About AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications

AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications as of 24 July 2008

Disclaimer The Commonwealth and its officers will not be liable for errors or omissions in the material or data on AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications or for any consequences arising from such errors or omissions, including any loss which may be incurred as a result of reliance on the accuracy or completeness of the material or data. AU-A, AU-B and AU-C Patent Specifications are lengthy (40 pages on average but can be 100's of pages) and are in image (not text) format. Depending on speed of access to the Internet, it is likely that they will take considerable time to display and/or print. AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications Patenting is a well accepted business strategy for protecting innovative technological developments. Australian standard patents are first published (AU-A publication level) as unexamined patent applications prior to consideration of whether the application can be accepted for a patent grant. If the application is accepted, the patent is republished as an AU-B level publication. A comparatively small number of patents are first published when accepted. The accepted patent may be subsequently amended and republished again as an AU-C level publication. Australian innovation patents, however, proceed to grant without being examined, provided they meet certain formalities requirements, and are published as AU-A publications. However, an innovation patentee cannot sue for infringement unless the granted patent is examined and certified. Certified innovation patents appear as AU-B publications AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications provides access by patent application number. Where the relevant standard patent applications were filed before 5 July 2002, access can also be by accepted patent numbers. This allows access to the full patent specification (in image form) of published Australian patent applications (AU-A), accepted Australian patents (AU-B) and amended Australian patents (AU-C). If the AU-A Patent Application was filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), you will be referred to the European Patent Office's esp@cenet web site to access the document by the corresponding WO publication number. AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications is published weekly at the same time as the Australian Official Journal of Patents and the AU-A and AU-B on CD products (see below). AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications are provided as image form pdf documents and include AU non-convention non-PCT available from 1975 AU-A available from 17 December 1998 to present AU-B available from 17 December 1998 to present If you locate a relevant Australian patent document, you may need to determine whether the patent application or patent is still in force. Standard patents have a maximum possible life of 20 years (extendable up to 25 years in particular circumstances) while petty patents have a maximum possible life of 6 years. Innovation patents have a maximum life of 8 years. To remain in force, standard patents must be maintained by the owner by payment of an annuity. You can find out whether an Australian patent is still in force by enquiring on Patent Administration Mainframe Database if the standard application was filed before 5 July 2002 or inquiring of Patsearch if it is an innovation patent or a standard patent application filed from 5 July 2002 or contacting IP Australia by telephone on (02) 6283 2999 or 1300 65 1010. It is recommended that professional assistance (such as from a patent attorney and/or a commercial search service provider) be obtained before significant business decisions are made based on published patent documents or if assistance is needed in searching Australian or world wide patent documentation or in interpreting the results of patent searches. All major Patent Offices, including Australia, classify patent applications according to the technology of the invention using the International Patent Classification (IPC). The IPC has about 67,000 subdivisions. The IPC is accessible on the Internet web site of the World Intellectual Property Organisation at http://classifications.wipo.int/fulltext/new_ipc/index.htm AU-A on CD-ROM, AU-B on CD-ROM IP Australia also publishes the AU-A, AU-B and AU-C Patent Specifications weekly on AU-A on CD-ROM and AU-B on CD-ROM. More information on AU-A on CD-ROM and AU-B on CD-ROM is available from the IP Australia Document Sales & Subscriptions Items page. FURTHER HELP For assistance with using AU-A, B, C Patent Specifications, please contact the AU Patent Specification Help Desk by email on assist@ipaustralia.gov.au or by telephone on (02) 6283 2999 during the hours of 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (Canberra time).