Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent information activities and expected time frames for their realization
EPO MoU - IP Australia and the European Patent Office (EPO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2015 on bilateral cooperation. Cooperation activities under the MoU are wide-ranging and include reciprocal access to patent information and the establishment of a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programme between the two offices. These activities are aimed at improving the global IP system to support applicants and encourage innovation. The MoU also encompasses a pilot project for IP Australia to gain experience in the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) and cooperation to ensure the interconnectivity of Global Dossier and WIPO CASE to allow reciprocal access to patent related dossier information.
Regional Patent Examiner Training (RPET) – Two intakes of RPET have completed the program with 21 participants successfully graduating. The program, which was launched in 2013 with eight examiners from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has expanded to include Thailand and Vietnam. The RPET program has allowed the concept of competency based training to be integrated into the way the participating countries deliver their patent examiner training. This work has been supported by ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA Economic Cooperation Work Program (AANZFTA ECWP) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as well as the participating offices involved. In addition to the planned three intakes RPET has been expanded to include a fourth intake which commenced in April 2016 and is due to be completed in 2018. The RPET program is achieving significant change in all of the participating countries, with countries reporting that they are reviewing aspects of their searching, report writing, quality and training practices.
New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description: aims, partners, tasks
IP Australia is continuing to– liaise with New Zealand in the development of Single Economic Market (SEM) proposals and legislative amendments. The Bill passed through the Australian Parliament in February 2015. An equivalent Bill was introduced into the New Zealand Parliament in November 2015. Public consultation on proposed regulations for Trans-Tasman Patent Attorney Regime and models for Single Application Process and Single Examination Process is ongoing.
Note: On 13 July 2016 a Select Committee of the New Zealand Parliament recommended that the SAP and SEP elements of the New Zealand Bill not be passed. IP Australia is waiting for the New Zealand Parliament to decide whether or not to accept the recommendation.
Main areas of patent information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year
The RIO (Rights in One) programme is a body of work currently being undertaken by IP Australia in an effort to build a system to manage workflow and IP right cases based on user centred design methodology. The RIO programme will see IP Australia harmonise its IP Rights through process re-engineering, simplification of technology and processes and legislative requirements.
Statistics: changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year; trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
2014:
Patent applications filed = 25,947 (including NPE and direct applications)
Patents granted = 19,304
PCT designations = N/A*
2015:
Patent applications filed = 28,605 (including NPE and direct applications)
Patents granted = 23,098
PCT designations = N/A*
*(note all states were automatically designated for PCT filings from 1 January 2004)
The increase in patent applications is largely due to increased non-residents NPE applications that can, in part, be attributed to the America Invents Act. Total 2015 filings from the United States increase by 19% when compared to 2014, to 13, 781 applications.
The effects of the IP Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 that took force in 2013 impacted on the number of patent granted as response time for overcoming objections was reduced from 21 months to 12 months under the new Act. This created an overlap of the end of response time for the new and old Acts in 2015.
Other matters and useful links (URLs): annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.
Latest news is featured on the home page of IP Australia's website:
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/about-us/economics-ip
http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/ols/auspat/quickSearch.do
Information and support provided by the Office to applicants regarding filing on paper and/or e-filing (instructions, seminars, etc.) - URLs
IP Australia’s third party Contact Centre provides a central contact for customers to obtain information about a wide range of Intellectual Property issues. Customers contact the Centre via telephone, and online enquiry form with around 95% of matters of a general nature solved at the first point of contact.
Increasingly, IP Australia is using its website as a means of providing an alternative means of public access to these services. Patents can be searched by external clients via AusPat.
IP Australia has implemented a system to support business-to-customer (eServices) data exchange of patents, industrial designs and trade marks transactions. This system provides a platform for IPA customers to interact electronically with our office. As such traditional modes of filing and communication, such as fax, have been decommissioned.
IP Australia has recently implemented a system to support business-to-business data exchange of patents, industrial designs and trade marks transactions with its high volume clients (Patents and Trade Mark Attorneys). This system will be consistent with WIPO electronic filing and National e-commerce standards.
