Fabricating invention: the patent malfunction of Australian patent law

Abstract

Despite advice to parliament that patents are granted only for "a significant advance over what was known and what was available to the public" the evidence shows this is not the standard used. The actual standard is a scintilla – a marginal difference from what is known. The consequence of such a low standard is that thousands of patents are granted for things that contribute no public benefit. Such trivial patents can impede genuinely inventive companies. Show more