Landmark copyright case - iiNet

The iiNet case is finally over with the High Court upholding the Full Federal Court decision that iiNet is not liable for the copyright infringing actions of its customers.

Background:
The film studios and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) claimed that iiNet was in breach of section 86 of the Copyright Act by authorising their users of their internet services to communicate infringing material to the public online.  Apparently authorisation was said to occur when iiNet failed to suspend or terminate its customers' accounts, which would block their access to its services, upon notice by the AFACT of copyright infringing conduct.

iiNet responded that it could not be inferred that it was authorising the actions of its customers, by acting to suspend following receipt of the AFACT notices. The trial and Federal Court judgments were conflicting so AFACT and the film studios appealed to the High Court for resolution...

Most people think Intellectual Property is only Patents.  IP is patents, trade marks, copyright, know-how...   Copyright is important and valuable across all disciplines.

Feel free to contact UWS Innovation with any questions your might have.You can also email us: ip@usw.edu.au

UWS Sculpture Award 2012

Last Friday, the UWS Vice Chancellor Prof. Janice Reid opened the biannual University of Western Sydney Sculpture awards and announced the winner, Louisa Dawson for her scupture New Arrivals. The VC phoned Ms Dawson in London during the opening ceremony to tell her the exciting news.
The sculpture awards have become a real  cultural event in the Campbelltown region. More can be found at http://virtualtours.uws.edu.au/sculptureaward/sculptureaward2012#audio. Excerpt below:
 The campus landscape - open space, rolling hills, lakes and vegetation - is an ideal setting to display large outdoor sculptures. The UWS Sculpture Award showcases major works by significant Australian artists, some of whom have created sculptures especially for the University's Campbelltown Campus.
The UWS Sculpture Award and Exhibition aims to establish closer links between the University and artists, and engage with the community by providing a valuable educational and cultural resource, as well as enhancing the campus environment for teaching and learning.

If you are interested with engaging with UWS for Innovations and access to leading researchers please contact as at UWS Innovation ip@uws.edu.au .

StartupHouse: Aussie Entrepreneur in Silicon Valley

While passing through San Francisco on the return trip from the AUTM conference in March, Fiona Cameron, Associate Director Innovation at UWS, had the pleasure of meeting Elias Bizannes at the still- in-development StartupHouse buildings.

Over coffee at a local cafe Elias shared his story with me and his enthusiasm to make a difference in the world through entrepreneurial ventures. Elias is a Sydney boy and has already enjoyed silicon valley success with the StartupBus program. Elias is working tirelessly to set up the bare bones of StartupHouse in San Francisco, and it should be launching soon as the lean mean location to catapult tomorrow’s entrepreneurs into “overnight success” or at least provide guidance to head in the right direction.

Elias’s enthusiasm is catching and he kindly agreed to the short video attached. If you tossing around whether or not to start out with your big idea, have a look at the video and it should excite you to get out and do it! Follow the link to NSW Government and you might even be eligible for some support. http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/assistance-and-support/grants/business/startuphouse

UWS Innovation is keen to support innovation and
entrepreneurship at UWS ip@uws.edu.au.

Knotty Problems

Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Associate Professor Andrew Francis from the School of Computing and Mathematics is using mathematical modelling to explore biological systems. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council.

‘Mathematics has made numerous significant contributions to our understanding of the evolution of biological systems,’ says Associate Professor Francis. ‘Both algebra and biology have developed at an unprecedented pace over the last 30 years. The structural approach at the core of algebra has long found applications in sciences such as physics and analytical chemistry but only in a limited way, so far, in biology. I will be modelling DNA cutting and rejoining as operations in an algebraic setting. The goal is to enable scientists to address certain specific biological problems in new ways, provide new tools and ways of thinking for biologists, and bring new problems in algebra to the mathematical community. In turn, this could lead to a better understanding of such problems as cross-species infections, and the development and proliferation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.’

The research will use algebraic methods such as knot theory and group theory to develop models of evolution in bacteria, the dominant form of life on our planet. These models will allow scientists to understand the evolutionary processes giving rise to the richly diverse genetic structures we observe today. Such processes cannot be studied directly in the laboratory because the time scales are too long. Mathematical methods using the latest genetic data provide a way to address these questions. Developing accurate models that explain the present diversity may also help to predict the consequences of specific genetic changes in bacteria, and has the potential to affect the way we do both algebra and biology.
This research will demonstrate new ways in which computational and mathematical power can be applied to novel questions in living systems. Algebraic methods can give biologists novel ways to deal with large amounts of data in the study of evolution due to genetic mutations.
http://www.uws.edu.au/computing_mathematics

if you are interested in engaging with UWS researchers, licensing opportunities www.uws.edu.au/innovate  and UWS Innovation contact us on ip@uws.edu.au.

