Nintendo Company Ltd v Centronics Systems Pty Ltd

Nintendo Company Ltd sought special leave to appeal from a decision of the Full Federal Court concerning the interpretation of the Circuit Layouts Act 1989 (Cth). The dispute involved the application of the Act to acts done before the commencement of Part II of the Act, specifically in relation to circuit layouts and integrated circuits. Centronics Systems Pty Ltd was the respondent.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was the proper construction and effect of section 7 of the Circuit Layouts Act 1989. This section deals with the application of the Act to circuit layouts made before the commencement of Part II, and crucially, whether it bars the remedy or the right to bring an action for infringement. Related to this was the question of whether, if section 7 bars the remedy, this defence must be pleaded by the defendant.

The applicant argued that section 7 operates as a limitation of actions provision, barring the remedy but not the right. They contended that the majority of the Full Federal Court erred by construing sections 19 and 20 in a limited manner or by failing to recognise that, as a limitation defence, the point under section 7 should have been pleaded by the defendant. The applicant submitted that if section 7 merely bars the remedy, then the defendant bore the onus of raising this defence, and its failure to do so meant the Court did not need to definitively determine the proper operation of section 7.

The High Court considered whether the matter was of sufficient public importance to warrant granting special leave to appeal, noting that the issue appeared to be a transitional one with potentially limited impact beyond the immediate case. The Court ultimately did not grant special leave to appeal.