BSBIPR402A Protect and use new inventions and innovations
Nominal hours
40
Unit descriptor
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to protect and use new inventions and innovations as the exclusive Intellectual Property (IP) of an organisation or individual. It covers identifying the need for protection of new inventions or innovations, working with specialists to file a successful patent application, monitoring and protecting IP rights, alternatives to patents and using the patent.
No licencing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement.
Employability skills
This unit contains employability skills.
Prerequisite units
There a no prerequisite units.
Co-requisite units
There are no co-requisite units.
Application of the unit
This unit applies to individuals who are actively involved in work concerning the development or ownership of inventive and innovative products. They may work as individual inventors or innovators in a range of industries or organisational contexts, as part of a research and development team within an organisation or be commissioning or employing others to develop new inventions or innovations.
This unit will give individuals an understanding of patent law and how patents are assigned, to develop an understanding of the actions of patent specialists employed to patent the organisation's new inventions or innovations.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit competency. Performance criteria describes the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the required skills and knowledge section and the range statement. Assessment of performance is to be consistent with the evidence guide.
Element 1: Identify the need for protection of new inventions and innovations.
Performance Criteria:
- Research what constitutes a new invention or innovation in Australia.
- Identify legislative requirements governing invention and innovation protection.
- Identify inventions and innovations within own organisation that may require protection and identify the type of patent applicable.
- Research prior art to determine other inventions or innovations in a specific area of technology.
- Research patent information, use patent search and patent search tools and evaluate their usefulness for the organisation.
- Evaluate commercialisation potential of new inventions or innovations to determine if protection is worth pursuing.
Element 2: Identify and initiate process for protection of inventions and innovations.
Performance Criteria:
- Identify sources of information and advice regarding protection and searching of new inventions or innovations.
- Identify processes required for filling a successful patent application.
- Identify processes for international invention protection.
- Evaluate the role of IP professionals in the patent application process.
- Participate in a patent search and patent application and provide relevant information to an IP professional for patent search and patent application, if required.
- Identify non-registrable forms of a protection strategy and evaluate the benefits of utilising alternatives.
Element 3: Monitor market and protect and use new inventions and innovations.
Performance Criteria:
- Identify or create and implement policies and procedures to ensure the protection and use of new inventions and innovations.
- Identify and establish processes to use own and other's patents patents for business growth.
- Identify appropriate legal measures to protect an invention or innovation against certified infringements, if required, with assistance from appropriate professionals.
- Monitor the market for possible patent infringements.
- Ensure all employees are aware of the importance to the organisation of the protection of new inventions and innovations and implement training if required.
- Identify or create and implement policies and procedures to prevent infringement of other's inventions and innovations.
Required Skills and Knowledge
This section describes the skills and knowledge required for this unit.
Required skills
- Research skills to identify criteria for patent eligibility.
- Research skills to search prior art via patent data bases.
- Analytical skills to identify commercial potential of new inventions or innovations.
- Literacy skills to interpret and implement IP Australia's patent application standards and procedures.
- Problem solving skills to act on potential infringement issues.
Required knowledge
- What is considered an invention or innovation.
- Registrable and non-registrable forms of protection.
- Patent application guidelines.
- Overview of relevant legislation concerning patents.
- Sources of information and advice on protection of new inventions or innovations.
Range Statement
The range statement relates to the unit of the competency as a whole.
Inventions may include:
- any device, substance, method or process that is:
- inventive (not obvious to someone with knowledge in the field of the invention)
- novel (new)
- useful.
Innovations may include:
- any device, substance, method or process that involves an 'innovative step', such as a change that distinguishes the inventions from what is currently known about the technology.
Legislative requirements may include:
- the Patents Act 1990, in particular section 18 which stipulates the inventive threshold.
Types of patent may include:
- standard patents, which last for twenty years from when the application is filed and cover as many claims as is deemed necessary to protect the invention.
- innovation patents, which last for eight years from the date of filing and protect up to five claims.
Prior art is defined as:
- all information in the public domain relating to previous patents, inventions or innovations that may impact on an invention's or innovation's originality.
Patent information refers to:
- the technical and legal information contained in a patent document.
Usefulness includes:
- source of technical information
- learning about current research and innovations
- locating business partners or suppliers
- avoiding possible infringement problems
- assessing patentability of own inventions or innovation
- exploitation of out of date patents.
Commercialisation may include:
- the potential profitability of an innovation which takes into account market size, competitors and investment required to get the invention or innovation to market.
- alternative income stream such as:
- licensing the patent to another party and allowing them to exploit it for a set price or royalties for a set time.
- profiting from the manufacture and sale of a product
- selling or assigning all or part of the rights to the patent
- use of other's inventions or innovations within legal frameworks.
Sources of information or advice may include:
- IP Australia
- the Attorney-General's Department
- the Australian Copyright Council
- State and Commonwealth government agencies
- lawyers specialising in IP
- Trade Mark Attorney and Patent Attorneys
- Accountants
- Business Advisors
- Marketing Consultants
- Branding Consultants
- copyright collecting societies, for example CAL, PPCA, MIPI, APRA, AMCOS
- publications
- the internet
- databases such as local and international trade mark data bases.
Processes may include:
- carrying out searches to ascertain originality of the inventions or innovation
- creating and proliferating confidentiality agreements within organisation or among people who may need to know about the invention/innovation before a patent application is filed so as to keep the invention or innovation a secret.
- establishing a priority date by filing a provisional or complete application before releasing information into the public domain
- providing a specification defining the invention or innovation should this precede the previous step
- including a Notice of Entitlement form.
International invention protection may include:
- filing for protection with the patent offices of overseas countries or regional patent authorities or
- filing an international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty through IP Australia
Non-registrable may include:
- trade secrets
- confidentiality agreements and non-disclosure agreements.
Monitor may include:
- observing the activities of competitors
- regularly reviewing patent databases
- watching the market for potential patent infringements.
Legal measures may include:
- observing the activities of competitors
- regularly reviewing patent databases
- watching the market for potential patent infringements.
Evidence Guide
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Overview of assessment
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit.
Evidence of the following is essential:
- identification of issues for the use, management and protection of new inventions or innovations
- implementation of policies and procedures for the management, use and protection of new inventions or innovations and legitimate use of other's inventions and innovations.
Context of specific resources for assessment.
Assessment must ensure:
- access to appropriate documentation (application forms, and so on) and resources normally available to a patent application
- access to reliable and appropriate explanatory material and guidelines
- access to appropriate computer resources for establishment and maintenance of policies and procedures
Method of assessment.
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge, such as:
- direct questioning combined with review of a portfolio of evidence
- oral or written questioning to assess knowledge of protection of new inventions or innovations and its implications to the organisation
- development of action plans for implementation of implementation of policies and procedures for the protection of new inventions or innovations and commercialisation of new inventions or innovations.
- analysis of case studies around patents, with recommendations for action.
Guidance information for assessment.
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:
- other units from BSB07 including other units relating to IP
- design units
Last Updated: 15/9/2012
