Let’s Make it a Date–Best Method and the Filing Date of the Earliest Complete Application
In the recent decision of NOCO Company v. Brown and Watson International Pty Ltd [2025] FCA 8871, Moshinsky J has provided welcomed clarity around the relevant date by which the best method known to the applicant is to be identified for divisional patent applications. Namely, the relevant date is the date from which the term of the patent is calculated. This means that for divisional patent applications, it is the filing date of the earliest complete or PCT application, not the individual filing date of each divisional application. And thus, it is at the time of filing the PCT application that the best method known to the applicant needs to be included in the specification.
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