Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I thank members for their contributions to the debate. In preparing this bill, the government heard from many stakeholders in the designs industry, including designers, design owners, industry groups and their representatives. They had many different perspectives and interests, but they were united in their passion for creating great designs and sharing them with the world. This bill will support Australians working in design-intensive industries and give designers confidence to create new and innovative products, knowing their creative investment will be protected and rewarded. This bill will improve the registered design system to support this important sector. These reforms will clarify and simplify the registered design system, reduce red tape and give more designers more flexibility when seeking intellectual property protection.

This bill responds to a report by the former Advisory Council on Intellectual Property that considered the effectiveness of the design's system in stimulating innovation and its impact on economic growth. This will deliver benefits for Australian designers, improving confidence and certainty to stimulate investment in design innovation. Thanks to the input from designers, industry groups, intellectual property practitioners and other experts, I'm confident that we have struck the right balance between the needs of designers, third parties and the broader public.

This bill will implement a grace period that will allow designers to apply for protection for up to 12 months after a design is disclosed, preventing any loss of rights. It will align Australia with our major trading partners, making it easier for our designers to seek protection overseas and encouraging international designers to bring their work to Australia. Along with this, the bill will also include a prior use infringement exemption to protect those who start using or preparing to use a design in good faith during a designer's grace period. The bill will also allow exclusive licensees to enforce the rights that they have paid for, as is already the case for patents, trademarks and plant breeders' rights, and reflects that when an exclusive licence is granted that can be in circumstances where the design owner is based overseas may be less willing to pursue an alleged infringer in Australia. The bill will also extend the current innocent infringer defence to cover the period between filing a design application and registration as well as streamline the design's application process and the process for updating designed application filings.

The Australian designer sector contributes greatly to our economy. This bill will deliver a more fit-for-purpose design and a design right to support and stimulate design activity in Australia. I commend the bill to the House.

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