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/get-the-right-ip/eservices/
General information
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents
Publications and forms
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/tools-resources/patents-forms
and
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/tools-resources/patent-journals
http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/ols/epublish/content/olsAvailablePatentPDFs.jsp
Examiners Manual
http://manuals.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/Patent_Examiners_Manual.htm
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/understanding-patents/patent-basics
Availability of the application dossier in electronic form
Patent application dossier is available through eDossier. This is accessible via IP Australia's front facing search system AusPat.
http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/ols/auspat/quickSearch.do
Bibliographic data is captured and held in an oracle database with Java Interface. Updates occur nightly i.e. on a 24 hourly basis.
Classification1, preclassification2 (if applicable), reclassification3 activities; classification systems used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing of patent information
Patent applications are classified into the latest edition of the International Patent Classification. As of 1 January 2006, IP Australia implemented the use of IPC 8 (reformed).
IP Australia no longer reclassifies Australian designated PCT applications at the open for public inspection stage.
Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents
Examiners redraft applicant prepared abstracts of non-PCT national applications when they are found to be deficient to an extent that they are unable to fulfill their function. The abstracts of PCT national phase applications are not reviewed as these have been thoroughly evaluated in the international phase.
Other activities
No comment is made here.
The number of patent documents published in 2014 in the Australian Official Journal of Patents (AOJP) was:
* patent applications open to public inspection (AU-A) = 7,175
* patent applications advertised accepted (AU-B) = 24,262
Note:
The AU-A figure includes standard patent, and innovation patents made open to public inspection (OPI) either pre-grant or at grant. [Does not include National Phase Entries.]
The AU-B figure includes standard patent acceptances and innovation patent certifications.
Official notices and changes to office procedures are published in the AOJP.
These Official notices, and many other patent related notices (including the manual of practice and procedure), are also put directly on the IP Australia website under the Patent notices section.
The supplement to the Australian Official Journal of Patents may be found at:
http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/ols/epublish/content/olsAvailablePatentPDFs.jsp
Information on IP Australia’s Bulk Data Products can be found at:
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/about-us/doing-business-us/bulk-data-products
IP Australia uses commercial search tools EPOQUE, STN and GenomeQuest to search databases such as EPODOC, WPI, full text patent databases and many non-patent literature databases. Additionally, many free patent and non-patent literature databases available on the internet are also searched.
Australian patent specifications are made available through Bulk Patent Specification e-data.
The Office continues to receive foreign patent specifications on CD-ROM and DVD. The following databases and information are available through the IP Australia website:
AusPat (free of charge):
This search system contains bibliographic and status information about patent applications filed in Australia from January 1979. In some cases, details of patents filed before January 1979 are also available. AusPat also contains International Patent Classification information for the majority applications from 1920; IPC version 8 has been applied to applications filed from 1970.
Subscription-based mailing lists:
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/about-us/news-and-community/stay-informed
See "In House Systems" and above.
Other sources
No comment is made here.
Current standard desktop software includes Microsoft Windows 7 with Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus.
Infiniti a document generation tool has been deployed to semi-automate report generation using templates
The Office's publication system provides the following functions:
The other part of the Office's publication system is mainframe based and produces:
Hardware used to support business processes of the Office
IP Australia has on-line filing facilities for patent applications which allow all new patent applications, as well as all other patent related requests, to be filed electronically. These on-line filings interface directly to IP Australia's electronic case file management system, PAMS, which allows these applications to be processed electronically. The AusPat search system provides public access to a range of the bibliographic data and text of full specifications held in PAMS.
IP Australia uses commercial search tools EPOQUE, STN and GenomeQuest to search databases such as EPODOC, WPI, full text patent databases and many non-patent literature databases. Additionally, many free patent and non-patent literature databases available on the internet are also searched.
See Section “In-house systems” and “Information products and patent document collections” for this information.
IP Australia’s Head Office has an Ethernet-based LAN providing high speed bandwidth for each user desktop connection. A DMZ-based, ASD approved firewall using IAN ports (Internet IEFT Assigned Numbers) provides the secure means to allow access from internal systems/users to external entities such as the Internet or public/private organisations.
IP Australia's Home Based Workers and Out-posted Workers supplied with IPA hardware connect using Windows machines with Citrix Receiver – they have access to a Virtual Desktop that is supplied using Citrix XenDesktop . They also have the option to use published applications provided by Citrix XenApp. All of the Citrix infrastructure runs on VMWare vSphere sitting on Dell x86 Hardware. Users connecting using their own hardware may use a variety of devices, however, they still have access to a Virtual Desktop that is supplied using Citrix XenDesktop and have the option to use published applications provided by Citrix XenApp.
