There is a growing awareness in Australia that current laws are inadequate to protect the increasing industrial application of biotechnology. To overcome these difficulties there is a need for co-operation both nationally and internationally. The Biological Control Act 1984 (Cth) and the Patents Amendment Act 1984 (Cth) are indicative of a trend towards this end.
The Biological Control Act 1984 (Cth) involves co-operation between the Commonwealth and the States to overcome gaps in the Commonwealth's power, while the Patents Amendment Act 1984 (Cth) involves international co-operation under the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-organisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedures 1977. Whereas the Patents Amendment Act 1984 (Cth) extends and secures the patent protection available for biotechnological inventions, the Biological Control Act 1984 (Cth) aims to protect certain scientific endeavours from undue interference from the law itself.
