Australia seeks public submissions on proposed IP amendments
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Australia seeks public submissions on proposed IP amendments

IP Australia is seeking comments on the implementation of proposed changes that will bring the New Zealand and Australia patent regimes closer together

Australa and New Zealand

IP Australia's consultation paper outlines the new system, which would affect not only the regulation of the patent attorney profession but also create a single application process (SAP) as well as a single examination process for those patent applications (SEP).

This particular consultation focuses on the proposed changes for the implementation of the trans-Tasman patent attorney regime that will cover both countries. It also provides a brief overview of the proposed system allowing for filers to submit just one patent application for both countries as well as allow a patent examiner in either Australia or New Zealand to examine the application to determine whether to grant patents for that application in both countries.

Submissions are due February 15 and may be sent to consultation@ipaustralia.gov.au.

Some of the proposed amendments include treating the New Zealand Qualifications Framework as equivalent to the Australian Qualification Framework rather than as an overseas qualification, and reconstituting the current Professional Standards Board for Patent and Trade Marks Attorneys as the new Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board. Proposed transitional changes include allowing New Zealand-registered patent attorneys to register as Australian trade mark attorneys even though New Zealand currently does not have trade mark attorneys as a profession.

The consultation paper notes that there will be a separate consultation on the SAP and SEP provisions.

These proposed changes are part of Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2014, which was introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year and passed on November 24. The bill also received its second reading in the Senate the next day. Compared to the Raising the Bar Amendments which came into effect in April 2013, the changes in this bill are relatively minor.

In addition to this consultation, IP Australia is also seeking public comments on an exposure draft of amendments to the regulations related to Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2014. Like comments concerning the trans-Tasman patent attorney regime, submissions are due February 15 and may be sent to consultation@ipaustralia.gov.au.

For more, see Managing IP's previous coverage of this bill.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Tennessee has passed the ELVIS Act, a law that fights against AI models that mimic the voice and likeness of music artists
Rob Stien, chief communications and public policy officer at InterDigital, says the EU has forgotten innovators while trying to solve an issue that doesn’t exist
As Australia’s Qantm IP leans towards being acquired by a private equity company, sources discuss what it could mean for IP firms
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
Nghiem Xuan Bac Pham, managing partner of Vision & Associates, discusses opportunities created by the US-China rift as well as profitability issues facing IP practices
Douglas Leite and two of his colleagues were intrigued by Bhering Advogados’s mission to grow its patent litigation practice
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP practitioner about their life and career
Counsel explain how pricing flexibility, patent agents and being business partners can help them maintain profitable patent prosecution practices
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Gift this article