The current SOE includes Windows 7 with Office 2010 Professional Plus, IE 11 and Microsoft Outlook.
No comment is made here.
The primary business system is the Unix / Java application PAMS which runs in an environment which includes Sun Solaris, Oracle RDBMS, J2EE, BEA Weblogic, and Objective EDMS. IP Australia is in the process of transitioning its major business applications from the mainframe to our strategic server infrastructure environment.
Full specifications of all non-PCT designated AU-A and AU-B patent specifications are available on the website AusPat.
AusPat is IP Australia's customer facing search system that contains bibliographic and status information about patent applications filed in Australia from January 1979. In some cases, details of patents filed before January 1979 are also available. AusPat also contains International Patent Classification information for the majority applications from 1920; IPC version 8 has been applied to applications filed from 1970.
Updates to the website information about all non-PCT designated AU-A and AU-B patent specifications occur on a weekly basis.
Updates to the website information about patents bibliographic data occurs nightly.
Australian patent specifications are made available through Bulk Patent Specification e-data.
Australian bibliographic data is made available in XML format through the Bulk Data product.
The Office continues to receive foreign patent specifications on CD-ROM and DVD.
No comment is made here.
See "In-house Systems" and "Information products and patent document collections"
No comment is made here.
No comment is made here.
All Australian Patents records/documents are handled in accordance with Office procedures set down under Australian Law and archiving practices.
(No comment is made here – the title above will not appear in the report).
Australian Patents data is searchable on the EPOs Espacenet:
http://www.epo.org/searching-for-patents/technical/espacenet.html#tab1
Information services are available on the IP Australia website:
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/
IP Australia provides lots of useful links and topics on a wide range of business procedures and patent information external to IP Australia through navigation of our website.
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/
Use of external software including:
Additionally IP Australia has several multi-lingual examiners acting in the additional capacity of providing document and abstract translation.
To support the relationship with the Export Council of Australia, IP Australia has developed a range of international fact sheets available online to assist Australian businesses when approaching a global market.
The suite currently includes fact sheets for China, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, European Union and the USA. We are currently undertaking a review of the fact sheets and will work with our international IP office counterparts to ensure their ongoing value.
For 2015-16 our partnership with the Export Council of Australia continues and our body of work involves collaborating on a range of content including web and various publications and communication activities, cross-promotion through digital channels (in particular social media channels) and support of events, programs and speaking opportunities, to assist Australian businesses when exporting.
IP Australia has continued to team up with CPA Australia, an accounting body with more than 150 000 members, to deliver a long-term, tailored information campaign to help accountants understand the benefits of identifying and protecting IP assets.
A new Intellectual Property section on the CPA Australia website is now live and consists of a landing page as well as a general technical issues page which contains the reworked Q&As from the two live chats.
IP Australia has continued to engage with Engineers Australia; Australia’s peak Engineers professional forum. There has been an increased focus on utilising national media channels to disseminate IP educational messages and information.
IP Australia has conducted a number of workshops aimed at helping start-ups and small businesses understand the basics of IP before starting a business. With content focussing on patents and trade marks, as well as general IP management considerations, twenty workshop sessions were hosted around Australia in capital cities and regional centres. Future program enhancements will include refinements to the content to address specific industries such as digital products, or specific business needs such as expansion into international markets including China.
Future managers and leaders look set to be more IP-savvy following IP Australia’s successful bid to have IP included in core units in a new Diploma of Leadership and Management in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.
University IP Seminar Series:
The purpose of these seminars is to partner with universities to provide an annual lecture on IP that is entertaining and engaging. As part of IP Australia’s University Research and Commercialisation Plan, a number of initiatives have been identified to increase IP education and awareness within the higher education sector.
One of these initiatives is to deliver a series of TEDx style events with:
• A compelling narrative – a message that people want to share;
• Well-rehearsed engaging presenters who don’t need notes;
• Minimalist, graphically designed slides;
• A live webinar and Q&A Twitter hashtag for the virtual audience; and
• Flexibility to accommodate the needs of the host university.
