The Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 has been enacted. It introduces a small number of amendments to Patents and Trade Marks legislation. 

It expands the research exemption in our patents legislation to benefit companies engaged in the pharmaceutical sector in Ireland. This will be done by providing legal certainty on the aspect of immunity from patent infringement where clinical tests and trials are carried out in order to develop new or generic versions of medical and veterinary products, while the derivative products continue to enjoy legitimate patent protection. The new provisions will apply to tests and trials carried out in Ireland for the purposes of getting regulatory approval of the new products anywhere in the world.

The Act also contains some technical amendments to our Trade Marks legislation, to allow Ireland to ratify an international Treaty on Trade Marks adopted in Singapore in 2006. The Treaty aims to reduce red tape by harmonising the administrative procedures of trade mark offices globally.