Australia
PATENT ANNUITIES COUNTRY GUIDE
About this Guide
This series of Spotlight Articles developed by the Astria team, shares insights into patent annuity country rules and formalities, based on key Patent Offices (PTO) jurisdictions Worldwide. Astria’s software-enabled payments service combines; leading intuitive software, IP data integrity and outstanding paralegal services, within one solution.
This article highlights Australia, a key market for many of Wellspring’s clients.
Australia Patent Overview
In Australia, the first annuity fee is due on the 4th anniversary of the effective filing date, this is known as the 5th year. After the 5th year fee has been paid, renewals are due annually and continue through the patent’s lifetime until expiry. Under standard conditions, patents in Australia may be renewed annually to remain active for up to 20 years from the effective filing date. However, specific exceptions apply: certain pharmaceutical patents are eligible for extensions, allowing them to be renewed and remain in force for up to 25 years.
To ensure accurate calculation of Australian patent renewals in Astria, the application date is required, regardless of IP status.
Fact: Renewals in Australia are due on both Pending applications and Granted applications.
Australia
Patent Office
Renewal Process
Patent Applications
In 2023, the number of standard patent grants in Australia declined by 5.1% to a total of 15,573. This decrease affected both residents, with grants down by 6.0% to 1,000, and non-residents, whose grants dropped by 5.0% to 14,573.
Patent grants in Australia saw a significant spike over the period 2015 to 2017, as shown in the figure above.
Patent Renewal Rules
As mentioned, renewals in Australia are payable on the 4th anniversary of the filing date for the 5th year. Renewals are due on both Pending and Granted applications. If a patent application has a filing date of 06/11/2018, all future renewals will be due on the same day and month as the original filing date. Thus, the 5th year renewal fee would be due on 06/11/2022.
Astria displays the routine renewal payment deadline for renewals in Australia. Organisations do have the option through Astria to pause payment, as it is still possible to pay the renewal during the grace period.
If the fee is not paid by the due date, it is still possible to be paid during the 6-month grace period in Australia. For every month there will be an extra late fee added to the final payment. Astria clients can view the flat-rate, official late fee increases in the portal to help decide when to pay an Australian renewal.
Effortless IP Renewals with Astria
ensuring confidence in your renewal deadlines, data integrity, and process management.