In 2015, IP Australia partnered with the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to pilot the TEDx format. This event was a success and provided the impetus for IP Australia to formalise a program of TEDx events as part of the agency’s University Research and Commercialisation Plan. The first of these was held in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
Titled Clever Commercialisation: the value of IP in collaboration, the TEDx event held at UTS aimed to attract researchers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, policy makers and investors to join a conversation about innovation, commercialisation and entrepreneurship. The event was very well received, with a lot of delegate and speaker interaction on IP and collaboration and innovation more broadly.
Videos of each presentation are available on IP Australia YouTube Channel.
IP Australia has partnered with Questacon and the CSIRO to deliver intellectual property workshops to talented and emerging young entrepreneurs.
This is the principal forum for consultation, discussion and information exchange on IP matters with the attorney profession and industry.
To commence next year, the IP Summit will be an annual event which draws together attendees from industry, academia, the IP profession and government to discuss and share information on IP issues of strategic importance.
The EVP was established to provide engagement opportunities between IP Australia’s Executive and senior representatives from industry associations and private enterprise IP rights filers. By engaging proactively with these stakeholders, through IP Australia initiated consultations, the agency can demonstrate its commitment to seek out views and opinions on IP matters of strategic importance.
IP Australia has continued to deliver its indigenous engagement program through the highly successful Dream Shield banner. However, a revised indigenous engagement plan has been developed during 2015/16 that has resulted in closer cooperative ties with peak indigenous business support agencies. In addition, improved penetration of IP educative messaging via the increased use of digital media channels has been endorsed for 2016 and beyond.
State-based events targeted a diverse range of business and industry sectors including SMEs, students, researchers and exporters.
The IP Australia website (www.ipaustralia.gov.au) has 2 million visits per annum and is the front door to IP Australia’s digital information and service transactions. It plays a critical role in educating and supporting our customers and facilitating transactions with the agency. In April 2016 the website was redeveloped and relaunched featuring a new information architecture (structure), design, content and user tools. Extensive user research and feedback informed the redevelopment process to ensure the site continues to serve customer needs.
The IP Toolkit was launched in September 2015 to provide information and resources to help establish the terms for managing and using IP in collaborative activities. The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS) and IP Australia jointly developed the IP Toolkit.
The IP Toolkit has three parts – (1) guides with important information such as tips and case studies, (2) tools such as checklists and a term sheet, and (3) model contracts. This information is packaged into PDF documents and hosted on Business.gov.au.
To better meet the needs of the user, IP Australia has been working with DIIS to enhance the content and usability of the toolkit.
IP Australia expects these changes to be completed early in the 2016-2017 financial year.
Social media allows IP Australia to enhance our corporate reputation and interact with our key stakeholders and react to situations in a timely and transparent manner.
As part of our continued efforts to improve and increase IP Australia’s presence on social media channels, consistent with the IP Australia External Communication Strategy 2015-2018, we are undertaking a series of online advertising campaigns through the Government’s dedicated media and advertising agency, Mitchell AdCorp to raise public awareness of IP rights.
Our agency has added value to customer communication with its active social media presence. With more than 5 social media accounts and over 9,500 followers collectively, our agency is seeing an increase in online engagement and building more meaningful relationships with customers, influencers and other relevant stakeholders.
IP Australia’s eServices and B2B channels are the agency’s customer electronic lodgement platforms:
There are currently over 125,000 registered eServices users.
There are currently 14 customers that have integrated the B2B software into their case management network.
Since the release of these platforms in 2013, IP Australia’s customer base has significantly changed its lodgement behaviour. There is currently a 98% uptake of the electronic platforms. During the concept and build of these platforms, the agency had envisaged an 80% take-up in the two-three years succeeding their release. These aims have been well exceeded as of early 2016.
In September 2014, IP Australia introduced electronic patent correspondence for eServices and B2B customers. This major release represented a first for the agency and assisted us to further streamline our processes and reduce our reliance on physical resources such as paper. Subsequent releases in 2015 has seen the vast majority of Patent, Trade Mark and Design correspondence (including IP Rights certificates) transition into electronic formats and submitted to customers by way of either the Online Service or B2B channel. Customer feedback has been positive about this improved functionality.
