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Commonwealth legislation
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
These Regulations put into practical effect the Patents Act 1903 by prescribing how patent business is run: where and when to file, what forms and drawings to use, the fees to pay, time limits for specifications, and how oppositions, appeals, compulsory licences and conversion of State patents proceed. They mainly affect inventors, patentees, opponents, patent attorneys and the Patent Office because they fix compliance costs, documentary standards, deadlines and the Commissioner’s administrative powers that determine access to and defence of patent rights.
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Direct links to the current provisions in The Patents Regulations, 1904 (Provisional).
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
STATUTORY RULES.
Commonwealth of Australia.
Department of Trade and Customs,
31st May, 1904.
NOTIFICATION OF PROVISIONAL REGULATIONS UNDER THE PATENTS ACT 1903.
IT is hereby notified that His Excellency the Governor-General, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, has been pleased to make the following Provisional Regulations under the Patents Act 1903, to come into operation on the 1st day of June, 1904 (the day of the commencement of the said Act), and to certify that, on account of urgency, they should come into operation immediately on the commencement of that Act.
ANDREW FISHER,
Minister for Trade and Customs.
PATENTS REGULATIONS.
SHORT TITLE.
1. These Regulations may be cited as "The Patents Regulations, 1904."
INTERPRETATION.
Interpretation.
2. In these Regulations—
" Foreign Application " means an application for the protection of an invention in—
(a) the United Kingdom or the Isle of Man; or
(b) any Foreign State with respect to which section 121 of the Act is, for the time being, in force ; or
(c) Any British possession to which section 121 of the Act has been applied with or without variations or additions.
" Convention Application " means an application under sections 121 and 122 of the Act.
" Conversion Application " means an application under section 7 of the Act, for the conversion of a State patent to a Commonwealth patent.
" The Act " means the Patents Act 1903.
C.6217.—Price 3s.
FEES.
Fees.
3. The fees to be paid under the Act and these Regulations shall be those specified in the First Schedule.
Such fees shall be paid in cash at the Patent Office on delivery there of the instrument, or upon the proceeding in respect of which the fee is payable, as the case may be.
The prescribed fee for preparation of the patent for sealing shall be paid within the time allowed for the sealing of the patent, and if not so paid, the application for the patent shall become abandoned.
FORMS.
Second Schedule.
4. The forms contained in the Second Schedule shall, as far as they are applicable, be used in any proceeding under the Act, or under these Regulations.
HOURS OF BUSINESS.
Hours of Business.
PRIORITY OF APPLICATIONS UNDER SECTION 29.
All applications lodged by being left with the principal officer at the Customs House in a State shall be deemed to have been received at the Patent Office at the time when they were so lodged.
For the purposes of this regulation time shall be reckoned according to the standard time in force in the State of Victoria.
APPLICATIONS.
Manner of lodging applications.
7. Every application for a patent must be left at or sent to the Patent Office, and may be sent by prepaid letter through the post, and must in every case be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
Manner of recording applications.
8. Every application for a patent left at the Patent Office shall be numbered in the order of its receipt, commencing at number one in each year.
Every application for a patent sent by prepaid letter through the post shall, as far as practicable, be opened and numbered in the order in which the letter containing it was delivered at the Patent Office.
Address for service.
9. Every application for a patent shall be accompanied by a statement of an address (hereinafter referred to as an address for service) to which all notices, requisitions, and communications of every kind may be sent by the Commissioner, and such statement shall thereafter be binding on the applicant, until notice of some other address for service has been furnished by him to the Commissioner. The address for service shall be within the Commonwealth, and, if the Commissioner so requires, in or near to the city in which the Patent Office is situate.
Certificate of correctness as to duplicate documents.
10. All duplicates of documents accompanying an application for a patent shall, by indorsement on the back of each sheet, be certified to be correct as to number and contents for the purposes of the Act, by the applicant, or one of the applicants, a patent attorney, or a solicitor.
Signature of applicant and witness.
11. Every application must be signed by all the applicants, whose signatures must be attested by a witness.
Application after revocation of patent obtained by fraud.
