Australian Innovation Patents
Innovation patents have been phased out and could be filed only until 25 August 2021. This does not affect the validity of existing Innovation patents.
General Information
| Examination | Optional, at any time before or after grant. Innovation Patents must be examined and certified before any enforcement action can be taken. |
| Term | 8 years from the date of filing the specification (or the International Filing Date in the case of PCT Applications). |
| Maintenance/renewal Fees | To maintain either a pending application or a granted patent, annual maintenance fees must be paid from the second anniversary of the filing of the complete specification (or from the International Filing Date in the case of PCT applications. The grace period is six months, subject to payment of an additional monthly fee. |
| Novelty | Absolute novelty i.e. novel with respect to anything made available to the public in any form, anywhere in the world, before the priority date, subject of the following exceptions:
- There is a 12 months grace period for filing a complete specification, if the information relating to the invention has been made publicly available by or with the consent of the patentee or the patentee's predecessor in title.
- Public working within one year of the filing date by the patentee or a person authorised by the patentee, providing the working was for the purpose of reasonable trial and the nature of the invention was such that it was reasonably necessary for the working to be in public.
- Information given by the patentee or patentee's predecessor in title to the Commonwealth of Australia or a State or Territory or to a person authorised by the Commonwealth, State or Territory to investigate the invention.
- Publication within 12 months before the priority date without the consent of the patentee, as a result of publication or use of the invention by a person deriving knowledge of the invention from the patentee or patentee's predecessor in title.
- Publication of the invention in a paper written by the inventor, read before a learned society, unpublished by or on behalf of the society with the consent of the inventor; providing an application is filed within six months of the first such reading all publication.
- Display/use with the consent of the inventor at an exhibition recognised by the Commissioner, and any subsequent publication of the invention, providing the application is filed within six months of the date of the exhibition.
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| Innovative Step | Applications are examined for innovative step, based on the prior art base and the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art. The threshold is lower than "inventive step". |
| Request for Examination | Is optional and may be requested before or after grant. (See "Examination" in the previous section) |