PATENTS AMENDMENT ACT 1978
No. 131 of 1978
An Act to amend the Patents Act 1952.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:
Short title, &c.
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Patents Amendment Act 1978.
(2) The Patents Act 1952 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.
Commencement
2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
Publication of complete specification
3. (1) Section 54a of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (2) and substituting the following sub-section:
“(2) Where—
(a) a complete specification has been lodged and a period of 18 months has elapsed since—
(i) if the complete specification contains only one claim—the priority date of that claim;
(ii) if the complete specification contains 2 or more claims and those claims have the same priority date—that priority date; or
(iii) if the complete specification contains 2 or more claims and those claims have 2 or more priority dates—the earlier or earliest, as the case may be, of those priority dates; and
(b) the specification has not become open to public inspection,
the Commissioner shall, unless the application has lapsed or has been refused or withdrawn, forthwith publish in the Official Journal a notification that the complete specification is open to public inspection.”.
(2) The amendment made by sub-section (1) does not apply in relation to complete specifications lodged on or before the date of commencement of this Act.