Welcome to the AU Patent Specifications site. This site hosts Australian OPI
(Open for Public Inspection), accepted and amended patent specifications in PDF format.
Coverage
- 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
Professional Advice
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.
Numbering Systems
Applications filed after 5 July 2002 (PAMS)
On 5th July 2002, IP Australia launched a new patent system (PAMS) which superceded the
mainframe system (Patadmin). As a result, a new 10-digit numbering system was introduced.
The first four digits represent the year filed, the fifth digit represents the application type
and the last five digits indicate the unique application number.
The fifth digit of the application number indicates the application type:
1= Innovation and 2,3,4 etc = Standard Complete
(Note: The number '9' is reserved for Provisional applications however these are not
uploaded to this site. Please use Patsearch
to search for Provisionals).
Patent applications in PAMS are accorded a 10-digit application number whether they are an
AU-A, AU-B or AU-C document. For example, 2003212345 identifies a Standard patent application
or patent filed in 2003. All Innovation patent applications are identified with the 10-digit
number format.
The 10-digit number also applies to Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications which designated
Australia but which had not yet entered the National Phase when data migration from Patadmin into
the PAMS system occurred on 8 August 2002. However, when searching for OPI specifications for
these migrated PCT applications, it may be necessary to use the 9-digit Patadmin numbering and the
10-digit PAMS numbering options to locate the record.
Applications filed before 5 July 2002 (Patadmin)
Patent applications which were filed before 5 July 2002 have a 9-digit number format
(for example: 199662135 for AU-A specifications) while accepted and amended applications have a
6-digit format (for example: 699752 for AU-B or AU-C specifications).
Search Options
There are 2 search fields available; Patent Application Number and Patent Number.
Patent Application Number should be used when searching on:
- 9-digit number (for example: 199662135)
- 10-digit number (for example: 2003212345)
Patent Number should be used when searching on:
- 6-digit number (for example: 699752)
Exclusions
When viewing an application originally filed in Patadmin (9- or 6-digit number), please note there
are no cross-references to any subsequent PAMS patent applications (10-digit number) which may be
divisional or additional applications of the parent.
Further Information and Search Options
AU-A Patent Applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and linked from this site
are referred to the European Patent Office's
esp@cenet web site to access the document by the
corresponding WO (WIPO) publication number.
Disclaimer
The Commonwealth and its officers will not be liable for errors or omissions in the material or
data on AU 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.
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