FB Rice

Flu vaccine maker Seqirus has successfully opposed Moderna’s proposed patent for a mRNA vaccine, but an IP Australia delegate said the problems with the patent can be overcome by amendments.

Moderna has failed in its bid to secure an mRNA vaccine patent, but an IP Australia delegate gave the US biotech another shot at its application. 

IP boutique FB Rice has hired an IP expert from biotechnology firm CSL Seqirus to head it up a new advisory service.

Afterpay has failed to block fintech iSignthis from registering 'Clearpay' as a trade mark for its blockchain-based trading system, with an IP Australia delegate finding Afterpay had failed to prove it used 'Clearpay' for its buy now, pay later services outside of the UK.

IP Australia has rejected US fintech Block's bid to patent a method for adjusting animations to enable a large volume of point of sale applications, finding the invention was a mere scheme that did not meet the manner of manufacture test for patentability.

Marlow Foods, maker of popular meat-replacement product Quorn, has lost an application to patent a vegan burger that contains a non-egg binding agent, with IP Australia saying the recipe lacked inventiveness.

IP Australia has rejected an application by US technology company Block to patent a mobile payment method, saying it does not describe a manner of manufacture -- the threshold requirement tripping up many claimed computer-implemented inventions.

Intellectual property law firm Spicer Spicer has lost its opposition to Coca-Cola’s patent application for soft drinks and syrups containing an artificial sweetener known as Reb X, with an IP Australia delegate rejecting the firm’s argument the patent was not inventive.

The Sydney Opera House is challenging a ruling that denied its opposition to a trade mark application filed by a China-Australia trade association that featured an image of the opera house sails together with the Great Wall of China.

German pharmaceutical giant Boehringer has partially succeeded in its opposition to several vaccine patents filed by animal health company Zoetis, used to treat pneumonia in pigs.