A recent decision by Justice Beach of the Federal Court of Australia (“Federal Court”) in SNF (Australia) Pty Ltd v BASF Australia Ltd (2019) 140 IPR 276 (“SNF v BASF proceeding”) highlights the potential for patent applicants to face significant costs and delay in obtaining grant when pre-grant oppositions spill over into appeals from the Australian Patent Office (“Patent Office”) to the Federal Court.

Gilbert + Tobin partner, John Lee, and lawyer, Vanessa Farago-Diener examine the implications of the decision in this article originally published by Intellectual Property Forum ¹.

Download the PDF document.

_{1. Vanessa Farago-Diener and John Lee, ‘Retaining the Dam Wall: Does a Recent Case Suggest a Review of Australia’s Pre-Grant Patent Oppositions?’ (2019) 117 Intellectual Property Forum 24.}