News from Australia and New Zealand

摘要

On 22 October, 2007, the Australian Government eased our "duty of disclosure" provisions. Previously, applicants had a duty under our legislation to provide our Patent Office with copies of search reports conducted by various foreign patent offices for the corresponding case. This created a significant administrative overhead for applicants.rnThe Australian Patent Office recognised that these search reports were readily available to Examiners over the internet and a significant burden could be lifted on applicants by repealing the relevant provisions. The Government recently acted on their recommendation to abolish the duty.