Back to Information page Patents
A standard patent, once granted in Australia, gives the patent
owner a monopoly to exploit the invention for the term of the patent.
In return, the government, through the Patent Office (part of IP
Australia), requires from the patent applicant:
- filing of a complete patent specification which describes the
invention sufficiently to allow others to understand and implement
it, including the best method known to the applicant of performing
the invention, and includes one or more claims which clearly define
the scope of the monopoly and are fairly based on the disclosure
in the patent specification;
- that the invention relate to the types of technologies which
are patentable e.g. relates to technical matter rather than to
aesthetics, pure mathematics, mere plans or schemes;
- that the invention as defined in the claims be new and inventive
(for a standard patent) or innovative (for an innovation patent)
over what was known and used before and has not been secretly
used;
- that the person or company to be granted the patent is the
inventor or has entitlement from the inventor; and
- fees for filing the patent application, for various steps in
gaining grant of the patent and for keeping the patent in force.
The maximum term of a standard patent is 20 years from filing of
the complete specification, up to 25 years for pharmaceuticals,
or 8 years for an innovation patent. Some petty patents, with 6
year terms, are still in force from previous legislation.
By filing of a provisional application describing the invention
you may delay filing of the complete specification by up to 12 months.
The contents of the patent specification become available to the
public at IP Australia 18 months from the earliest "priority
date" for a standard patent and upon grant for innovation patents.
These records may be viewed at the state sub-branches of IP Australia
for searching purposes.
Filing of a patent application establishes a "priority date"
for matter adequately disclosed in the accompanying provisional
or complete patent specification. The newness and inventiveness
of the invention are judged as of the priority date of that patent
claim, so it is essential to have at least a provisional application
filed before making any non-confidential disclosure about your invention.
Since April 1 2002, Australia has allowed a grace period of 12
months prior to filing of the complete patent application against
disclosure by the inventor. However, the grace period should be
regarded as a backup only, as third parties may develop a similar
invention independently or may gain rights to continued use of the
invention, and the right to protect in foreign countries may be
lost.
If the patent specification has not been professionally prepared,
we recommend that you seek professional advice before making any
non-confidential disclosure of your invention as inadequacies in
the specification may not be able to be corrected later on.
An Australian patent covers Australia only. If you wish to protect
your invention in other countries, you need to file application
in the countries of interest.
Australia is a member of international agreements allowing Australian
patent applicants to file patent applications in foreign countries
within 12 months of the first Australian patent application while
retaining the original priority date, with reciprocal rights for
foreign patent applicants. Australia is also a member of the Patent
Co- operation Treaty (PCT) which provides the route normally used
for filing such foreign patent applications.
The typical time period for gaining grant of a standard (20 year)
patent in Australia is 3-5 years, including examination of the patent
application by IP Australia. For innovation patents, grant occurs
quickly without examination, but examination must be carried out
before an innovation patent can be enforced.
For further information on the Innovation Patent system, click
here (link to innovation patent
newsletter).
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