Read our case studies to hear from other businesses about their experience utilising our APIs.

Computer Packages Inc.

Computer Packages Inc. (CPI) is an experienced provider of intellectual property (IP) management systems with more than 50 years in the industry. CPI provides annuity services to customers worldwide, including unique data assurance via patent office electronic data checks, paperless annuity management and dedicated training and support.
 
CPI’s goal is to continually improve the quality of its services to customers. Recently this journey involved working with IP Australia in their transition from their legacy Business 2 Business (B2B) platform to their new API-based B2B solution. Transitioning to the new system, CPI staff found the integration quite straightforward.
 
“Integrating with the API system was made relatively simple due to the dedicated support and guidance from the team at IP Australia and the tailored documentation they provided,” CPI staff said.
 

The positive outcomes of integrating to IP Australia’s new API-based B2B solution have been pronounced. The new B2B platform has enabled CPI to maintain its goal of 100 per cent electronic processing for Australian annuity payments – with continued focus on both reducing errors and improving efficiency.

 

“We’re thrilled that the new API platform allows our process to continue to be completely automated and that there is no manual component involved.”
 
CPI is finding that the new platform has significantly improved processing times – once payments are submitted, the response from IP Australia is immediate. In fact, receipts are now available within hours of submission, rather than days with the legacy platform. Also, with the more streamlined authentication process as part of the API solution, CPI is realising further efficiencies as it no longer needs to purchase or renew digital certificates. While this had not been a major issue for CPI, it means one less hurdle to navigate, and so it further improves efficiency. 
 

CPI has also found there have been significant benefits from a systems perspective:

  • no fewer number of programs are required
  • no complicated interfacing between CPI’s system and the API system
  • no additional servers needed 
  • all programs ran in the same platform 
  • little modification needed to existing reports.
 
Looking ahead, CPI anticipates it will maximize its use of electronic patent office data as more data becomes available to increase data reliability. 
 
CPI is looking forward to continuing to work with the IP Australia team to realise more benefits by integrating further with this new platform, providing a more seamless, uninterrupted service which ultimately benefits its customers.
 
Like to know more about our APIs or get on board? Get in touch with the team via MDB-TDS@ipaustralia.gov.au.
 

Personalised Plates Queensland

 

In early 2019, Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ), in conjunction with the State Government, gave Queenslanders the option to add a message (‘caption’) to their personalised number plate.
 
Managing the risk of unintentionally using an existing brand was paramount to the organisation and the Queensland Government. “Creating a valuable product, while ensuring our customers' unique number plates don’t infringe existing brands was a critical decision point for our business” said Taylor Clifford, General Manager, PPQ.
 
Opportunity – accessing government trade mark data
PPQ reached out to IP Australia in search of an innovative solution, expressing the need to be able to search the Australian trademark database to cross-check potential plate content against registered trademarks. Access to real-time data at low cost was essential to keep PPQ’s business model efficient while minimising risk.
 
IP Australia saw the opportunity to implement the TradeMark Search API (Application Program Interface) giving PPQ the ability to build its own interface that performs custom searching against the government trademark register.
 
“Staff can now use our software to search for potential trademark infringement and notify our customers before they commit to a purchase. This all happens in real time, allowing efficient cross-checking during the application process at little cost to PPQ, other than the initial software development. It’s a win for everyone involved” said Ms Clifford.
 
Looking to the future
Following the success of the first implementation, PPQ is looking to transition to a model where the customer performs the trademark database search during the online application process before they submit their request for a personalised plate.
 
IP Australia continues to work with PPQ to further develop the capabilities of the search API and more advanced search techniques, such as within phrase searching.
 
Advice and how to get involved
Like to know more about IP Australia’s APIs? Get in touch by sending us an enquiry on MDB-TDS@ipaustralia.gov.au.