News & Resources

Strategic implications of changes in Australian Patent Office delays – 17 September 2013 The Australian Patent Office has an extraordinary backlog of patent applications to examine and has recently provided an update of the expected examination timeframes. The update is reproduced below. The backlog arises due to a large number of requests for examination filed […]

Construing the (almost) un-construable – 16 September 2013 Recent authority[1] continues the Australian tradition of refusing to hold claims invalid for lack of clarity. This authority nonetheless demonstrates: lack of clarity can lead to non-infringement; the role of the skilled person’s common general knowledge in claim interpretation; and that Australian Courts “try to give effect […]

Practical guidance on Australian software patentability – 16 September 2013 This article has been archived. For the most up to date information, please contact our software patent attorney. The patentability of computer-implemented inventions under Australian law has been clarified by two recent Federal Court decisions[1],[2] providing comparable examples of what is and is not patentable. […]

Stopping copycats – protecting innovation from imitation – 20 February 2012 Innovation in Australian manufacturing is often left open to copying when it shouldn’t be. Australian manufacturers and their engineers can be too modest. All too often they consider their new products and/or processes to be simple or “nothing special” rather than recognising them as […]