Western Sydney insect infestation

Dr Markus Riegler from the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, together with Blacktown City Council have been awarded a UWS Research Partnership grant to identify the key characteristics of the current psyllid infestation in the endangered remnant Cumberland Plain Woodlands.

‘Eucalypts in the endangered remnant Cumberland Plain Woodlands throughout Western Sydney are currently experiencing massive infestation by lace lerp insects, Australian native insects in the family of Psyllidae (Hemiptera),’ explains Dr Riegler. ‘In large numbers, these insects cause defoliation through their plant sap feeding activity on leaves and repeated infestations is likely to also result in tree mortality. Information about the population dynamics of the current psyllid infestation will be collected in the affected woodlands of Western Sydney, in particular of the Blacktown City Council, in order to predict future development and to help with design of management strategies.’

The research team will first assess the geographic expansion of the infestation using vegetation maps and climatic events that have occurred in the region over the last 5 years. We will identify and characterise the lace lerp species and study life history traits such as developmental times, reproductive potential and number of generations per year. We will test the host plant specificity on the Grey Box, Eucalyptus moluccana, measure plant physiological and biochemical traits in order to obtain an understanding of their stress status. We will look for variation in lace lerp population densities between individual trees within and between stands with different canopy cover and understorey.

The research will provide information about the lace lerp outbreak and the monitoring data obtained will be used to test different management options for the recovery of lands affected by lace lerps.

If you would like to find out more about research and innovation at UWS contact us ip@uws.edu.au.

"Man Up" Project

Professor Gregory Kolt from the School of Science and Health and Professor Anthony Maeder from the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics are part of a large team undertaking research into men’s physical activity and nutritional behavioural change. This project is supported by the Department of Health, Queensland.

‘Health and well-being is clearly linked to the everyday life and work experiences of all men and is becoming an increasingly important issue,’ says Professor Kolt. ‘Interventions delivered via the internet have emerged as a novel and popular promotion strategy with the potential for wide population reach, and could be a way to engage hard-to-reach groups such as middle-aged men. Although social media with a high degree of interactivity can be effective in communicating and producing behaviour change by promoting physical activity and healthy nutrition to the general population, the newer generation of web-based applications, including social networking websites, need to be studied to determine their effectiveness in terms of participant engagement and retention in physical activity and nutritional behaviour change.’

Based on a systematic review of current literature, this project will develop tailored e-health support materials for 2nd generation web-based applications including mobile-phones. These "apps" will be integrated into a community-based and supported intervention. Interest in workplace health and wellbeing on the part of community consortium members will provide an important conduit for the dissemination phase of the project which will take place after completion of the trial phase and involve the development of marketing plans to engage organisations in the launch of the program.

Health promotion programs can improve health and wellbeing, decrease medical and disability costs and reduce absenteeism from work. Increased general good health and fitness also improves mental alertness, morale and job satisfaction.

If you have an interest in working with top academics at UWS contact us at ip@uws.edu.au

The Research Consortium: Central Queensland University (administering institution), University of Western Sydney, the Australian E-Health Research Centre, and the CSIRO Centre for Human Nutrition. The research team is also supported by a variety of research, industry, government and non-government agencies.

Raising the Bar; IP changes for Researchers

Australia’s Patents Act 1990 will be changing for the better for researchers...

An Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2012 was passed by the House of Representatives 20 March 2012. The Bill will now be assented to (signed by the Governor General).  Most provisions will come into effect 12 months later (in 2013).

The Bill includes several significant reforms, the most important is a research exemption which will allow researchers to conduct experiments on patented matter without risking infringement (N.B. this is research only, doing more than research with your new findings may need agreement with another party or there could be new results/findings which could be protected and commercialised).

The other major reform is tightening the conditions for granting new patents.  This will align Australian patent law more closely with international standards.

The Bill also simplifies IP application processes, streamlines patent and trademark procedures and improves trademark and copyright enforcement.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact UWS Innovation on ip@uws.edu.au.

Remember, if you are a UWS researcher and believe you have an invention, we would like to hear from you. (http://www.uws.edu.au/innovate/innovate/guidelines,_policies_and_forms)