patents 2012

Patents

Jeremy Wade

Lawyer

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Slide 2 What is a patent?

• Temporary monopoly to exploit an invention

• Governed by the Patents Act 1990 (Commonwealth

legislation)

• Patent rights are not automatic - they must be applied

for and granted

• May be granted for any device, substance, method or

process which is new, inventive/innovative and useful

• Different to copyright, trade marks and registered

designs

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Slide 3 Nature of patent monopoly• National in scope - no global patent

• Length of monopoly - 20 years for standard patents

(extendible to 25 for some pharmaceutical standard

patents) and 8 years for innovation patents, measured

from filing date

• Monopoly may be cut short - patents subject to revocation

• Right to exclude others from exploiting an invention during

the life of the patent

• No guarantee of exploitation - it is subject to prior rights

held by third parties

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Rationale (Venetian Statute (1474))

WE HAVE among us men of great genius, apt to invent and discover ingenious devices... Now, if provision were made for the works and devices discovered by such persons, so that others who may see them could not build them and take the inventor's honour away, more men would then apply their genius, would discover, and would build devices of great utility and benefit to our commonwealth.

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Slide 5 Rationale

• Quid pro quo

• monopoly in exchange for teaching the world the

invention

• Provide opportunity to profit from invention and

thereby encourage investment

• Enables anyone to use the technology once the

patent expires

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Slide 6 Rationale

• On balance society benefits

• granting a limited patent monopoly is better than

inventors keeping their technology secret, potentially

forever (a 'trade secret')

• an infamous example...

• Question: what life-saving technology was kept secret by a

single family for over a century until 1728?

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Rationale

• Answer: the Chamberlens' forceps

• the family practiced obstetrics for generations

• retained monopoly by keeping the invention secret

• blindfolded women in labour;

• ordered all others to leave the room whilst using the secret

invention; and

• otherwise kept the forceps in a sealed box.

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Slide 8 Two types of patents in Australia

• Standard

• Innovation

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Slide 9 Standard patent

• 20 year term (up to 25 years for certain

pharmaceutical patents)

• Unlimited number of claims

• Examined only after paying the examination fee

• Usually take 2 to 4 years from filing to grant

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Innovation patent

• Available only in Australia

• For inventions that are not sufficiently inventive to meet the inventive threshold required for standard patents

• Maximum term of 8 years

• Maximum 5 claims

• Application only examined for compliance with formal requirements before it is registered

• Usually granted within 1 to 3 months

• Cannot be enforced against an alleged infringer unless it has been examined for substantive compliance- i.e 'certified'

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Slide 11 Parts of a patent

• Specification - fully describes the invention, including the best method known to the applicant of performing the invention and generally includes figures (diagrams)

• Claims - define the boundaries of the patented monopoly

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Slide 12 Example: Patent No. 702534

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The Specification

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Slide 14 Figure 1

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Slide 15 Extract from the specification

• Figure 1 shows, in very diagrammatic form, a latch assembly 1

incorporating one embodiment of the invention which is shown

mounted in an edge of a door 2. The assembly 1 includes a latch

bolt 3 which is movable between an extended latching position,

as shown, and a retracted position in which the head 4 of the bolt

3 is at least substantially contained within the assembly casing 5.

A spring 6 urges the bolt 3 towards the latching position, and the

bolt 3 can be withdrawn into the retracted position by operation of

either an inner actuator 7 or an outer actuator 8. In that respect,

"inner" and "outer" respectively relate to the inner side and the

outer side of the door 2 relative to the space to which access is

controlled by the door 2.

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The claims (claim 1)

• A latch assembly including,

• [(i)] a casing,

• [(ii)] a latch bolt mounted on the casing so as to be movable relative thereto between an extended latching position and a retracted release position,

• [(iii)] a first actuator operable from an inner side of the assembly to cause movement of the latch bolt to said release position,

• [(iv)] locking means operable from said inner side of the assembly to adopt an active condition and thereby render said first actuator inoperable,

• [(v)] a second actuator operable from an outer side of the assembly to cause movement of the latch bolt to the release position, and

• [(vi)] lock release means which is responsive to said operation of the second actuator so as to thereby render said locking means inactive.

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Slide 17 Example: patent application 2011201639

- Scaling documents on a touch-screen

display

• 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: at a device with

a touch screen display:

• displaying at least a first portion of an electronic document at a first

magnification;

• detecting a gesture on or near the touch screen display corresponding to a

command to zoom in by a user-specified amount;

• displaying decreasing portions of the electronic document at increasing

magnifications, in response to detecting the gesture; and

• displaying a respective portion of the electronic document at a predefined

magnification if, upon detecting termination of the gesture, the

magnification exceeds the predefined magnification.