Additionally, the agency is currently trialing the inclusion of ‘meta-data’ within the individual correspondence files. This initiative was developed from customer feedback (specifically from IP Professionals) as a response to their requests with efforts to completely streamline electronic correspondence concerning their IP Rights.
In August 2015, IP Australia extended the electronic correspondence capability to include electronic patent certificates for our customers. All customers who transact with us via our preferred online channels will now receive patent certificates electronically via eServices or B2B.
ePCT is now our preferred channel for filing PCT applications and associated requests.
ePCT is a WIPO online system that permits Receiving Offices (RO), International Authorities and registered customers access to the latest bibliographic data and documents on file at the International Bureau (IB). It also allows registered users to upload electronic documents relating to an international application directly into the IB's processing system.
Using the ePCT system, you can submit online requests for different actions to be performed and view the most up-to-date bibliographic data and documents contained in the international application, including those that have not yet been published. It also gives the registered user additional functionality to manage roles, portfolios and receive notifications in accordance with their PCT needs and preferences.
Other benefits for using the ePCT system include:
ePCT currently at 50% uptake with external customers. A ePCT Payment facility is not available at this stage, however, WIPO is expecting to offer this functionality in the future.
Full specifications of all non-PCT designated AU-A and AU-B patent specifications are available on IP Australia’s website, and are updated on a weekly basis.
Australian patent specifications are made available through Bulk Patent Specification e-data.
Australian bibliographic data is made available in xml format through the Bulk Data product.
Certified copies of Australian patent applications for use as priority documents in foreign applications are provided in paper form. Priority documents on which Australian applications are based are required in paper form. Priority documents can also be provided in electronic form using the WIPO DAS service.
IP Australia has on-line filing facilities for patent applications which allow all new standard patent applications and innovation patent applications to be filed electronically. IP Australia also accepts applications filed in paper form.
The Vancouver Group (VG) was established in 2008 and is made up of the IP Offices of Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The VG aims to:
Through working together in a smarter, more collaborative way, the VG aims to better meet the needs of innovators and users of IP.
The current priority of the VG is the patents-related work. This led to the development of the VG Mutual Exploitation Initiative where the three offices rely on each other’s searches and examination reports where substantially similar applications are filed in more than one office. The VG offices agreed in July 2009 to implement the Mutual Exploitation initiative.
More recently, the Vancouver Group Offices have been working together to develop a combined approach to patent quality. In 2014, the VG offices agreed to a pilot program for independently auditing one-another’s work. The heads of the VG offices, in early 2015, agreed to proceed with a continuation of the audit program, reviewing different areas of technology in turn.
The Vancouver Group and WIPO developed the Centralized Access to Search and Examination (WIPO-CASE) System that enables patent offices to securely share search and examination documentation related to patent applications in order to facilitate work sharing programs. WIPO CASE has been linked with the JPO’s One Portal Dossier (OPD) system giving participants access to a greater range of data.
Other improvements include scalable security, more shareable document types and better notification services.
This multi-office exercise aiming to identify documents produced and data collected/created, and what data can be shared with other IP Offices, at each stage of the patent life cycle was completed in 2015. The gathering of this information is intended to help paint a picture of an abstracted patent prosecution process at various jurisdictions, and identify work-sharing opportunities at various stages of the patent cycle. This information can be exploited to progress cooperation in various channels, including the Multi-Office ICT Road Map group and the Group B+ ‘Worksharing via ICT’ Work Stream.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) standards in the field of industrial property information and documentation are an essential enabler for international cooperation. Standardization efforts have resulted in 51 WIPO Standards, Recommendations and Guidelines related to patents, trade marks and industrial designs.
These WIPO Standards facilitate the harmonization of practices by IP offices regarding electronic data processing in respect of the procedures for filing, examination, publication, granting and registration of industrial property titles.
WIPO Standards also facilitate the international transmission, exchange, sharing and dissemination of industrial property information (text and images), as well as the access to and retrieval of this information.
The International ICT Cooperation Team is actively participating in the development and maintenance of a number of these standards through their involvement in the Committee on WIPO Standards (CWS) and its Task Forces, including:
IP Australia is leading the Group B+ work stream towards achieving work sharing, specifically mutual-exploitation, within Group B+ through the use of Information Technology (IT).
