News & Resources

Australian Patent Opposition Extensions of Time: A Review – 24 April 2014 The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 and the Intellectual Property Legislation Amendment (Raising the Bar) Regulation 2013 (No. 1) came into force on 15 April 2013 and updated the Patents Act 1990 and the Patents Regulations 1991, including amendments […]

Further guidance on Australian and New Zealand software patentability – 17 April 2014 This article has been archived. For the most up to date information, please contact our software patent attorney. In September 2013, we outlined conflicting authorities on the patentability of computer implemented inventions under Australian law (Practical guidance on Australian software patentability). Both […]

Q: Are simple mechanical inventions patentable? A: Yes, very often they are. To patent or not to patent is an important decision that should not be based on assumptions about what’s patentable. To qualify for a patent, the ‘invention’ must be sufficiently different from what was previously publicly known. For standard patents, the required difference […]

Is the Global Patent Prosecution Highway the best way to go? – 6 January 2014 The Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) came into effect today, 6 January 2014. It gives anyone interested in patent protection in multiple countries the opportunity to expedite the examination process. The following patent offices are participating in the GPPH: Australian […]

Concurrent Australian and New Zealand patent examination – 1 November 2013 The Australian Patent Office (IP Australia) reports that Australia and New Zealand are one step closer to a single patent application and examination process here. Details of the new process are few and far between. The New Zealand Patent Office (IPONZ) explains “Under the […]

Invalidating secret commercial use or permissible secret experimental use? – 22 October 2013 Key points A new Australian grace period excuses secret commercial use of an invention before the priority date. Beyond this new grace period, secret experiments having some commercial content may not be invalidating if commercial return is not guaranteed. A new grace […]

How to minimise patent costs – 2 October 2013 If you don’t have effective patent protection, others may be well within their rights to copy your new products and processes. On the other hand, effective patent protection comes at a cost. Fortunately, there are some straightforward steps to minimise these costs. Step 1 – To […]