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Slide 18 Example: application 2011201639 - Scaling

documents on a touch-screen display

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Example: Innovation patent application

2001100012 (NOT certified)

• A transportation facilitation device including:-

• [i] a circular rim;

• [ii] a bearing in which a hollow cylindrical member is rotatable

about a rod situated within the hollow cylindrical member; and

• [iv] a series of connecting members connecting the circular rim

with the hollow cylindrical member to maintain the circular rim and

the hollow cylindrical member in substantially fixed relation;

wherein

• [v] the rod is positioned on an axis perpendicular to the plane of

the circular rim, and substantially central of the circular rim.

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Slide 20 Example: Innovation patent application

2001100012 (NOT certified)

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Slide 21 Who may apply for a patent?

• The actual inventor(s), or

• Any other person(s) entitled to ownership, such as an

assignee(s), or

• An employer where the invention was devised in the

course of employment

• UWA v Gray

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Applying for a Patent

• Lodge a complete or provisional patent application

• If a provisional application, must file a complete application within 12 months

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Slide 23 Applying for a Patent - Examination

• File with patent office

• Request examination

• Examiner conducts investigation of the merits of the application

• Objections are raised and answered (may require amendment)

• If accepted it is advertised

• Anyone who claims that the patent should not be granted can file

a notice of opposition

• If no-one opposes, or opposition overcome, the patent will be

granted

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Slide 24 Patentability requirements• Must:

• be patent eligible subject matter (be a manner of

manufacture within the meaning of section 6 of the

Statute of Monopolies); AND

• be novel (new); AND

• be inventive (standard patent) or innovative

(innovation patent); AND

• be useful;

• Not have been secretly used in Australia before the

priority date with the patentee's authorisation

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Section 6 Statute of Monopolies 1623

“[Monopolies prohibited except] letters patent…

of the sole working or making of any manner of

new manufactures… to the true and first

inventor… ".

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Slide 26 National Research Development Corp. v

Commissioner of Patents (1959)

• An artificially created state of affairs in the field of

economic endeavour

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Slide 27 Subsequent decisions- patentable

subject matter• An artificial state of affairs, in the sense of a

concrete, tangible, physical, or observable effect,

which cannot be peripheral or subordinate to the

substance of the invention

• The transfer of legal rights of ownership or

entitlement is not physical

• An unpatentable invention does not become

patentable merely by performing one or more

steps on a computer

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What is patentable- technology neutral

• Products

• Chemical compounds

• Genetically altered life forms

• Methods of use

• Manufacturing processes

• The application of computer software and algorithms

• Business methods

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Slide 29 The Wright Brothers' Flying Machine

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Slide 30 Hills Hoist

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Victa Lawn Mower

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Slide 32 Polaroid Camera

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Slide 33 Cochlear Hearing Aid

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What is not patentable?

• Mere ideas

• Mathematical formulae

• Human beings and biological processes for their

generation

• Artistic creations

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Slide 35 Grant v The Commissioner of Patents

• Invention was an asset protection method involving the

following elements:

• establishing a trust having a trustee,

• the owner making a gift of a sum of money to the trust,

• the trustee making a loan of said sum of money from the trust

to the owner, and

• the trustee securing the loan by taking a charge for said sum

of money over the asset.

• Not patentable as it did not produce a concrete,

tangible, physical, or observable effect

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Slide 36 Must be New and Inventive/Innovative

• Must be novel (new)

• Must involve an inventive step (not obvious) or

an innovative step

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Background concepts• Person skilled in the art - uninventive skilled worker in

the field

• Priority date - the date the patent is filed or possibly the

date of filing of an earlier related application

• Prior art - information in a document made publicly

available or information made publicly available through

doing an act (anywhere in the world*) before the priority

date

• Common general knowledge - background knowledge to

the person skilled in the art

*for patents filed after April 2002

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Slide 38 Novelty (new)

• "Novel" relative to the "prior art base"

• This means that it was not publicly disclosed before the priority date

• By a single piece of prior art (i.e. document or act) or

• By two or more pieces of prior art that would be treated as a single piece of prior art by a person skilled in the relevant art

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Slide 39 Inventive step (not obvious) - standard

patents only• "Inventive" relative to the prior art base

• Not inventive if an obvious next step:

