Patents

• Industrial design rights


  Cover those elements of a product that are aesthetic or ornamental – the way it looks and feels
• Industrial design rights


  • New and show a degree of originality or individuality/meaning that it is not identical or very similar to any previous design
  • Must be capable of being produced industrially, so unique artworks are not covered
• Industrial design rights


  1. Must apply

  2. Hague system

  3. 5 years – can be renewed again
• Purpose of Patent


  • Inventive vs Monopoly. Stops monopoly from occurring in the long-run.
  • Allow the inventors to make money back before the patent expires.
• Patents


  • Protect inventions - new or an improved device, method or process
  • Provide the patentee with a legal monopoly - an exclusive right to stop others doing the same thing
  • The deal – granted in exchange for fully disclosing the invention - must be novel, inventive and have utility to be patented
• Pending patent applications are normally published about 18 months after the earliest priority date
• Patent term


  • Maximum 20 years from filing date (standard patent) - provided renewal fees are paid in each country
  • Some provisions for term extension in the pharma space
• A patent is granted on a patent application once the application has been examined
• A patent is an enforceable right – e.g. can be used to stop someone from working your invention
• A patent application may be undergoing examination, so the scope of the monopoly is not yet known
• • It is possible in Australia to oppose the grant of a patent on an application ('pre-grant opposition')
  • Europe and the US have post-grant opposition-type proceedings
• Patentability


  • Novel (i.e. new)
  • Inventive (non-obvious)
  • Useful
  • Claim scope is reasonable
• Patent Specification


  Claims - The important part of a patent specification, define the scope of the monopoly sought or granted, in words, are examined by a patent examiner (in each country under different laws), are amended during examination to deal with any issues raised by an examiner, are what a potential infringement is tested against
• Novelty


  Newness - An invention is taken to be novel unless it is not novel in the light of the prior art - A citation is part of the prior art base for the purposes of novelty if it was published before the priority date of the claim - Also consider information made available by the doing of an act done before the priority date of the claim
• Inventive step


  Obviousness - Invention is to be taken to involve an inventive step when compared with the prior art base unless the invention would have been obvious to a person skilled in the relevant art in the light of the common general knowledge as it existed in the patent area before the priority date of the relevant claim, whether that knowledge is considered separately or together with a single piece of prior art information or a combination of any 2 or more pieces of prior art information that could be reasonably expected to be combined - The test is whether the hypothetical addressee faced with the same problem would have taken as a matter of routine whatever steps might have led from the prior art to the invention, whether they be the steps of the inventor or not
• Due diligence


  A term used for a number of concepts, typically involving either an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract
• What you can't patented?

  • Non-eligible subject matter
  • Non-useful inventions
  • Obvious inventions (not inventive)
  • Inventions that are not new - no novelty
  • Inventions contrary to law (illegal)