Australia set to raise the bar for patents
10 March 2011
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Erica Poon, Hong Kong
Reforms planned in Australia aim to improve the patent system and harmonise it with international standards
The federal government released a 102-page Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2011 and a 118-page explanatory memorandum clarifying the proposed changes on March 2.
Some significant changes to patents include expanding what can constitute prior art, clarifying specifications and protecting experimental research.
Lawyers welcome the amendments and see them as raising the bar for the country's patents system.
"I'm quite excited about the proposals," said Michael Caine, a partner at Davies Collison Cave. Caine has been monitoring the draft's progress since a consultation began in 2009.
"It gives a message to the international community that we take our patent system seriously. That would give companies confidence to bring their businesses here because the net result will be the patents that are granted will be better quality patents, provided IP Australia does its job."
Lawyers highlighted several of the document's biggest proposed amendments to the Patents Act 1990.
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