KEY POINTS
- Responsible for granting patents, trade marks, industrial designs and plant breeder's rights.
- A prescribed agency under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).
- Operates independently of the Department on financial matters and with some degree of autonomy on other matters.
- Estimated revenue (mainly from fees paid by applicants for registration) of $148.5m for the 2007-2008 financial year.
- Role is to provide a robust intellectual property (IP) system, to enable Australians to benefit from their creativity and to enable Australia to access foreign technologies.
FACTS AND FIGURES
IP Australia’s role in support of innovation consists of:
- making sure the rights we grant our robust and reliable, so that Australians can confidently base commercial decisions on their rights;
- securing greater international harmonisation of international IP laws and practices, so that Australians can more easily achieve protection in overseas markets; and
- raising awareness among Australian businesses of the value and potential of their IP.
On our services, AusPat has recently been launched to enable easier searching of our patent databases – the current tools are old, difficult to use and not properly integrated.
On international harmonisation, we have been recognised as an International Search Authority by the US Patent and Trademark Office which reflects IP Australia’s standing in the field of international patent search and examination.
On awareness raising, we have tailored information designed to help Australian businesses understand the importance of IP when they are first starting out, or seeking to expand via exporting.
A particular challenge for us at the moment is to secure enough patent examiners to handle the increasing amount of patent examiner work. This is difficult in a strong economy and there has been a growing backlog of patent applications as a result. We are developing a comprehensive strategy to tackle this problem.
Key statistics
In 2006/07, IP Australia received 26,365 patent applications, 106,279 trade mark applications, 6,142 design applications and 388 plant breeder’s rights applications.
IP rights are affected by a number of international treaties. Many of our patent applications come from US companies seeking to protect their innovation in Australia. By offering rigorous IP protection, IP Australia facilitates access by Australians to overseas technology.
Financial and staffing details
97% of IP Australia’s revenue is on a full cost recovery basis. The remaining 3% is funded from Government through appropriations covering minor new measures and notional interest supplementation. IP Australia’s estimated revenue for the 2007-2008 financial year, which will be published in Additional Estimates, is $148.5m.
IP Australia’s head office is located in Discovery House, Woden. Staffing numbers are about 900 ASL.