• If you're applying for a patent in Australia, it's important to understand the country's patent laws.australia image by Orlando Florin Rosu from Fotolia.com
  
  There are many important parts to patent law that inventors need to understand. The Australian Novelty Patent Laws outline the requirements for a patent to be approved and define the term "Novelty" which is an essential requirement in order to be approved for a patent and one that can vary from one country to the next.
  
  

Novelty Requirement

• The necessary requirement for a patent is that the invention is new and has not been seen, revealed, or processed anywhere else. This prevents someone else from sniping the inventor's idea without doing any of the work. In Australia, the rule of novelty is absolute. Anyone applying for a patent will only receive one if the invention in question has not been disclosed anywhere in the world prior to the application of an Australian patent.
  
  

Novelty Restrictions

• Even if the invention is completely new in Australia, if it is in use or has commonly been used anywhere else in the world, that item can not be patented and is fair game among national competition for mass production. Unlike American law, there is no time limit or other loop holes. Under Australian law if there is even a documented case of another patent under consideration in another country that predates the Australian claim, then the novelty of the Australian patent can be denied.
  
  

Novelty Challenges

• Under Australian Patent Laws, the novelty of a patent can be challenged based on a variety of grounds. Not only can any invention, publication of a future invention, or even recorded patent application in another location disqualify the novelty of a patent, but there is also a 12 month grace period where the patent can be challenged by anyone who claims prior novelty or has any other complaint.