Aspirating IP Limited v Vision Systems Limited

Aspirating IP Limited appealed against a decision of the Commissioner for Patents that their patent application was invalid. The dispute centred on the validity of a patent application for a smoke detection system using a bypass arrangement. The case was heard and determined in the Federal Court of Australia. The primary issue before the court was the priority date of the patent application, specifically whether the claims in the Australian patent application were fairly based on an earlier patent application filed in the United Kingdom. The court had to determine whether the claims in the Australian patent application were novel and involved an inventive step as required under the Patents Act 1990 (Cth). Additionally, the court examined the construction of certain terms in the claims and the prior art base for assessing novelty and inventive step.

The court found that the priority date of the claim was the date of filing of the patent application in the United Kingdom because that application contained a real and reasonably clear disclosure of the relevant bypass arrangement. The court also determined that the term 'main duct means in the form of sampling duct means of a smoke detection system' included air conditioning ducts, meaning that the major claims in the specification lacked novelty as smoke detection systems using air conditioning ducts to draw air were in common use before the priority date. Consequently, the claims 1-18 inclusive in the specification did not involve an inventive step. The court concluded that the applicant was not entitled to the grant of a patent for the invention.

The court ordered that each party has leave to make submissions as to the final orders to be made having regard to these reasons.