IP Reform - Removing the concept of ‘service’ for oppositions
12 Apr 2013
The Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 comes into full effect on 15 April 2013. One of the areas that will see change as a result of the Act is how evidence and documents in opposition are given. The information below has been developed to help you to understand the changes to distributing evidence and documents in opposition and how they affect the way you do business with us.
The current opposition processes require parties to an opposition to serve copies of documents and evidence on each other. With the introduction of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 there will no longer be a requirement to 'serve' documents and evidence on the other party.
From 15 April 2013 documents and evidence related to opposition proceedings will only need to be filed with us. Once IP Australia has received the documents we will distribute the evidence to the other party involved in the case.
To assist with the submission of this information we have procured an electronic document management (EDM) system. This system is a web based, secure, file sharing tool called Objective Connect.
The Tool
The EDM system is easy to navigate and will be used for both filing and distributing some opposition documents and all oppositions evidence. No installation is required to use the tool as it operates through compatible web browsers. For up-to-date details about what browser types and versions are supported please visit the FAQ's area on the Objective Connect website.
The process
We will set up a shared directory in the EDM system for each opposition. During the oppositions process we will provide instruction about how to access the EDM system. When the evidence is filed with us through this tool it is immediately available to the registered parties involved in the opposition through the share folder.
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NOTE: We will specify the documents that must be filed and accessed using the EDM system as well as any other formality requirements. All correspondence and documents associated with any process outside of oppositions should be filed with us in the usual way. For Patents, the EDM system will be used for oppositions as well as other proceedings in which evidence may be filed. For Trade Marks the EDM system will be used for filing evidence for oppositions. A full list of applicable documents and formats are specified in the respective user guide (linked below). |
Under the new legislation, timeframes for responding to evidence filed in a preceding evidentiary stage are determined by:
- when the person is given the evidence; and
- when information has been received that the previous stage is completed.
Using the EDM system, the evidence will be made available to the other person as it is uploaded into the shared directory. Advice that files have been uploaded to the shared directory will follow.
We will consider the evidence as 'given' to a party from the time the party is advised that the evidence is available in the shared directory. The due date for the next evidentiary period will be triggered by a separate official notification that all the evidence for the previous period has been filed.
The typical workflow will resemble this:
- We:
- Receive a Notice of Intention to Defend (Trade Marks & Designs); or
- Receive a Notice of Opposition (Patents); or
- Issue a relevant Direction (Designs)
- We establish a secure shared directory in the EDM system for the opposition
- We email instructions to the applicant and opponent regarding what action is to be taken (instructions on how to use Objective Connect will be included)
- The applicant and opponent register to use Objective Connect
- The applicant and opponent log into Objective Connect to file/receive evidence for each stage of the opposition process/proceeding
- The EDM system records the date and time that a file is added to the shared directory
- An automated email from Objective Connect is sent to us, the applicant and the opponent when files are added to the EDM system
- Files added to the EDM system will be transferred to our normal document management system
At the completion of an opposition we will close the access to the shared directory and notify the parties involved in the opposition by email.
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NOTE: When a party has successfully uploaded evidence into the Objective Connect shared directory and has been confirmed to be a readable file, it is considered to be filed with the IP Office. The date and time that we use, in relation to identifying when an individual has filed or been given evidence in opposition, is the equivalent Australian AEST or AEDT of the UTC date and time recorded in Objective Connect. The email generated by Objective Connect that notifies us, the applicant and the opponent that files have been added (step 7 above) meets the requirement for notification outlined in the:
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What does Objective Connect look like?
When we create a shared directory for an opposition a link will be emailed to the opponent and applicant. The link will go to the following registration page:
Figure 1 Objective Connect Registration Page
After creating an account to use Objective Connect the same link will take you to the login screen
Figure 2 Objective Connect Login page
After logging in the shares that you have access to will appear
Figure 3 Objective Connect Home Screen
Objective Connect User Guides
- Trade Mark User Guide PDF [585 KB]
- Trade Mark User Guide DOC [2.77MB]
- Patents User Guide PDF [515KB]
- Patents User Guide DOC [2.71MB]
What are the benefits of this change?
- There will be a reduction in the length of time that it takes to give/receive evidence and to notify parties that evidence has been filed with us
- There will be an improvement to how accessible evidence and documents in oppositions is, the information will be accessible from devices with internet and browser capability
- There will be a reduction in the cost associated with courier and postage fees as evidence will be electronic and not physical
Last Updated: 07/5/2013
