Intellectual property and scientific research

This paper discusses the availability of intellectual property protection for ideas and research. The main regimes discussed are copyright, patents and confidential information, although designs may also be relevant. The law in this area depends largely upon internationally agreed standards of protection and, in recent years, the Australian legislation has been amended to take account of international conventions and as a result of the formation of the World Trade Organisation. Although the legislation is detailed and highly technical, this article attempts to give an outline of the broad conceptual bases of protection and highlight the relevant threshold criteria. On the whole, it is not possible to protect ideas alone, and only specific categories of subject matter will gain legal protection.