By Alison McMillan PhD Australian Patent law has a requirement not found in other major patent jurisdictions. A patent applicant is obliged to disclose “the best method known to the applicant of performing the invention”. Failure to do so is a ground of refusal or revocation. Background Section 40(2)(aa) of the Patents Act 1990 requires […]
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By Alison McMillan PhD and Christy Grobbler PhD Power change: Women in innovation and creativity World Intellectual Property day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in 2000 to “raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life” and “to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to […]
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By Jack King-Scott PhD Patent Basics – A quid pro quo deal The patent system is built on the fundamental quid pro quo deal of exclusive monopoly rights over an invention in exchange for full disclosure of the invention. Of course, this deal generally falls over when an applicant (or inventor) publicly discloses his or […]
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By Clinton Priddle We often get asked whether or not you can patent an idea. While the question may seem simple, to be able to answer it correctly generally requires more detailed consideration, not least because different people often have different views as to what constitutes an idea. Before jumping into some examples, however, it is […]
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THE PATENT OFFICE SAYS YES TO A COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED METHOD By Alison McMillan PhD On 28 March 2018, the Patent Office issued a decision in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. [2018] APO 24 (Bio-Rad) that held that a computer implemented method for a quality control strategy for medical diagnostic devices to be patentable subject matter or a […]
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By Wayne Slater We are pleased to report that the Australian government plans to abolish innovation patents has been taken off the table for the time being at least. When the Intellectual Property Law Amendment Bill was introduced into parliament on 28 March the section dealing with the abolition of the innovation patent was omitted. […]
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By Christy Grobbler PhD Filing a standard patent application is a first step towards obtaining patent protection but it doesn’t end there. In order to obtain enforceable protection, an application needs to be examined and accepted before proceeding to grant. Only once a patent has been granted and is in force is it able to […]
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By Christy Grobbler PhD Granted Australian patents only protect inventions within Australia. For inventors seeking protection for their invention outside Australia, there are options available. Is there an international or worldwide patent? An international or worldwide patent does not exist. Foreign patent protection is only available in the form of one or more national patents. […]
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