By Barry Eagar of Eagar & Buck – Patent + Trade Mark Attorneys
Barry Eagar is a patent attorney with Eagar & Buck in Brisbane, Australia. Barry co-founded the firm in 2001, which specializes in assisting Australian and international clients in the software and electronics industries. In 2006, Barry delivered a presentation to the ABA IP Section on Australian patent practice. In June this year he was on the panel of an LSI seminar on "Multi-lateral Patenting" held in San Francisco.
Introduction
The authors of the Australian patent system are generally quite responsive to calls from interest groups. Heeding such a call, they introduced the Innovation Patent in 2001. The goal was to provide a simple, low cost route to relatively easy patent protection. In this article I explain how the Innovation Patent together with our flexible system for Divisional Patent Applications can provide enforceable rights as broad and as effective as standard patent rights even before national phase entry.
The Australian patent system also holds some advantages for those troubled by pending or existing patent rights, where expensive litigation is to be avoided. It is possible to notify the Examiner of relevant prior art or to have a granted patent re-examined. These can be useful tools to narrow the scope of, or even invalidate a pending or granted Australian patent.
From Filing to Acceptance
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