Previously national patents filed in Italy did not undergo substantive examination and were presume valid. Assessments of patentability was deferred to nullity lawsuits or determined extra-judicially between the parties.

A copy of the Decree can be found on the website of Italian Patent and Trademark Office (IPTO): http://www.uibm.gov.it/public/decreto_anteriorita.pdf (in Italian)

Labels: Italy, Legal News, Patent News

IP Australia has announced that the AusPat search system for Australian patents will be upgraded later this month.

"The following changes will be included in AusPat 1.1

1. Addition of Opposition Data
2. Addition of Acceptance Published Date as a search field
3. Removal of Acceptance Date as a search field
4. Addition of Name of Agent paying last continuation/renewal fee (for mainframe applications)
5. Addition of Extension of Term data (for applications managed in PAMS)
6. Addition of Court Order details for Court Ordered Amendments (for applications managed in NPS)
7. Changes to Application Details page to support new data elements."

Labels: Patent News, Resources

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has updated its PATENTSCOPE service to provide full-text data search of Japanese patent documents. Previously full-text searching was only available in English, French, German, Spanish and Russian.

WIPO's press release discusses the benefits of this new facility: '“This enhancement improves access to Japanese PCT international applications, which make up 16% of all applications filed in the past four years,” said Mr. Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General of WIPO. He recalled that, after English, Japanese is the language in which most applications are filed. He also noted that a number of top users of the PCT are Japanese companies. “This is part of our continuing endeavor to add value to the PCT system,” noted Mr. Gurry, who oversees the work of the PCT. The PCT is a cornerstone of the international patent system and offers a rapid, flexible and cost-effective means of obtaining patent protection in up to 139 countries.

'The searchable Japanese text data includes descriptions and claims of published PCT international applications filed electronically in Japanese and published on or after July 3rd, 2008. It further includes all the titles and the bulk of abstracts of international applications published since 2004. The Japanese text data will also be available on a weekly basis to all patent offices and companies that have subscribed to the FTP data delivery service.'

Resources and for further information

World Intellectual Property Organization press release - WIPO’s PATENTSCOPE® Service Expands Language Functionality

World Intellectual Property Organization - PATENTSCOPE

Labels: Patent News, Resources