Category:Patents

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Australia Joins the Global Patent Prosecution Highway
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Breaking News – High Court of Australia Confirms That Methods of Medical Treatment are Patentable

Australia Joins the Global Patent Prosecution Highway

What is the Global Patent Prosecution Highway?

The Australian Patent Office is one of 13 patent offices from around the globe that have joined forces to create a Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) pilot program, which commenced on 6 January 2014.

Under the GPPH pilot program – where an applicant receives a ruling from a participating patent office that at least one claim in a patent application is allowable – the applicant may request that another participating patent office accelerate examination of a corresponding patent application. Read More

Breaking News – High Court of Australia Confirms That Methods of Medical Treatment are Patentable

Apotex Pty Ltd v Sanofi-Aventis Australia Pty Ltd & Ors [2013] HCA 50

The High Court of Australia yesterday issued its long awaited decision in a dispute between Apotex Pty Ltd (Apotex) and Sanofi-Aventis Australia Pty Ltd and related entities (collectively, Sanofi) concerning Sanofi’s Australian patent entitled “Pharmaceutical for the treatment of skin disorders” (Patent). In summary:

  1. The majority (French CJ, Crennan, Keifel and Gageler JJ, Hayne J dissenting) held that assuming all other requirements for patentability are met, a method (or process) for medical treatment of the human body can be a “manner of manufacture” and therefore patentable for the purposes of section 18 of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) (Act). Read More

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