Australian IP report 2025
Timing considerations when applying for IP protection
Focusing resources on the highest impact inventions
Because applicants have strategic flexibility over application timeframes, they have time to evaluate their patent application thoroughly – to assess its commercial potential, monitor industry trends, respond to technological developments and evaluate market opportunities.
Applicants have a window in which to amend their applications or withdraw them for inventions with weak potential. By judiciously deciding on the future of their applications, innovators can avoid unnecessary costs. This should also filter out low-quality inventions from the patent system, allowing examination resources to be focused on inventions with high potential impact.
Strategic flexibility for small innovators
The flexibility to influence patent timeframes may have specific benefits for small innovators, such as small businesses and startups. Typically, large businesses have the resources to commercialise and build on the inventions described in their patent applications. Small businesses often lack such resources at the outset of the patent process. They may need to establish a priority claim to their invention before searching for funding to further their R&D, identifying commercialisation partners, or otherwise seeking resources to bring their innovations to market.
Smaller firms may use delays as time to develop strategy – to decide between commercialising the resulting patent as a product or trading the patent to a larger firm with commercialisation capabilities. A startup’s optimal strategy – for how to bring innovations to market and position relative to market leaders – is influenced by the extent they can access strong IP protections. For example, strong IP protections enable ideas-trading as a viable strategy, where innovators may collaborate with existing market leaders and trade or license their ideas. For startups less able to protect their IP, their optimal strategic path may involve competing directly with market leaders under stealth.1 Engaging with IP early, taking advantage of the IP system’s flexibility, can aid informed assessment of the strategic environment and choice between strategies.
Gaining certainty and securing a market position
The Motu/EPFL study identified several reasons why applicants may seek to accelerate patent outcomes:
- to achieve grant quickly so that enforcement action may be taken, and so more quickly protect and market their innovations
- to secure their market position and freedom to operate in executing their business strategy
- to achieve certainty about the scope of the eventual right – the extent of technological space they can exploit and build on free from imitation by others
- to improve access to external capital – given, for example, the role of patents in attracting venture capital investment
- to improve the likelihood of achieving licensing agreements
- to reduce financial- and time- related costs in the application process.
BlockTexx: Australian IP for sustainability
BlockTexx is an award-winning early stage company with the mission to divert textile waste and clothing away from landfill. The company’s breakthrough technology recovers polyester and cellulose from textiles, as valuable materials for reuse in new products. BlockTexx built and operate Australia’s first textile recycling facility in Loganholme Queensland. Here, co-founder Graham Ross discusses the importance of IP in the business’s journey and its process of filing for new patents.
BlockTexx’s mission is very simple: divert textiles away from landfill.
BlockTexx is a clean technology company, and what we do – we've developed a technology to separate the hard-to-recycle blended fabrics that we use every day.
Our IP protection obviously includes patents, and that process continues.
Our patent is continually in development because we're a cutting-edge technology.
The patent journey is really interesting when you're starting a business from scratch.
We've been very diligent and focused about our patent and when we're doing it, but also, we've had to be practical as to finance, timing, technology needs.
Once we decided that we were looking to patent our technology, we looked at what were the time frames and what were the requirements of the business and really tied that back into where we expected our technology to be ready.
And I think the other complication we have, especially in Australia, is where – which region do you register in?
Do you just register for Australia, or do you look at the global territories?
And when you're in an early stage, you don't actually know whether you're going to be able to commercialise that technology.
You kind of have to make a decision as to what to do, do I just keep it in Australia, or do I look at the international regions where I think that technology is going to play out?
Everybody knows patents and trade marks, but there's a whole lot of stuff that goes on in a business every day that doesn't get recognised but needs to be documented.
And so, we continually develop trade secrets within our business.
Yes, you need to promote your business.
Yes, you need to kind of showcase your technology. But you don't have to show everybody the whole house.
We continue to think about IP as another part of our business plan.
It sits equally important as our economic plans and financial projections.
It's something that we think about every day as we are developing new products through our R&D, where we're working with external partners – whether that's developing our existing IP or developing new IP.
It's something that we think about every day as we are developing new products through our R&D, where we're working with external partners – whether that's developing our existing IP or developing new IP.
BlockTexx has currently got 5 registered trade marks, and they're proudly displayed in our reception area for all to see.
Trade marks are really important for the registration and protection of your IP, but they also are really important with the commercialisation of your sub-brands.
So, our sub-brands are PolyTexx and CellTexx are now starting to take a life on their own.
They were a noun, but they're actually becoming a verb.
To build an industry, we wanted the industry to talk about BlockTexx as a verb.
So what we want in the future textile industry: ‘BlockTexx it’.
BlockTexx is a clean technology company, and what we do – we've developed a technology to separate the hard-to-recycle blended fabrics that we use every day.
Our IP protection obviously includes patents, and that process continues.
Our patent is continually in development because we're a cutting-edge technology.
The patent journey is really interesting when you're starting a business from scratch.
We've been very diligent and focused about our patent and when we're doing it, but also, we've had to be practical as to finance, timing, technology needs.
Once we decided that we were looking to patent our technology, we looked at what were the time frames and what were the requirements of the business and really tied that back into where we expected our technology to be ready.
And I think the other complication we have, especially in Australia, is where – which region do you register in?
Do you just register for Australia, or do you look at the global territories?
And when you're in an early stage, you don't actually know whether you're going to be able to commercialise that technology.
You kind of have to make a decision as to what to do, do I just keep it in Australia, or do I look at the international regions where I think that technology is going to play out?
Everybody knows patents and trade marks, but there's a whole lot of stuff that goes on in a business every day that doesn't get recognised but needs to be documented.
And so, we continually develop trade secrets within our business.
Yes, you need to promote your business.
Yes, you need to kind of showcase your technology. But you don't have to show everybody the whole house.
We continue to think about IP as another part of our business plan.
It sits equally important as our economic plans and financial projections.
It's something that we think about every day as we are developing new products through our R&D, where we're working with external partners – whether that's developing our existing IP or developing new IP.
It's something that we think about every day as we are developing new products through our R&D, where we're working with external partners – whether that's developing our existing IP or developing new IP.
BlockTexx has currently got 5 registered trade marks, and they're proudly displayed in our reception area for all to see.
Trade marks are really important for the registration and protection of your IP, but they also are really important with the commercialisation of your sub-brands.
So, our sub-brands are PolyTexx and CellTexx are now starting to take a life on their own.
They were a noun, but they're actually becoming a verb.
To build an industry, we wanted the industry to talk about BlockTexx as a verb.
So what we want in the future textile industry: ‘BlockTexx it’.
- Gans, J., Stern, S., & Wu, J. Foundations of entrepreneurial strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 40(5), 736–756. Gans, J., & Stern, S. (2003). The product market and the market for “ideas”: commercialization strategies for technology entrepreneurs. Research Policy, 32(2), 333–350.