IP Litigation and dispute resolution

Our experienced team assists a wide range of Australian and overseas clients with all types of intellectual property litigation and dispute resolution covering all areas of IP.

Experience and expertise

Our team has extensive experience in the techniques necessary to manage complex multi-party, multi-jurisdictional intellectual property disputes.

We advise on:

• infringement and validity disputes for trade marks, designs and patents, covering all areas of industry and technology.
• common law reputation based claims, trade practices and competition (anti-trust) claims, copyright infringement disputes and appeals from Patent Office and Trade mark Office decisions.
• anti-counterfeiting and border control measures, matters involving domain names and the protection of confidential information.
• all stages of a dispute, from protection and enforcement strategies, to initiating proceedings, negotiating settlements (including by the use of alternative dispute resolution) and conducting trials and appeals.

Our Team

Davies Collison Cave’s IP law group includes some of Australia’s most experienced and awarded intellectual property practitioners, including partners widely recognised as among the best patent lawyers in Australia:

• Richard Jarvis has been ranked in the “Top 20 Best of the Best” patent lawyers in the world by Euromoney Legal Media Group (2000) and brings over 29 years experience on some of Australia’s most prominent IP litigation to the firm.
• Ian Pascarl was recognised in the recent “Australian Financial Review” survey of Australia’s 100 Best Lawyers. Ian’s stature is reflected in his ranking as one of Australia’s leading IP experts by Asia Pacific Legal 500, Legal Media Group Expert Guide and Chambers Global 2007. Ian is recognised as a leading individual in the PLC – Cross Border Handbook 2008 for IP Litigation and Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Patent Law Practitioners 2007. As Chairman of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Law Council of Australia, Ian is at the cutting edge of Australian IP law reform and policy development.

View all staff in DCC’s IP Law group »

Our Services

Intellectual Property Protection

Davies Collison Cave Law can assist you to effectively protect your intellectual property rights including:

• Patent Protection
  Davies Collison Cave provides a comprehensive range of patent protection services.
• Trade mark Protection
  Davies Collison Cave provides an extensive range of trade mark protection services.
• Copyright Protection
  Copyright protects literary works, including computer programs, artistic works, dramatic works, musical works, films and sound recordings. Our practice covers traditional and emerging rights in the copyright field. We have specialist expertise in the areas of information technologies, software, art, film, design, digital copyright and digital rights management.
• Customs Seizure Notices – trade mark & copyright
  We advise on protection strategies, implementation and enforcement of border-control and anti-counterfeiting measures.
• Designs protection
  Design registration in Australia protects the overall appearance of a product resulting from one or more visual features of that product. Davies Collison Cave can assist with all aspects of design protection.
• Protection of Plant Breeder’s Rights
  Plant breeders rights (PBRs) protect new varieties of plants by allowing exclusive commercial rights to market a new variety or its reproductive material. Davies Collison Cave can assist with all aspects of PBR protection.
• Confidential information protection
  We specialise in advising on strategies to identify and protect your intellectual property, by recommending protection strategies and arrangements for maintaining your confidential information.
• Domain name protection
  Domain name registration can be an important part of branding and business strategies. We can assist with registration and transferrals of domain names. Our practitioners are experienced in domain name dispute resolution.

Enforcement of intellectual property rights

Davies Collison Cave Law can assist you at all stages of your IP dispute. Our team has extensive experience in obtaining urgent injunctive relief, in managing large-scale IP litigation, in engaging in complex multi-jurisdictional and multi-party proceedings and in a range of alternative dispute resolution techniques.

We use specialist litigation software to assist with document management and electronic trial management. This can be particularly useful for our overseas clients who are monitoring legal proceedings remotely.

Davies Collison Cave Law offers a full range of IP enforcement services, including:

• Patent infringement, trade mark infringement, copyright infringement and design infringement litigation, including running proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia (including in the Fast Track List), the Federal Magistrates Court, State Supreme Courts and appeals to the Full Federal Court and High Court of Australia.
• Patent and Design revocation / invalidity disputes.
• Trade mark removal / cancellation including non-use proceedings.
• Passing off litigation.
• Litigation involving misleading and deceptive conduct, false representations, competition law, anti-trust and similar actions under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).
• Appeals from decisions of the Trade marks Office, Patent Office and Designs Office.
• Wine law and geographical indications litigation.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

We understand that litigation is not the only way to resolve an IP dispute. We look at the most cost effective strategies, including mediation, to help bring your dispute to a speedy and commercial resolution, with the best possible outcome. Members of our team are trained mediators accredited to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the International Trade mark Association (INTA), the Law Institute of Victoria, the Supreme Court of Victoria, and LEADR.

Our Clients

Davies Collision Cave Law represents a broad range of Australian and international clients. The multi-disciplinary nature of our team enables us to understand our clients and to tailor our advice to meet their specific needs. Our clients include:

• leading local and international pharmaceutical, chemical, biotech and energy companies;
• leading domestic and international manufacturers in the medical device, automotive, agricultural, construction, mining and petroleum industries;
• start up technology ventures as well as international software developers and multinational telecommunications providers;
• well known local and international fashion houses, clothing and footwear brand owners;
• local and international food and beverage manufacturers;
• leading researchers and research institutions;
• leaders in the entertainment industry;
• leading local and international banks and financial institutions

Get in touch to discuss your needs

If you’d like to take advantage of Davies Collison Cave’s IP commercialisation, litigation and dispute resolution expertise, we encourage you to contact us so that we can discuss your needs.