A filing date in Intellectual Property terms is the date at which an application is first filed with IP Australia.
Patents, designs and trade marks have filing dates recorded as part of the application process, however, they are more relevant to patents and designs.
For provisional patent applications, this does not mean you need to have made or built your invention. You are simply protecting your rights provisionally by filling the information you do have in advance of having a prototype or working invention. You do have to have sufficient information to adequately describe the details of the invention though.
A filing date is not to be confused with a priority date. While they may indeed share the same date in some instances, a priority date can actually be earlier than the filing date.
A priority date refers to the earliest date from which an application can claim priority. In patent applications where there are different applications for the same invention by different applicants, the applicant who has the earlier priority date is awarded patent rights.
This can occur when a new application is linked with an earlier linked, parent filing or provisional application.
Your filing date determines the time frames in which your application must be processed. It also determines the date from which any protection is enforceable if a patent is ultimately granted.
After filing, you can continue working on your invention as well as sell it. In Australia you must request examination within 5 years of filing a standard patent application or within 2 months of IP Australia issuing a direction to request examination.
Failure to request an examination during this time will cause your application to lapse and the loss of your filing and/or priority date rights.
To ensure the filing requirements and associated timelines are met for your patent, it is recommended to engage a registered patent attorney.
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IP Guardian helps protect words, symbols, letters, numbers, names, signatures, phrases, sounds, shapes and smells. Yes, I said smells.
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