FOREWORD
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT DECADE
When the World IP Review Annual launched in 2006, it was slighter and more rudimentary than the one you see today. Now in its tenth edition, the Annual is nearly twice as long as its forerunner (at around 140 pages) and covers a lot of ground. We have added the Business Brief section, and the look and feel is stronger, but what has changed in the world of intellectual property since then?
One of the most interesting and controversial developments is the introduction of
plain
packaging legislation for cigarettes. Australia got the ball rolling by passing the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011, which required cigarettes to be sold in a plain brown packet from December 1, 2012. Tree years later, England and Ireland have both approved similar legislation, although neither regime is in place yet and, as in Australia, both are likely to face legal challenges.
It is not surprising that such legislation is highly divisive. For IP owners, one of the biggest concerns is that by restricting the use of trademarks on cigarette packs, counterfeiting will become easier. Tis would clearly be unwelcome, but if the aim of cutting smoking rates is realised, the demand for cigarettes (including fakes) should fall anyway.
Figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the total consumption of tobacco and cigarettes in the first quarter of 2014 was the lowest ever recorded, with people spending AUD$3.405 billion ($2.612 billion). Te equivalent figure in December 2012 was $3.508 billion, according to the data. Whether the legislation will have a major long-term deterrent effect on smoking remains to be seen, but it seems like a sensible policy and one which, despite their commercial protestations, right owners should be able to understand.
Tere have been a host of other important developments since 2006. Tese include the jailing of the founders of file-sharing site Te Pirate Bay, the introduction of new generic top- level internet domain names, the US Supreme Court’s ruling in the Myriad case, and the creation of specialised IP courts in China.
China deserves special mention. Te narrative of China as a minefield for IP infringement is familiar, and no doubt historically true, but in 2015 the country seems more welcoming for right owners. From crackdowns on counterfeiting to
anti-competition probes—in February,
semiconductor company Qualcomm paid a fine of nearly $1 billion following an investigation
“THE NARRATIVE OF CHINA AS A MINEFIELD FOR IP INFRINGEMENT IS FAMILIAR, AND NO DOUBT HISTORICALLY TRUE, BUT IN 2015 THE COUNTRY SEEMS MORE WELCOMING FOR RIGHT OWNERS.”
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www.worldipreview.com World Intellectual Property Review Annual 2015 5
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