The Gatherer Volume 6

EDITORIAL TEAM

CEO MESSAGE I ’m thrilled to share the latest

REBECCA HEMBLING Marketing & Business Development Manager rebecca.hembling@wrays.com.au

JESSICA LAVILLE Business Development Consultant jessica.laville@wrays.com.au LOUISA TAYLOR-BOND Graphic Designer, Reflect Design louisa@reflectdesign.com.au

Slightly further afield, one of our senior patent attorneys, Phil Burns, asks what Brexit will mean for patent protection in Europe? Phil delves into the consequences of the UK’s possible withdrawal from the European Union from an intellectual property standpoint – specifically looking at the positive and negative impact of Brexit on patents, and their patent-holders, currently operating in Europe. This edition also includes a wonderful contribution from our friends at PwC who, through their Nifty Grants program, provide some fantastic tricks and tips for Australian startups and small businesses to help with finding, applying and complying with government grants and incentive programs. Regardless of your business-model, I encourage you to turn to their contribution to this edition of the Gatherer – Government Grants & Incentives to Power up your Business. Pioneer, our podcast series for serious innovators, continues to play a strong role in connecting industry with the minds of some of industry’s finest. In this edition, we bring you a transcript of my recent interview with Shaun Sumaru, Founder of CARDEALS2ME, who transitioned from car dealer and dealership owner to the challenging and exciting life as an entrepreneur. I encourage you to turn to this publication, or download the podcast from our website, for an illuminating and enjoyable insight into how technology can shake up a very traditional industry.

Finally, with the rapid evolution of technology that is unfolding before us, it was inevitable that computerised products would be developed to support and enable products and processes in the financial sector. Unfortunately, from a patenting perspective however, finding new and inventive aspects to these products so that the creators can protect their intellectual property is incredibly difficult. Ryan Boe identifies the difficulties facing entrepreneurs seeking patents for tech products in the financial sector. With so much happening in the intellectual property landscape, I hope that this publication brings to light some of the exciting trends we’re observing – or that you’ve discovered something new. As always, if you’d like to be part of our Pioneer series or contribute content or ideas for future editions of The Gatherer, please contact a member of our editorial team – they’d love to hear from you.

edition of the Gatherer with you – our regular flagship publication developed by our thought leaders especially for our clients. The Gatherer seeks to provide you with the most relevant insights and news into the ever-changing intellectual property landscape, both here in Australia and across the globe. In this edition, we bring you insights, perspectives and information across a range of topics spanning the intellectual property landscape written by our technical experts, covering proposed legislative changes, the ramifications of Brexit in the UK and the strategic significance of freedom to operate searches (FTOs). An FTO is an extremely useful, and yet chronically underutilised, tool for gathering information – bearing a strong resemblance to a reconnaissance mission! Andrew Mullane explains that, when effectively used, an FTO not only enables you to scope the field of competitor development, but it can also provide guidance on where to direct your own R&D work and help you to anticipate – and hopefully avoid! – problems down the track.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Message from our CEO

RYAN BOE Senior Associate ryan.boe@wrays.com.au PHIL BURNS Senior Associate phil.burns@wrays.com.au ALBERT FERRALORO Principal albert.ferraloro@wrays.com.au TIM FRANCIS Principal tim.francis@wrays.com.au CHRIS JUHASZ Principal chris.juhasz@wrays.com.au ANDREW MULLANE Senior Associate andrew.mullane@wrays.com.au ROBERT PIERCE CEO robert.pierce@wrays.com.au Guest Contributor BRENDAN WHITE Senior Grants Incentives Specialist at PwCs Nifty Grants brendan.white@pwc.com

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In the spotlight with Albert Ferraloro

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Parallel imports – changes coming

10 Government grants & incentives to power up your business 12 Freedom to operate searches 16 Flogging a dead horse – Fintech Patenting 18 PIONEER: Putting the power back 24 The IP Perspective with Chris Juhasz 26 The impact of BREXIT on UK & European patents 31 WHAT’S ON: Calendar of Events 2018

ROBERT PIERCE CEO T +61 8 9216 5115 robert.pierce@wrays.com.au

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