In 2009, the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand agreed to accelerate efforts towards trans-Tasman regulatory integration as part of the Single Economic Market (SEM) agenda. The SEM IP outcomes include a single trans-Tasman regulatory framework for patent attorneys, and single trans-Tasman patent application and examination processes. These aim to provide increased efficiencies and potential cost savings for inventors and users of the IP system in both countries.
Under the proposed single examination process (SEP), patent applications for the same invention will be examined by a single examiner in either country. The regime will take account of the separate national laws and will lead to separate patents in Australia and NZ. SEP will reduce duplication, leading to savings in time and money for patent applicants.
The single application process (SAP) will make applying for patents more efficient. Under the SAP, applicants will be able to file applications for national standard patents or PCT national phase entry with either IP Australia or with IPONZ, pay a single fee and provide a single address for service, and have these applications take effect in both countries.
Note: On 13 July 2016 a Select Committee of the New Zealand Parliament recommended that the SAP and SEP elements of the New Zealand Bill not be passed. IP Australia is waiting for the New Zealand Parliament to decide whether or not to accept the recommendation.
RPET is a modern, comprehensive and intensive competency based online training program which is based on IP Australia’s existing training framework, with a focus on search and examination according to the PCT standards. A Virtual Learning Environment provides access to online RPET resources, enables remote and real-time delivery of training (via virtual classrooms) as well as collaboration among participants located in different countries and across different time zones.
The objectives of RPET are to:
RPET has seen 21 participants from two intakes from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Kenya and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) successfully complete the program and graduate. There are two more intakes (total of 29 trainees) from the above countries currently progressing through the training. The RPET program has also been successful in promoting further quality and improvements in these countries with several countries trialing multi-person search teams and investigating the IP Australia Quality system with a view to implementing a quality review system of their own. Many of the countries have also started to use the RPET training as a basis for their own in-house patent examiner training. This work has been supported by ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA Economic Cooperation Work Program (AANZFTA ECWP) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as well as the participating offices involved.
IP Australia has also been cooperating with the European Patent Office (EPO) under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the development of a network of ASEAN trainers. This work complements the RPET program and aids in the development of in-house training capability in the ASEAN member states. The development of in-house training capability will enable a broader reach for the RPET material to be delivered.
Through the WIPO Funds-in-Trust theme of developing the IP system, IP Australia has supported the following activities in 2015:
- PCT Roving Seminars for Universities (South Africa March 2015);
- Training on PCT and ePCT for ASEAN countries (Singapore March 2015);
- WIPO Australia National Workshop on Patent Drafting and use of Patent System (Indonesia May 2015);
- WIPO Australia Advanced IP Marketing and Valuation Training Program (Philippines June 2015);
- National Workshop on Copyright and Related Rights (Cook Islands April 2015);
- Sub-regional workshop on Copyright and Development for Decision Makers (Fiji, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu January 2015);
- National Seminar on Copyright and Related Rights (January 2015);
- Continuation of Hosting Arrangements for African Biomedical Scientists in research facilities outside Africa (United States October to December 2015);
- Development of national IP Strategies – Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Myanmar; and
- Capacity building – Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal (through a Memorandum of Understanding) and India (DAISY Starter Kit).
No comment is made here.
Patents Act:
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A04014
Patents Regulations
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/F1996B02697
Annual Report
Refer part C –Chapters 12-17 for information on IP Australia)
Latest news is featured on the home page of IP Australia's website:
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/
Subscription-based mailing lists:
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/about-us/news-and-community/stay-informed
IP Australia’s new website. Any links to the previous site will be redirected to the new home page. Please contact IP Australia if you need assistance.
1.Classification is allotting one or more classification symbols (e.g., IPC symbols) to a patent application, either before or during search and examination, which symbols are then published with the patent application.
2. Preclassification is allotting an initial broad classification symbol (e.g., IPC class or subclass, or administrative unit) to a patent application, using human or automated means for internal administrative purposes (e.g., routing an application to the appropriate examiner). Usually preclassification is applied by the administration of an office.
3. Reclassification is the reconsideration and usually the replacement of one or more previously allotted classification symbols to a patent document, following a revision and the entry into force of a new version of the Classification system (e.g., the IPC). The new symbols are available on patent databases.