No one likes to put in all the effort on an idea, only for someone else to swoop in and take all the glory. Whether it’s an individual with a great concept or a company registering their ideas or products in a new country, many rely on a patent to make sure they’re rewarded for all their hard work.
To help make sure a patent is registered successfully, many turn to a leading patent attorney in Australia.
What is a patent?
A patent is legal protection for the exclusive use of an invention. Although they are typically thought of in terms of machinery, a patent can be registered to protect the rights surrounding any device, method, substance or process that meets the criteria of being new, inventive and useful.
The processes may even include software or internets apps.
Legally, a patent is enforced to provide the owner with the assurance that they have the exclusive rights to make a commercial success of their invention for a set amount of time.
To this end, Australian patents applications come in three main forms:
- Provisional patent application: which is a stepping stone application that reserves your rights but needs to be followed by standard or innovation patents;
- Standard patent application: Providing exclusive rights to an owner for up to 20 years (or 25 for some pharmaceutical products);
- Innovation patent application: Quicker and cheaper (no mandatory examination), though these only last for eight years.
There are also patent cooperation treaty (PCT) applications to give owners more time to register their great ideas worldwide. PCT applications are generally an international type of application that allows to you file in foreign jurisdictions based on your Australian application.
If you’re wondering how to patent an invention in Australia, the process is similar to many other countries. However, a local professional is usually an applicant’s first port of call – a patent lawyer in Sydney, for example, can lend their location-specific and nationwide expertise to help boost an application’s success.A patent attorney can help as an advisor throughout the whole process, including the very first moment you lodge a provisional patent application.
The patent application process in Australia
If you’re wondering how to patent an invention in Australia, the process is similar to many other countries. However, a local professional is usually an applicant’s first port of call – a patent lawyer in Sydney, for example, can lend their location-specific and nationwide expertise to help boost an application’s success.A patent attorney can help as an advisor throughout the whole process, including the very first moment you lodge a provisional patent application.
1) Provisional patent application
This is the usual starting point of most inventions: a limited-term, internationally recognised application that preserves the priority or filing date of your invention for 12 months pending further applications.
2) Search the market
To make sure you’re also in-keeping with patent law in Australia, your attorney can help you scour the market and make sure your product is not already registered by another party. Provisional applications give you some design flexibility which can not accomplished using other types of application.
3) Decide on a
Each of the two application types come with criteria that must be met, however, meaning you’ll need to chat with your attorney about your end goals, spending budget and a few other things.
4) Examination and checking
While the patent is pending, a patent application is either checked to ensure it meets the formality requirements or examined by the Australian Patent Office on request. The Australian Patent Office is also called IP Australia.
Meanwhile, inventors must request for their standard patent applications to be examined. If necessary, this can be sped up by using the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH).
5) Acceptance or rejection
If examination of an innovation patent was requested and deemed successful, it will be certified and published in the official journal. A standard patent application will be published in the same
6) Paying annual fees
The upkeep of your commercial rights will then require annual fees to be paid for the set term of the patent.
Bonus step!
Whether you’re looking to patent an idea or an app in Australia, our professionals are on hand to help boost your success. You don’t need a prototype or even a rough working model to get started; simply an idea that meets some basic requirements.
If you need assistance and a fixed-price quote on each step of commercialising your brilliant ideas, contact Alder IP today for a free consultation.
Bonus step!
Whether you’re looking to patent an idea or an app in Australia, our professionals are on hand to help boost your success. You don’t need a prototype or even a rough working model to get started; simply an idea that meets some basic requirements.
If you need assistance and a fixed-price quote on each step of commercialising your brilliant ideas, contact Alder IP today for a free consultation.