Firebelt Pty Ltd v Brambles Australia Ltd

The Federal Court was concerned with an application for the revocation of a petty patent held by Firebelt Pty Ltd. The patent related to a side loading refuse vehicle that collected separately sorted waste, stored it in discrete compartments, and discharged it separately. The patent was challenged by Brambles Australia Limited trading as Cleanaway, the Cooloola Shire Council, and the State of Queensland. The primary issues were whether the invention was novel, involved an inventive step, and was useful. The court determined that the patent was novel as it involved a combination of known elements. However, the patent lacked an inventive step because the claimed invention was obvious in light of prior art. The court also found that the patent was useful. The priority date of the patent was fixed at 10 February 1992. The court ruled that the patent was not fully described, but this did not affect its validity. The patent was revoked on the basis of the lack of inventive step.