Mr ENTSCH (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Science and Resources) (11:08 AM) —by leave—I move:

(1) Schedule 1, item 26, page 14 (lines 9 and 10), omit the item, substitute:

26 Paragraph 54(6)(a)

After “divisional application”, insert “for a standard patent provided for in section 79B”.

(2) Schedule 1, page 14 (before line 11), before item 27, insert:

26A Subsection 55(1)

After “under section 54”, insert “or under subsection 62(3)”.

(3) Schedule 1, item 34, page 15 (after line 29), at the end of section 62, add:

(3) If:

(a) a divisional application provided for in section 79B is made for an innovation patent; and

(b) a notice is published in the Official Journal that the complete specification filed in respect of the divisional application is open to public inspection;

the Commissioner must also publish in the Official Journal a notice that the complete specification filed in respect of the original application on which the divisional application is based is open to public inspection.

(4) Schedule 1, item 42, page 17 (after line 15), after subsection (1), insert:

(1A) The reference to a complete patent application first-mentioned in subsection (1) does not include a reference to a divisional application for an innovation patent provided for in section 79C.

(5) Schedule 1, page 28 (after line 6), after item 57, insert:

57A Subsection 114(2)

Repeal the subsection.

(6) Schedule 1, item 74, page 32 (line 3), omit “request” (second occurring), substitute “specification”.

The major objective of the Patents Amendment (Innovation Patents) Bill 2000 is to introduce the new innovation patent system. However, it has become apparent that the bill has several unintended effects with regard to the publication of innovation patents and the conversion of innovation patents to standard patents. The amendments correct these unintended effects and two other minor drafting errors in the bill.

One of the objectives of the innovation patent system is to provide fast progression from application to granted patent. To meet this objective, innovation patents will be granted soon after filing and will generally only be published after grant. Post-grant publication will ensure that the publication process does not delay grant. An oversight during the drafting of the bill has resulted in a situation where innovation patents will, in some cases, be unintentionally published prior to grant. The first amendment corrects this unintended effect.

The Patents Act allows applications to file a further application—a divisional application—for an invention described in an earlier application—the parent application. A technical requirement of the Patents Act is that once a divisional application is published, the parent application must also be published. This allows the public to ascertain that the divisional application properly relates to an invention described in the parent. However, the current wording of the bill does not necessitate the publication of the parent where a divisional application is an innovation patent. The second and third amendments correct this oversight.

The fourth amendment closes a loophole that would have allowed the conversion of innovation patents to standard patents. It has always been the government's intention that innovation patents cannot be converted to standard patents. The remaining two amendments remove a redundant provision from the bill and make a technical correction in the wording of the bill.

These amendments ensure that the innovation patent system will operate as intended and provide an effective system for the protection of lower level and incremental inventions. I seek leave to table the supplementary explanatory memorandum.

Leave granted.

Amendments agreed to.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.

Ordered that the bill be reported to the House with amendments.