Australian Patents Act 1990 – As Amended

Patentology is indebted to fellow attorney Dr Julian Magarey, of Spruson & Ferguson Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, for supplying a copy of the current Australian Patents Act 1990 marked-up to show the amendments made by the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill, which received parliamentary approval earlier this week (see ‘Raising the Bar’ Moves Another Step Closer to Law).

The document not only shows all of the changes, additions and deletions in ‘redline’ format, but also identifies the specific provisions of Raising the Bar corresponding with the changes, by Schedule and Item number.

Julian kindly emailed us a copy, generously donating it to all Patentology readers.  We are certain that there are patent attorneys – and perhaps a few applicants – across Australia and around the world who will find this document to be an invaluable reference.  Indeed, it is not just for the next few weeks (before an official revised consolidated Act becomes available), or months (as the new provisions come into effect) that we will require the details of these sweeping reforms at our fingertips in a convenient format.  We have ahead of us over two decades during which patents granted under the current laws will live side-by-side with those subject to the new standards.

So, for those US attorneys facing the prospect of over 20 years dealing with pre- and post-America Invents Act patents, we feel your pain!

Julian’s marked-up Act, and the text of the Bill as passed by the Australian Parliament, are available via the following links:

1. Australian Patents Act 1990, as amended (PDF, via Google Docs);
2. Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Bill 2011.

If anyone spots any errors or omissions in the marked-up document, Julian would appreciate a heads-up.  We will gladly relay any messages sent to our email address or submitted via the comments below.

Tags: Australia, Law reform, Patent law, Raising the Bar