Updates in Patent Assessment Procedures
For patent applications that have not been accepted by the 1st of April 2002, the standard applied by examiners for assessing novelty and inventive step will be raised, with the effect that for some applications it will be more difficult to obtain acceptance than under the standard currently applied by examiners.
From the aforementioned date, applicants will be obliged to inform the Australian Patent Office of the results of any searches carried out in Australia or elsewhere by or on behalf of the patent applicant or the applicant’s predecessor in title, for the purpose of assessing the patentability of an invention disclosed in the Australian specification or a corresponding application in another country.
Applicants should treat this obligation as extending to the results of all searches carried out by Patent Offices. Failure to provide search results to the Australian Patent Office will make an amendment to a patent non-allowable, if the purpose of the amendment is to remove a ground of invalidity arising from information contained in the search provided to the Australian Patent Office.