Craig Smith SC
- Commercial Law Intellectual Property
- Tort Law
Craig has more than 25 years’ experience working in these areas, including more than 15 years at the Victorian Bar. He has a Chemical Engineering Degree (Honours, Owen Potter Award for top graduate, Monash University), and frequently acts in proceedings involving technical and scientific subject matter, including chemistry, biotechnology, pharmacology, materials science, mechanics, electronics and physics.
Craig regularly appears in the
Federal Court, Supreme Court, County Court, Patents Office and Trade Marks
Office.
Before coming to the Bar in 2009,
Craig was a Senior Associate at Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills), and
worked in its litigation and intellectual property groups for 10 years. He also
has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours, Monash University), and a Master of Laws (H1
average, University of Melbourne).
He is recommended in intellectual property disputes in guides including Doyles, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Best Lawyers, and is a member of the Law Council of Australia’s Intellectual Property Committee.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Contact
- P03 9225 6897
- M0418 318 596
- E[email protected]
Owen Dixon Chambers West
Level 18, Room 19
525 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Jane King
03 9225 8558
Expertise
- Competition
- Contractual Disputes
- Insurance
- Professional Negligence
- Confidential Information
- Copyright & Designs
- Patents
- Trade Marks
Qualifications
Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical Engineering) (Hons)
Bachelor of Laws (Hons)
Master of Laws
Victoria
State and Territory Courts and Tribunals
Federal Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
Recent Cases
UbiPark Pty Ltd v TMA Capital Australia Pty Ltd [2024] FCAFC 85, [2023] FCA 885, [2022] FCA 111, acting for technology company to restrain unjustified threats of patent infringement
Jusand Nominees Pty Ltd v Rattlejack Innovations Pty Ltd [2023] FCAFC 178, [2022] FCA 540 acting for patentee in patent infringement and revocation proceedings involving mine safety equipment
Vector Corrosion Technologies Limited v E-Chem Technologies Ltd [2022] FCA 188, patent entitlement case in relation to steel reinforcing corrosion prevention
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA v Intervet International BV [2022] FCAFC 88, acting for the patent applicant in defending an appeal from an opposition relating to a veterinary formulation (trial and appeal)
Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc v Sequenom, Inc [2021] FCAFC 101, (infringement and validity of patent concerning pre-natal diagnosis with cell-free foetal DNA)
Axent Holdings Pty Ltd v Compusign Australia Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 1373, acting for the respondents to a patent infringement proceeding
CSIRO v BASF Plant Science GmbH [2020] FCA 328, acting for the patent applicant in an appeal relating to an amendment in relation to a biotechnology patent application
Seven Network (Operations) Limited v 7-Eleven Inc [2024] FCAFC 65, [2023] FCA 608, appeal from non-use decision
Sportsbet v ArcNames (No 2) [2022] VSC 819, trade mark dispute involving use of domain name, and ACL contraventions
Gen-Probe Incorporated v Beckman Coulter, Inc
[2022] FCA 194, trade mark opposition appeal relating to medical device trade mark (settled post-trial)
Chevron Global Energy Inc v Ampol Australia Petroleum Pty Ltd [2021] FCA 617, relating to use of unregistered colour mark for service station, and trade marks for fuel cards
Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC v Bega Cheese Limited [2020] FCAFC 65, relating to unregistered trade mark rights for peanut butter labelling
Craig has appeared in more than 45 patent and trade mark office hearings, for both applicants and opponents, in relation to a wide range of subject matter, including in particular:
- Biotechnology and life sciences: including cases for BASF Plant Science GmbH, Dow AgroSciences LLC, SPeeDx Pty Ltd, Cargill Inc, Branhaven LLC, Ionian Technologies and Meat and Livestock Australia;
- Pharmaceuticals and chemistry: including cases for Apotex Pty Ltd, Sandoz, Construction Research and Technology GmbH (part of the BASF Group, Dow AgroSciences LLC and Rio Tinto, Berry Films;
- Electrical, physics, mechanical and manufacturing: including cases for Mine Site Technology, Sportsbet, CCL Secure (Innovia), Caterpillar, Fugro Airborne Surveys Corp, Asahi Kasei and Leprino Foods Company.
Craig regularly acts in commercial disputes in the above areas, which has recently included cases involving misleading and deceptive conduct relating to manufacturing equipment, accounting advice, estate agent advice and the supply of defective goods (including diseased animals, products failing and causing fire and welding defects).