In what could set a very dangerous precedent for the protection of intellectual property rights, the Australian government today announced, in what is fittingly described as the "world's most draconian anti-smoking laws," that beginning January 2012 cigarettes will be sold in plain packages prohibiting any use of brand imagery.

If enacted, this proposal would not only usher in a new era of nanny-stateism in Australia, but would represent one of the most serious attacks on intellectual property rights seen in developed countries in recent years.

As I have written previously, plain packaging legislation would clearly violate the intellectual property rights of companies, through forbidding them from displaying their trademarks and thereby differentiating their products on the basis of said trademark. Private property rights ought to be sacrosanct in any democratic country. The right to own and enjoy property is a fundamental part of rights of people, and indeed we consider it an extension of human rights. The protection of property, both physical and intellectual, is critical to economic development, and is the most important guarantee of freedom we have.

Tobacco companies have created significant intellectual property rights through their trademarks, as demonstrated in the significant degree of ‘brand loyalty’ in the market, and plain packaging legislation would significantly erode the value of these property rights. By denying tobacco companies their right to use their trademark to identify their product, this Bill strikes at the very core principles of corporate identity and consumer information that the modern western economies are based upon. As such, it not only violates the legal rights of the companies affected, but furthermore sets a very dangerous principle for the future of a government unwilling to honor or respect intellectual property rights. And this doesn’t even begin to note how important trademarks are to prevent counterfeiting.

Once we accept the premise that a government can strip a company of its intellectual property rights at whim, we embark upon a very slippery slope, with potentially disastrous economic consequences.

The Property Rights Alliance wrote an extensive submission to the Australian Senate on this matter, which you can download

here

.

Tags: BIGSTORY HOT IntProp | Permalink | Comments

The Australian Government is not attacking Trademarks. Australia has a reputation for upholding and strengthening Trademarks, Copyrights and intellectual property (sometimes to the considerable detriment of innovation and technology advancement). However to combat and hopefully extinguish the youth favourable peer review of smoking, that \\\\\\\"COOL\\\\\\\" image that costs the non-smokers of Australia around 2.7 billion(AUD) per annum in increased Health costs is surely worth the loss of a little printing on each packet. Tobacco is an addictive substance that is harmful to the Health of everyone that uses it. Bravo the AU Government for being brave enough to take this unique step in removing the ability for our future generations to make favourable peer reviews about harmful and toxic substances. (An EX-smoker of 16 days and counting.....)
Tom Koltai / Sydney Australia May 3, 2010 3:08 pm

Tom, if your arguemnet is followed through to its logical conclusion then you are asking the government to regulate culture which is just as (if not more) statist than allowing it to regulate property rights. People, yes even teens, make the choice to smoke. As for the increased healthcare cost, well, state-run healthcare is another example of intrusive government. In this case it is imposing the cost of one person\\\'s lifestyle choice on another. Disgraceful.
Assertive Citizen/Lincoln, Nebraska / May 7, 2010 7:50 am

Assertive Citizen, sorry, I've been a little busy with hackers... but I'm back... Interesting you should suggest that even as Teens we have a choice whether or not to smoke. At 15, when I was in a hospital and the guy in the next bed asked me if I wanted a Marlborough, I though I would appear grown up if I said "Yes Thanks". I've been regretting that perr pressure result for 37 years. I disagree with you that 15 year olds know what is good for their future Health. As far as Government deciding what is good for me, I'm afraid they usually mange to disappoint in the long term. But then I guess no-one gets it right every time. In this instance, I believe that only Government legislation can legislate to clean the lungs of future Generations and save our Health services billions in respitory disease palliative care costs. Your argument is that bad companies should be allowed to hawk their wares without intervention. I'm afraid I must disagree. Tobacco is a bad harmful product and needs to be taken out of the "cool" (12-20 year old) peer pressure grouping that it currently resides in. Smoking is not cool. An Ex Smoker of six weeks - who can now climb two flights of stairs without wheezing.
Tom Koltai / Sydney AU May 28, 2010 28:45 pm

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