Judge Holds that Assessment of Ownership can be Affected by Events Subsequent to Filing Date
In SC Johnson & Son Ltd v International Consolidated Business Pty Ltd the High Court Judge quashed an Assistant Commissioner’s decision and ordered a rehearing before the Assistant Commissioner on the issue of ownership...
Disclosure Grace Period Held to Cover Post-Filing ‘Whole of Contents’ Disclosures
In Rozenberg & Co Pty Ltd v Velin-Pharma A/S the Delegate held that a post-filing publication of the same applicant can be covered by the grace period provisions, and so could be disregarded for novelty and inventive step purposes as a ‘whole of contents’ prior art base document...
In Merial Inc v Intervet International BV the Judge upheld the Assistant Commissioner’s finding that a request for an extension of time in which to file a counterstatement satisfied the relevant exceptional circumstances provisions in the Patents Regulations 2014...
Substitutability Key Factor in Obviousness Analysis
In 2017 NZIPOPAT 23 Merial Inc v Alleva Animal Health Limited the Assistant Commissioner declined to make a finding of obviousness even though the prior art primarily only differed in not mentioning the specific salt of levamisole used and despite allowing salts of levamisole to be used...