A patent is granted for an invention being the embodiment of an idea in a product or process.

Patents are not granted for ideas per se, but rather are concerned with the practical application of ideas.

IP SENTINELS can assist you with:

• Assessing your invention to consider patentability
• Searching to see if your invention is new
• Drafting a patent specification to cover the invention in a way that is not easily avoided by potential infringers
• Filing a patent application with the Australian Patent Office (IP Australia) or the New Zealand Patent Office (IPONZ) and other Patent Offices around the world, including filing an International Patent Application under the Patent Co-operation Treaty, or by use of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
• Prosecuting your patent application through to grant, which includes advising on responses to Office Actions by Patent Examiners (also called examination reports) and filing the response in the best way to overcome the objection raised by the examiner
• Running an opposition against the grant of a patent or defending an opposition filed by someone else against the grant of your application
• Providing infringement or freedom to operate advice.  This may be to a patent holder wishing to enforce the patent against an infringer or it may be to a business wishing to avoid infringing the rights of a patent owner
• Attending to annuities (that is payment of maintenance or renewal fees) along with monitoring of annuity dates

Guide to Australian and New Zealand Standard Patent application procedure