Brunswick Sales Pty. Ltd. v. the Titan Manufacturing Co. Pty. Ltd. Summary

In the Matter of the Patents Act 1952 - and - In the Matter of Application No. 518132 for a Patent by BRUNSWICK SALES PTY. LTD. - and In the Matter of Opposition thereto under Section 59 by THE TITAN MANUFACTURING CO. PTY. LTD.

FINAL DECISION OF A SUPERVISING EXAMINER OF PATENTS:

In my decision in this matter dated 23 October, 1984 I found the opposition successful on the ground that the claimed invention lacked novelty. I afforded the applicant an opportunity to seek leave to amend its specification in order to claim novel subject matter. A request to amend was filed by the applicant within the time allowed and following examination action was advertised in the Official Journal on 3 December, 1987. In the absence of any opposition being filed to that request, the request was allowed and the specification duly amended, as notified in the official Journal on 12 May, 1988.

Following the allowance of the amendment request, the opponent advised via its patent attorneys that it did not wish to be further heard in respect of this matter.

I am satisfied that the amendments remove the grounds for the earlier findings and I am of the opinion that there is no lawful ground of objection to the application and complete specification. I direct therefore that the application and complete specification as amended proceed to sealing.

(T.R. BRUHN)

Supervising Examiner of Patents

15 JUN 1988

Patent Attorneys for the applicant : James M. Lawrie & Co. Patent Attorneys for the opponent : Clement Hack & Co.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Brunswick Sales Pty. Ltd. was the applicant for a patent, and Titan Manufacturing Co. Pty. Ltd. opposed the application on the grounds that the invention lacked novelty. The dispute was adjudicated by the Supervising Examiner of Patents, T.R. Bruhn. The applicant had previously been found to have a patentable invention but had failed to demonstrate novelty, leading to the opposition's success. The applicant was given the opportunity to amend the patent specification to include novel subject matter, which it subsequently did.

The legal issues before the court centred around whether the amendments to the patent specification effectively addressed the novelty issue and whether there were any lawful grounds to object to the patent application. The court had to determine if the amended specification met the statutory requirements for novelty and if it was free from any other objections that could impede the granting of the patent.

The court, after reviewing the amended specification, concluded that the amendments successfully removed the grounds for the previous findings of lack of novelty. The court found no lawful grounds to object to the application and complete specification as amended. Consequently, the court directed that the amended patent application and specification proceed to sealing.

The final orders of the court were to allow the amended patent application to proceed to sealing, effectively granting the patent to Brunswick Sales Pty. Ltd.

Brunswick Sales Pty. Ltd. v. the Titan Manufacturing Co. Pty. Ltd.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established