12. Where the applicant applies as the actual inventor after the revocation of a patent obtained in fraud of his rights, the application may be in the Form A10 in the Second Schedule hereto.
Amendment of provisional and complete specification before acceptance.
13. If, before an application accompanied by a provisional or complete specification has been examined, the person making the application desires to amend any of the documents filed, he may, with the consent of the Commissioner, do so without the payment of a fee.
Application for separate patent by way of amendment.
14. Where a person making application for a patent includes in his specification more than one invention he may, with the consent of the Commissioner, before acceptance, amend his complete specification, so as to apply to one invention only, and may make application for separate patents for each of the other inventions.
Where a person making application for a patent includes therein more than one invention, he may, after the refusal of the Commissioner to accept the application, amend it so as to apply to one invention only, and may make application for separate patents for each of the other inventions.
In either case every such new application shall, if the applicant notify his desire to that effect to the Commissioner, bear the date of the first application, and shall, together therewith, be proceeded with in the manner prescribed as if it had been originally made on that date.
Extension of time for leaving and accepting complete specifications.
15. Every application for an extension of time, for lodging a complete specification shall be made in the Form C1 in the Second Schedule, and shall state in detail the circumstances and grounds in and upon which the extension is applied for, and the Commissioner may require the applicant to substantiate such allegations by such proof as the Commissioner thinks necessary.
Time limit for acceptance of complete specification.
16. Every complete specification must be accepted within twelve months from the date of application, or within such extended period, not exceeding three months, as the Commissioner, on application within such twelve months, allows.
Notice and advertisement of acceptance.
17. On acceptance of an application with a provisional or complete specification, the Commissioner shall give notice thereof to the applicant, and shall, in the case of the acceptance of a complete specification, advertise such acceptance in the Gazette, or the official journal of the Patent Office.
Inspection of complete specification.
18. Upon the publication of such advertisement of acceptance, the application and complete specification or specifications, with the drawings, (if any), may be inspected at the Patent Office upon the payment of the prescribed fee.
Refusal to accept by Commissioner.
19. When the Commissioner refuses to accept an application and a complete specification, he shall notify the refusal to the applicant, and such notification shall be in the form F in the Second Schedule.
Advertisement of other proceedings.
20. All advertisements, notices, or documents, which by the Act or by these Regulations are required to be published, shall be advertised in the Gazette, or in the official journal of the Patent Office, or in such daily newspaper, as the Commissioner directs.
APPLICATION UNDER INTERNATIONAL AND COLONIAL ARRANGEMENTS.
Convention application.
21. Every convention application shall contain a declaration that a foreign application has been made, and shall specify all the countries in which foreign applications have been made, and the official date or dates thereof, respectively. The application must be made within twelve months from the date of the first foreign application, and must be
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accompanied by a complete specification, and be signed by the person or persons by whom the first foreign application was made, and be attested by a witness.
22. If such person, or any of such persons, is dead, the application must be signed by the legal representative of such dead person, as well as by the other applicants, if any.
Form of application.
23. Every convention application shall be made in the Form A6 in the Second Schedule.
Foreign specification to accompany application.
24. Every convention application, in addition to the specifications left therewith, must be accompanied by a copy or copies of the application, specification, and drawings or documents, filed or deposited by the applicant in the Patent Office of the British possession or foreign State in respect of the first foreign application, duly certified by the official chief or head of the Patent office of the British possession or foreign State, or otherwise verified to the satisfaction of the Commissioner.
Entry of application.
25. On receipt of such application, together with the prescribed specifications and the other documents accompanying it, and of such other proof of or relating to the foreign application or of the official date thereof (if any) as the Commissioner requires, the Commissioner shall record the official date of the first foreign application and of the convention application.
Public inspection allowed if not accepted.
26. If the complete specification left with the application is not accepted within twelve months from the date of the convention application, it shall, with the drawings (if any), be open to public inspection on payment of the prescribed fee.
Further proceedings.
27. Save as aforesaid, all proceedings in connexion with a convention application shall be taken within the times and in the manner prescribed by the Act or these Regulations for ordinary applications.
EXTENSION OF STATE PATENTS TO COMMONWEALTH PATENTS.
Application for extension of patent.
