Voxson Pty Limited v Telstra Corporation Limited (No 2)

Voxson Pty Limited sought leave to amend its statement of claim against Telstra Corporation Limited in a dispute over alleged patent infringement. The Federal Court was tasked with deciding whether Voxson should be granted leave to amend its pleadings and whether Telstra's application to strike out the amended statement of claim should be successful. The primary legal issues were whether the iterative process of amending the pleadings had rendered them futile, whether the claims regarding the infringement of a "system" were clear, and whether particulars of loss and damage were adequately provided.

The Court held that Voxson should be granted leave to amend its pleadings, noting that the iterative process did not make the pleadings futile. The court found that the claims regarding the infringement of a "system" were sufficiently clear, and while particulars of loss and damage were required, the timing of their provision could depend on whether the issue of liability was first addressed. The court also directed that Voxson specify the parts of the applicable standards it relied upon to prove its case on infringement. The court noted that Telstra's concern about the rolled-up paragraphs did not result in a lack of clarity of pleading.

The Court granted leave to Voxson to file the final proposed amended pleading and directed the parties to confer on the further conduct of the proceeding. The court also ordered that Voxson provide particulars regarding the receipt of licence fees. The costs of the strike-out applications and the costs of Voxson's application for leave to amend the pleading were addressed separately in the costs decision. The final orders included granting leave to Voxson to file the amended statement of claim by a specified date and directing the parties to discuss and notify the court of their agreement on proposed orders regarding the further conduct of the proceeding.