IP Australia has announced that requests for examination of patents involving green technology may be “fast-tracked”.
Requests for examination are usually looked at in the order in which they are filed and the examination process can take up to 12 months. During this time IP Australia will scrutinize the application to consider its validity. The Patent Regulations state however, that requests for examination may be expedited if a written request is made to IP Australia. The request, which does not attract any fee, must specify the reasons why the application should be “fast tracked” ahead of other applications in the queue.
To encourage investment in environmentally-friendly technologies, IP Australia have stated that if the patent application ‘is considered to be in the field of “green technology”’ then expedited examination may be allowed.
More information on the expedited examination process can be found here.
