The patent system in each country is essentially governed by its respective patent office. Each patent office has a particular way of administering the patent process, and although much has been done to globally harmonise the patent systems throughout, there are still numerous inconsistencies. The following is some basic information about the patent systems in Australia as well as three of the largest and most well established patent systems in the world.
Australian patent system: the Australian patent office (IP Australia)
- Standard patents — 20 year term
- Innovation patents — 8 year term
- Provisional applications allowed (complete applications to be filed within 12 months)
- Applications must be filed in English
- Business method patent applications allowed (with physical aspect)
- A common route used by foreign applicants is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) procedure
- International Patent Classification (IPC) system used
US patent system: the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- Largest patent system in the world
- 7,300 employees; 3 000 patent examiners
- Patent — 20 year term
- Provisional applications allowed (complete applications to be filed within 12 months)
- Applications can be filed in any language (English translation to be provided within 2 months)
- Some business method patent applications allowed
- National patent classification system used (at present — 2010)
European patent system: the European Patent Office (EPO)
- Has effect in 36 European countries, including all European Union member states — approximating 600 million people.
- 6 500 staff members, with roughly 3 500 examiners
- Patents — 20 year term
- Applications can be filed in any language (Official language translation to be provided within 3 months)
- Provisional applications are not possible
- Business method patent applications are (strictly speaking) not possible
- IPC system used (European Classification (ECLA) also used)
Japanese patent system: Japan Patent Office (JPO)
- 2 800 staff members, approximately 1,500 examiners)
- Patents — 20 year term
- Utility models — 10 year term
- Applications can be filed in Japanese and English (provided request form is in Japanese and Japanese translation to be provided within 2 months)
- Provisional applications are not possible
There are well over 150 other patent systems worldwide.
Important Disclaimer: The information on this website is not legal or professional advice. The information may:
- not be correct;
- only relate to the law or practice in a given country; and/or
- be outdated.
For more information, please contact the Site Administrator: Baxter IP Patent Attorneys Sydney.
