Australia: Patent

IP Australia's 2026 Australian IP Report reveals record-breaking trade mark and design filings, shifts in international application patterns, and the growing influence of AI and energy technologies on Australia's intellectual property landscape. The report demonstrates strong links between IP rights ownership and economic benefits for Australian businesses, particularly in early-stage ventures and design-intensive sectors.

Australian patent law requires every invention to qualify as a 'manner of manufacture' under the Statute of Monopolies, yet this centuries-old concept continues to evolve through landmark litigation. The recent Aristocrat v Commissioner of Patents case has reshaped how courts assess computer-implemented inventions, while decisions like D'Arcy v Myriad Genetics have clarified boundaries for biotechnology patents, creating critical implications for businesses evaluating IP portfolios and freedom to operate.

Following the Aristocrat Technologies v Commissioner of Patents decision and updated IP Australia guidance, this article examines strategic approaches to claiming AI and machine learning inventions in Australia. It explores how to identify where real value lies in AI systems, support multiple claiming pathways across the AI lifecycle, and draft patent applications that withstand characterisation challenges by demonstrating practical implementation rather than abstract results.

The Full Federal Court's decision in The NOCO Company v Brown and Watson has fundamentally altered Australia's patent landscape by establishing that divisional applications must disclose the best method known at the divisional filing date, not the parent application date. This ruling creates significant challenges for patent applicants managing global portfolios, as improvements discovered between parent and divisional filings must now be disclosed or risk patent invalidity.

In an important decision, the Full Federal Court in The NOCO Company v Brown and Watson International held that the relevant date for assessing the best method known to the applicants is the filing date...

IP Australia (IPA) has released a consultation paper (Paper) proposing several possible reforms to intellectual property legislation, with the objective to "streamline and simplify" regulation of registered IP...

In this article we do a deep dive on key legal issues when buying a software business in Australia.

In the food and beverage space, environmental claims have become a serious IP and legal issue in Australia and internationally.

Debate about the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in Australia.