Intellectual Property & Technology

Protecting your ideas and technology developments

Our Intellectual Property & Technology team advises national and international clients on complex intellectual property and technology issues.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property (IP) is hot property. And if possession really is nine-tenths of the law, you’ll want a fiercely capable and highly knowledgeable legal team helping you protect it.

New developments, ideas and prototypes need the right IP protection to stand a chance at becoming a commercial success. IP is a highly complex and dynamic area of law, spanning many areas of commercial activity and legal regimes. At the very least, you need experienced and innovative specialists with a finger on the pulse of every new development.

We’re not just lawyers. The background and skill of the individuals in our team is as diverse as the cases we work on—we’ve also been locally and internationally recognised for many years for our success in some of our more interesting and complex matters.

We’re proud to work for the Australian Commonwealth, state and local government agencies, as well as leading organisations from the chemicals, manufacturing, retail, apparel, creative arts, FMCG, engineering, Defence, IT and hospitality industries.

We manage and prosecute IP portfolios, including large-scale national and international trade mark and designs portfolios. And we’re tenacious when we need to be—enforcing, defending and challenging IP rights through Federal Court litigation, cease and desist letters, lodging complaints with technology service providers, ADR and domain take downs.

We understand the processes and offer strategic advice on protecting IP rights through IP registration, IP policy and non-disclosure agreements. We represent clients in procedures for protecting valuable confidential information and trade secrets, including in the Federal Court.

Joint ventures, corporate restructuring and sales require IP assignments and licences drafted, so we’ve got that covered, too. We prepare and review IP research and development, collaboration and commercialisation agreements, including patent and technology licensing—leaving no stone unturned.

Technology

Keeping pace with the technology evolution is no easy feat. That’s where our Technology team comes in. Our team helps clients navigate complex legal, regulatory and commercial issues relating to technology transactions, data sharing, data security, privacy, consumer data rights, digital marketing, electronic signatures, industry-specific regulations and emerging technologies.

And there is no one size fits all when finding the right solutions. We understand the commercial risks and drivers on both sides of technology transactions across a range of industries and markets, including the Australian Commonwealth state and local government agencies, global and Fortune 500 companies, banking and financial institutions, information technology, community and aged care, and healthcare.  

Clients turn to us for our expertise and grounded, holistic approach to technology contracting and data law because we can assist them from start to finish. For example, our team provides advice in the planning stages of technology transactions such as requests for tender, or responses for requests for tender, and during the tender and contract negotiations. Once executed, we develop the required policies and procedures, and then provide training to support contract managers to comply with the terms of the contract.

We have experience with the full technology spectrum when it comes to technology transactions including systems integration, cloud services, outsourcing, managed services, consulting services, software, support services, and telecommunication services.

Consumer Data Right, My Health Record, and privacy laws, as well as cyber security incidents are just some of the data protection and data sharing issues we help clients tackle.

Electronic commerce is yet another factor we work with clients to navigate, including advising on electronic signatures, the Spam Act, and the Do Not Call Register Act.

Technology transactions and transformation projects often involve emerging technologies too. We’re there every step of the way when dealing with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, quantum computing, augmented reality, internet of things, and tele-medicine.

Data Security Series

1. Introduction – Putting Data Security in context [09:15]

People often associate “Data Security” with complex technical requirements and confusing legal concepts. Understanding the basics of Data Security is important in our day-to-day lives and as part of the organisations we work within. Through this video series, Sparke Helmore will demystify some of the key legal concepts associated with Data Security, and empower you to recognise and call out data security risks!

2. Data Security Series in context: Personal Information [13:17]

This video explores Personal Information in the context of data security, as well as upcoming privacy reforms. We also discuss privacy issues with proposed “vaccine passports” in response to COVID-19.

3. Data Security in context: Health Information [11:02]

Our IPT team discuss how Health Information is regulated by privacy law, upcoming law reforms, as well as the privacy concerns posed by using QR codes for COVID-19 contact tracing.

4. Data Security Series in context: Consumer Data Right [9:11]

The Consumer Data Right allows consumers to share their data between service providers of their choosing. Here's an introduction to the regime, what it aims to achieve, and how consumers and organisations alike can navigate it.

5. Data Security Series in context: Data Breaches [9:17]

Data breaches can affect every business. In this video, we discuss what a data breach is, how to respond to a data breach, and potential notification obligations.