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After filing your standard patent application, you have five years in which to request to have your patent examined.
If you request to have this examination done, without being directed to do so, this is called a voluntary request for examination.
When you file a patent application, it is automatically assessed against the requirements for granting a patent. An Examiner will issue a Direction to Request Examination, after which you have two months to request examination of the application. Requesting examination effectively tells the Examiner that you still want to proceed with the application.
However, there may be a backlog at the patents office and it may take some time (maybe a few years) for an Examiner to get to your patent application before issuing a Direction to Request Examination. If you want the Examiner to get to your application more quickly, you can request an examination voluntarily.
Voluntary requests for examination are also useful when you want your patent to be granted sooner. This may be if you see a competitor commercialising a product that may infringe your patent once it is granted. You can only enforce a granted patent so this is useful if you want to enforce the patent against infringers and otherwise commercialise the patent such as in a sale of licence.
If the deadline for your patent filing (5 years) is approaching and you’re yet to request an examination, you will typically be sent a direction to request examination by the Australian patent office, and typically also a reminder from your patent attorney.
In some cases, you may be prompted to request an examination in advance of the five-year deadline.
The Commissioner of Patents can direct you to request an examination at any time before the deadline by issuing a Direction to Request Examination.
If you do not action a request for examination within the deadline following a received reminder or Direction, your patent application will lapse.
If the Commissioner of Patents has directed you to make the request, you have just two months in which to do so before your application lapses. This request overrides the five-year deadline and can occur any time from the filing date.
I found them online and initially I was bit hesitant to talk to them about my problem but when I spoke to Barry, I felt more comfortable, and he gave me all the information and advice I wanted without even thinking that I am going to give him business or not. Finally, I went with them, and they made the entire process so smooth and easy for me. john was keeping us updated with each step he was doing. I would recommend these guys for any patent or trademark related service.
I would like to express my thanks to Barry and his team at IP Guardian in Sydney for their assistance with our recent Trademark application. Barry was highly professional, readily available throughout the process and clearly communicated expectations. Barry even helped us refine our application so that we had a greater chance of success which was very much appreciated to avoid extra costs. I would highly recommend Ip Guardian for all your Trademark and Intellectual Property needs.
Barry, last week, you and your professional team, made my year (or probably my next 21 years). So thank you so much for your executive, calm yet very effective actions under extream pressure. Elias Hajjar, Director, TROLLEYON PTY LTD
Informative, understood the business, what it needed and answered questions in a friendly and approachable manner. Easy decision to continue working with IPGuardian for future trademarking
From the day I contacted Barry Meskin until now with my silly amateur questions, he has been nothing short of amazing. I actually NEVER leave reviews anywhere, but I felt the need to do so for Barry and his team. I myself am a tradie, so I felt intimidated speaking to an attorney. But the second I spoke to him on the phone, he made me feel right at home. Never pressured me into any decisions, yet when I decided to go ahead with him, he delivered what I needed much quicker than what I was expecting. I cannot speak highly enough of him and recommend his services 100%.
The team at IP Guardian have made the process extremely straight forward and easy for us to understand exactly what was required. I will highly recommend to our clients who need help with IP.
I have dealt with Barry over the years, his advice and experience has helped me greatly. Looking for to working with him and his team again. Maher.
IP Guardian helps protect words, symbols, letters, numbers, names, signatures, phrases, sounds, shapes and smells. Yes, I said smells.
We've had the pleasure to work closely with Barry for many years. He has been exceptional to deal with and has a keen focus in providing a commercial led IP "go to market" strategy for start-ups and well known brands. Makes it easy and always advises on different ways to navigate through the IP process.
Barry Meskin @ IP Guardian is an experienced and extremely knowledgeable expert in the domain of intellectual property, patents and trademarks. In addition he has been extremely responsive and very professional in all our dealings. I wholeheartedly recommend Barry's services to any business or anyone seeking advice in this area - great quality and great value.