SLE761 Research Planning: Deep Dive into the Australian Patent System

This report examines the Australian Patent System, focusing on the innovation patent established in 2001 to stimulate innovation among small to medium enterprises. It discusses the Patent Acts 1990 (Cth) administered by IP Australia and Australia's compliance with international agreements like WIP and TRIPS. The analysis covers the benefits of patents, including the ability to manufacture products exclusively, license inventions, and sue unauthorized users. It also differentiates between standard patents (20 years) and innovation patents (8 years). The report further explores the conditions under which a patent is beneficial, such as outweighing commercial returns, lessening IP theft risks, and maintaining invention secrecy. It touches on provisional applications, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications, and the importance of legal counsel. The conclusion emphasizes careful consideration of all factors before pursuing a patent.

AUSTRALIAN PATENT SYSTEM
Student’s Name
INTRODUCTION
The patent law is a law that that
governs the granting of temporary
monopoly on invention use,
publication exchanges, use of
invention after a certain time for free.
This follows the Patent Acts 1990
(Cth) under which the patents are
administered by the commonwealth
government agency, IP Australia.
Being that Australia is a member state
of the WIP (World Intellectual
Property Organization) and also
under compliancy of the Agreement
on Trade – Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS),
then patent law in the country is
comparable to that on other major
countries.
Types of patent laws
There is the standard patent law
which has a term of 20 years.
There is also the innovation patent
has a lower inventiveness threshold
and lasts for a maximum of 8 years.
The database is kept under the
management of the Australian
Intellectual property office.
The system through which patents are
granted is based on the British law.
History has it that patents were issued
by the governor of the colony before
establishment of legislature in all
Australian colonies.
Course:
It also enables trading partners to gain
incentives to provide rights and thus
protecting export of products
oversees.
But why choose a patent.
It is considered a right option if:
A products or service potential for
commercial returns outweighs the time,
energy and effort placed in getting and
maintaining a pattern.
The monopoly offered by the patent
lessens the risk of intellectual property
(IP) theft in the markets.
The resources are available to manage the
patent
There is a thorough search to reveal that
there are no similar products, services r
technology
You have managed to own the invention
by keeping it a secret.
Only then can a patent be considered
beneficial and the most appropriate form
of protection.
However, many business and entrepreneurs
have shied away from it due to the amount
of energy and time used in managing the
patent let alone acquitting it.
There is a provisional application that
gives out the possible priority date which
established if the applicant is the first
person to file for the invention and still this
doesn’t not protect the invention fully. It
only offers protection for an year and then
one has to consider other options or go
ahead with the patent application.
There is also the issue with read ups to
understand the policies that are dictated for
inventors. More to that, Patent Cooperation
Treaty (PCT) application for business
people who are thinking of expanding the
business. The procedure is quite expensive
in terms of legal fees as one requires an
attorney in increasing chances of success.
CONCLUSION
Its therefore important to consider things
carefully and slowly.
Review of the Patent System
The innovation patent that was established
in 2001 in order to stimulate innovation in
Australia's small to medium business
enterprises, was created so as to protect the
low level inventions that failed to meet the
standard patent protection and weren’t
covered by the design legislation.
Back in 2011, ACIP was asked to investigate
the effectiveness of the innovation patent
system in the innovation stimulation of
Australian.
After reviewing issues papers an option
papers and also conducing intensive
consolations, it was possible to set options
of reforms for the IPS (Innovation Patent
System).
This enabled more information to be availed
on the IPS and a comprehensive analysis of
the economic impact of the IPS has enabled.
There have been recommendation to review
the IPS and incorporate phases to the system
as part of the Intellectual property laws
Amendments (Productivity Commission
Response Part 1 and other Measures) Bill
2018.
ANALYSIS
There has been questions raised into the
benefits and necessity of the patent.
This is due to the fact that if an invention is
publicly spoken about without filling for a
patent for it, then it may not be possible for
the patent to go through.
Benefits of patents
Through APS new inventions are set up for
earnings and generations of a lot of money
as a patent enables:
A person to be able to manufacture a
product and stop others from owing it
without permission of the owner.
It gives the owner the right to license
someone to manufacture his or her
invention as greed upon in legal
constrictions.
It also gives the owner right to sue any
person using the license without
permission.
It also encourages Australians to continue
researching and to develop innovative and
new products by exploiting the resources
availed, advances in technology an transfer
of technology and knowledge between
countries.