In a landmark change to Australian patent law, the High Court introduces the doctrine of exhaution. This decision will open the door for greater competition in the spare parts aftermarket. It is clear that the owner of a patented-product is entitled to modify or repair the product.

What does this mean for you?

We are pleased to provide you with a summary of patentable subject matter in Australia. We hope this short guide will help you in patent filing in Australia.

To avoid a 33%-50% increase in official fees for patent applications in New Zealand, one should endeavour to do the following before 13 February 2020:

1) File a new patent application with a complete specification.

2) Request for examination or re-examination.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has set a precedent for U.S. patents with its decision in Nuvo Pharmaceuticals v Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Inc., which offers guidance on the written description of patents.

In 2001, the innovation patent system was introduced in Australia to provide a “second tier” of protection. Innovation patents are distinct from standard patents in that they have shorter terms (eight years rather than twenty) and are designed to protect inventions that do not satisfy the inventive threshold required for standard patents. Rather than protecting a brand-new invention, the innovation patent protects an incremental advance on an existing invention.

Australia’s innovation patent system may be phased-out as early as July 2018.

Before the innovation patent system is abolished, potential patent owners should use this system to its fullest. We recommend that all innovation patent applications are filed as soon as possible to take advantage of protecting your IP under this low cost, low threshold registration system.