The Free Trade Agreement with Australia

Discovery House, Head Office of IP Australia

Author Bidgee Licence CC BY-SA 3.0 Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

On 16 Dec 2021, the Secretary of State for International Trade signed the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (see the Department for International Trade's press release of 16 Dec 2021). The Agreement had been agreed in principle by the Prime Ministers of the two countries as I noted in The Proposed Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement on 17 June 2021. The full text of the Agreement can be found on the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.

The Agreement consists of a Preamble, 32 chapters of substantive provisions some of which have their own annexes, four annexes and several side letters. The chapters cover:

• Chapter 1 Initial Provisions and General Definitions, 
• Chapter 2 Trade in Goods,
• Chapter 3 Trade Remedies 
• Chapter 4 Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures
• Chapter 5 Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation,
• Chapter 6 Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
• Chapter 7 Technical Barriers to Trade,
• Chapter 8 Cross Border Trade in Services,
• Chapter 9 Financial Services,
• Chapter 10 Professional Services and the Recognition of Professional Qualifications,
• Chapter 11 Temporary Entry for Business Persons,
• Chapter 12 Telecommunications,
• Chapter 13 Investment,
• Chapter 14 Digital Trade,
• Chapter 15 Intellectual Property
• Chapter 16 Government Procurement,
• Chapter 17 Competition Policy and Consumer Protection,
• Chapter 18 State-Owned Enterprises and Designated Monopolies,
• Chapter 19 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,
• Chapter 20 Innovation,
• Chapter 21 Labour,
• Chapter 22 Environment,
• Chapter 23 Development,
• Chapter 24 Trade and Gender Equality,
• Chapter 25 Animal Welfare and Antimicrobial Resistance,
• Chapter 26 Good Regulatory Practice,
• Chapter 27 Cooperation,
• Chapter 28 Transparency and Anti-Corruption,
• Chapter 29 Administrative and Institutional Provisions,
• Chapter 30 Dispute Settlement,
• Chapter 31 General Provisions and Exceptions,
• Chapter 32 Final Provisions.

Chapter 15 consists of 96 articles on intellectual property starting with "Definitions" in art 15.1 and finishing with "Environmental Considerations in Destruction and Disposal of Infringing Goods" in art 15.96.  The Chapter is divided into the following sections:

• A.  General Provisions: includes definitions, objectives, principles, understandings in respect of the objectives etc.;
• B. Cooperation: committee on IP rights, patent cooperation and work-sharing etc.;
• C. Trade Marks and domain names;
• D: Geographical indications;
• E: Patents and data;
• F: Undisclosed data;
• G: Registered industrial designs;
• H: Copyright and related rights;
• I:  Trade secrets; and
• J:  Enforcement.

I shall consider the various provisions of Chapter 15 and how they might affect IP practice in the UK in due course.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form at other times.