28. Every conversion application shall be made, in the Form A8 or A9 in the Second Schedule, and shall specify the official number and dates of the State patent or patents, and shall contain a declaration that the State patent or patents are in force.
Production of State patent or patents.
29. The Commissioner may, if he considers it desirable to do so, direct that the State patent or patents be produced for his inspection,
State specifications to accompany application.
30. The application must be signed by the applicant and attested by a witness, and, in addition to the specifications left therewith, be accompanied by a copy or copies of all the complete specifications and drawings upon which the State patents were granted.
Amendment subsequent to grant of State or States patents.
31. The applicant must state whether any amendment has been made in any document subsequent to the grant of the patent or patents, in any State or States, and the reason for, and the nature of, the amendment.
Amendments and objections to State or States patents.
32. The applicant must state, in writing, when lodging his application, if his application has been refused in any State or States, and the ground of such refusal, and, in the case of any objection having been raised to its acceptance in any State or States, he shall also state the nature of the objections, and the manner in which the objections were overcome.
Surrendered State patent.
33. It the applicant desires to surrender his State patent or patents, or any of them, every such State patent or patents shall accompany the application, and be cancelled by the Commissioner upon the sealing of a patent hereunder.
State patent or patents returned if application refused.
34. If the conversion application is refused, the State patent shall be returned to the applicant.
Fee.
35. The payment of the prescribed renewal fee on a conversion patent shall be reckoned as from the date of the conversion application.
Further proceedings.
36. Save as aforesaid, all proceedings in connexion with a conversion application shall be taken within the times and in the manner prescribed for ordinary applications.
APPLICATION FOR ADDITIONAL PATENT.
Application for additional patent.
37. Every application for an additional patent in respect of an improvement on an invention shall contain a declaration that the applicant is the patentee of the original invention and that the patent for that invention is in full force, and that the subject-matter of the invention is an improvement on the invention for which the patent was granted, and shall specify the official number, date, and title of the original patent, and of all previous additional patents, if any, that have been obtained in connexion therewith.
Application to be signed by applicant. Fee.
The application shall be in the Form A7 in the Second Schedule, and shall be signed by the applicant in the presence of a witness.
The time for payment of the prescribed renewal fee on an additional patent shall be reckoned as from the date of the additional patent.
Further proceedings.
40. Save as aforesaid, all proceedings in connexion with an additional application shall be taken within the times and in the manner prescribed for ordinary applications.
SIZE, ETC., OF DOCUMENTS.
Size of documents.
41. Subject to any directions given by the Commissioner, all documents and copies of documents sent to or left at the Patent Office, or furnished to the Commissioner or to the Court or the Law Officer, shall be written or printed in the English language on tough white paper of good quality, not thinner than 250 to 300 sheets per inch. The sheets shall be 13 inches by 8 inches, with a margin of not less than 2 inches at the left side, and one-half inch elsewhere.
Specifications.
The top half of the first sheet of specifications shall be left blank, and the writing or printing shall be on one side only.
The contents shall be written or printed in carbonaceous or other permanent ink, not affected by bleaching agents. If written, the writing shall be large and legible, not more than ten letters per inch, and with not more than two line spaces per inch. If printed, the type shall not be less than pica, and then shall not be more than three line spaces per inch.
The date and the signature shall be on the last page, which shall, in the case of the complete specification, also contain the conclusion of the claims, and, in the case of the provisional specification, the conclusion of the description of the nature of the invention.
Signatures.
The signatures to all documents must be written in full in a large and legible hand.
Duplicate documents.
In all cases, one duplicate of the provisional, and six duplicates of the complete specifications, shall be lodged with and at the same time as the originals.
Each such duplicate shall be marked " True Copy," and shall be signed by the applicant or his agent, and the responsibility that it is so must rest on the person so signing.
Duplicates of all other documents required by the Commissioner shall be left as directed by him.
SIZES AND METHODS OF PREPARING DRAWINGS ACCOMPANYING PROVISIONAL OR COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS.
Drawings.
42. The provisional or complete specification need not be accompanied by drawings if the specification sufficiently describes the invention without them; but if drawings are furnished they shoul
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