether the Government would benefit from an independent source of advice in addition to my Department, especially for technology and competition issues 
• access to justice considerations for individual creators and also the effectiveness of the Copyright Tribunal
• addressing piracy in the online environment
• the roles and responsibilities of declared collecting societies
• whether there should be new rights for visual artists, indigenous creators  and audio-visual performers
• the relationship between copyright and contract law, and
• whether there should be new exceptions to allow greater access to copyright materials.

Then, he identified the Government's agenda:

These include the issues of resale royalty legislation for visual artists and the review of restrictions on the parallel importation of books.  I am also evaluating proposals on the use of internet material by educational institutions, the role of Internet Service Providers in relation to online infringements, and appropriate enforcement of intellectual property crimes. There is also the push for Governments to consider how to enhance access to and re-use Government information. (Of course, in the best traditions, the printed speech is followed by a copyright warning notice.) The speech is online here.

Prof. Lessig has an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal outlining his ideas on what needs to be done to put copyright "right". Read it here. Many owners of copyright no doubt will not agree.