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Specifications Online
Searching AU Patent Specifications Online
There are 3 levels of publication for patents:
AU-A
Patent applications prior to acceptance. An application at this level has
not yet been examined to see if it can be accepted.
AU-B
Patent applications that have been accepted.
AU-C
Patent applications that have been accepted
but were subsequently amended and therefore needed to be republished.
AU-A, AU-B and AU-C are now online
You can now search
the full AU-A, AU-B and AU-C patent specifications by patent application
number or accepted patent numbers.
Published weekly, the specifications average 40 pages,
but can be hundreds of pages, and are in image (pdf) format.
Depending on speed of access to the Internet, it is likely that the specifications
will take considerable time to display and/or print. For this reason, you may
prefer to obtain the specifications on CD-ROM as a subscription
item.
Once you have located a relevant Australian patent document, you can find out
whether or not it is still in force by searching on AusPat
or calling IP Australia's Customer Services Network on (02) 6283 2999
or 1300 65 10 10.
Patent classifications
All major Patent Offices, including Australia, classify patent applications
according to the technology of the invention using the International Patent
Classification (IPC). The current (eighth) edition has entered into force on
January 1, 2006. The eighth edition of the IPC included much reform, including
a two-level structure. IP Australia classifies at the advanced level. Initially,
in 2006, this will include approximately 70,000 entries of the seventh edition
of the IPC. The size of IPC 8 will grow rapidly since amendments will be made
continuously to the advanced level. It is anticipated to grow to 130,000 over
2-3 years, as there is the potential to receive amendments every 3 months. IPC
8 is available from the World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO).
Patent document sales
Overseas and Australian patent specifications are held
in the Patent Office Documentation Centre in Canberra. Details of the latest
overseas specification numbers available are published annually in the Australian
Official Journal of Patents.
Copies of patent specifications, other patent documents
and Open to Public Inspection (OPI) dates are available from Patent Document
Sales.
It's important to quote patent numbers accurately when
requesting specifications. Generally, the publication number is the most appropriate
number for overseas specifications.
For Australian specifications, the 5-figure application
AU-A or AU-B with a year component or the final 6-figure can be used.
After OPI of a patent, most documents from the case file are available under
provisions in the Patents Act 1990 rather than under the Freedom of
Information Act.
Need help?
For assistance with using AU-A, B, C Accepted Patent Specifications, please
contact us.
Help on patent document delivery matters is available by phoning the
Customer Support Centre on 1300 651 010.
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