• to a person skilled in the art

• in light of the common general knowledge as it

existed before the priority date considered on its own

or

• in combination with 1 or more pieces of prior art that

the person skilled in the art would have ascertained,

understood and regarded as relevant

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Innovative step - innovation patents

only

• An innovative step will be found if the invention

which is claimed differs from the prior art base

such that any difference identified in the

invention as claimed makes a substantial

contribution to the working of that invention

• Irrelevant whether the identified difference is

obvious

• Irrelevant whether the identified difference is

slight

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Slide 41 Other requirements

• Is useful - the invention must achieve what has

been promised in the specification

• Note on "Raising the Bar" reforms: additional

requirement for specification to describe "specific,

substantial and credible use" will apply to all

applications where examination is requested after 14

April 2013

• Was not secretly used in the patent area before

the priority date

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Slide 42 Example - Dura-Post v Delnorth

• Claim 1:

“A roadside post comprising an elongate body formed of

sheet spring steel and having a longitudinal axis, a

transverse axis transverse to said longitudinal axis, a

front face and a rear face, said front and rear faces

transversely extending generally parallel to said

transverse axis, wherein said body is elastically

bendable through 90 degrees from an unbent state

about said transverse axis.”

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Example - Dura-Post v Delnorth

• One piece of prior art (known as the “Supaflex Guide Post”)

embodied all of the features of claim 1, except that the

Supaflex Guide Post was constructed of a plastics material,

whereas the claim was directed to roadside posts “formed of

sheet spring steel”.

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• The court held that claim 1 was novel over the Supaflex

Guide Post

• The court held that claim 1 defined an innovative step

over the Supaflex Guide Post

• The question was not whether the substitution of steel for

plastic resulted in a better roadside post

• The question was not whether it was obvious to make the

Supaflex Guide Post using sheet spring steel instead of a

plastics material

• The question was whether the use of sheet spring steel

contributed to the working of the roadside post

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• The court held the utility requirement was satisfied

• The object of the invention was stated to be “to substantially

overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the

disadvantages of the prior art”

• Identified disadvantages of prior art were:

• Prior steel posts were generally not resilient, plastically deforming

upon impact, and had to be manually restraightened

• Timber posts would fracture on impact

• Plastic or plastic/rubber composite posts deteriorated due to UV

exposure and repeated impacts over time

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Infringement - patentee's rights

• A patentee has the exclusive rights to exploit, and to

authorise others to exploit, the patented invention

• Two types of patent infringement:

• Primary or direct infringement; and

• Secondary or indirect infringement

• Patentees (and exclusive licensees) can commence

court proceedings for patent infringement to enforce

their patent rights

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Slide 47 Primary infringement

• Primary infringement occurs when a person

"exploits" the patented invention without the

patentee's authorisation

• Intent is irrelevant for primary infringement

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Slide 48 Primary infringement - exploit

• "Exploit" in relation to an invention, includes:

(a) Products — make, hire, sell or otherwise dispose

of the product, offer to make, sell, hire or otherwise

dispose of it, use or import it, or keep it for the

purpose of doing any of those things; or

(b) Method or process — use the method or process

or do any act mentioned in paragraph (a) in respect

of a product resulting from such use

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Secondary infringement (s 117)• If the use of a product by a person would infringe a patent,

the supply of that product by one person to another is an

infringement of the patent by the supplier unless the supplier

is the patentee or licensee of the patent

• Use has the following meanings:

• (a) if the product is capable of only one reasonable use, that use; or

• (b) if the product is not a staple commercial product – any use of the

product, if the supplier had reason to believe that the person would

put it to that use; or

• (c) in any case – the use of the product in accordance with any

instructions or inducement given to the person by the supplier or

contained in an advertisement published by or with the authority of

the supplier.

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Slide 50 Infringement - issues

• Requires the taking of all essential parts of the

invention (i.e. all essential integers of a claim)

• Construction of claims hotly contested

• Words given the meaning:

• which the person skilled in the art would attach to

them

• in the light of common general knowledge and what

disclosed in the body of the specification

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Slide 51 Revocation

• Not a manner of new manufacture

• Not novel

• Does not involve an inventive/innovative step

• Not Useful

• Secretly used

• Claims not 'fairly based'

• Note on "Raising the Bar" reforms: new more onerous 'support'

requirement will apply to all applications where examination is

requested after 14 April 2013

• Obtained by fraud, false suggestion or misrepresentation

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Remedies available to a patentee

• Interlocutory injunction - preserve the status quo

• Final injunction - permanently stop infringement

• Delivery up - hand over or destruction of

infringing goods

• Damages or an account of profits

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Slide 53 Practical issues for inventor

• Keep invention secret until application filed

• Seek advice of a patent attorney

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Slide 54

Patents

Jeremy Wade

Lawyer

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patents 2012

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