Key highlights of Australian IP Report 2022

Patents

• A record number of standard patent applications (32,397) were filed (an 11% annual increase from 2020 and the highest number of standard patent applications filed annually in the last decade).
• However, due to the length associated with patent examination, the number of standard patents actually granted continued to decrease (a 3% decrease).
• The vast majority of applicants for standard patents were non-Australian residents (91%). Of these, most applications were filed from the US (45%).
• Unsurprisingly, the leading classes for standard patent applications were Pharmaceuticals, Medical technology and Biotechnology. Forced digitisation of Australia’s social and working environment also saw a dramatic annual growth in standard patent filings for Audiovisual technology (an 85% increase) and Computer technologies (a 27% increase).
• Whilst global patent filings for inventions associated with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) nearly doubles each year, Australia remains an unpopular destination and accounts for less than 2% of these filings.
• 2021 also saw an incredible annual growth in innovation patent filings in Australia (a 71% increase). This growth was due to the impending phase-out of the innovation patent in 2021. Innovation patents catered for protection of inventions with a short market lifespan, they were easier to obtain but, correspondingly, if granted, lasted only 8 years (instead of 20 years enjoyed by standard patents). Innovation patents have now been abolished in Australia and the last day to apply for this type of patent was 25 August 2021. Non-Australian residents were the most prolific applicants (78%), with China and India leading the international race.

Trade marks

• A record number of trade mark applications (88,725) were filed (a 9% annual increase from 2020 and the highest number of trade mark applications filed annually in the last decade).
• Australian residents accounted for 60% of all new trade mark applications. Among non-Australian applicants, the US, China and the UK led the race otherwise.
• COVID-19 meant we stayed at home (and cooked and redecorated) most of the time. This resulted in a sharp increase in trade mark filings for household kitchen utensils (a 28% increase). Social distancing also reflects in increased trade mark filings for telecommunications (a 25% increase).

Designs

• For the first time in a decade, the stagnant designs filing trend has been reversed. A record number of design applications (8,110) were filed (a 13% annual increase from 2020 and the highest number of design applications filed annually in the last decade). However, this growth is entirely attributable to filings made by non-Australian residents with the US, China and the UK leading the race.
• The number of designs granted also increased in 2021 (a 38% increase).
• Means of transportation remained the leading product class for design applications, followed by Recording, telecommunication or data processing equipment, as well as Games and toys.
• Whilst the Australian design filings remain very modest (by comparison, a total of 32,654 applications to register EU designs were lodged with the European Intellectual Property Office in 2021), recent changes to Australian design laws are likely to invigorate design filings.
• These recent legislative changes seek to improve design protection and streamline the design registration process including by: introducing a 12-month grace period to preserve the novelty of design and allow applicants to market test their products; providing defences of prior use and innocent infringement to design infringement claims, and abolishing an atavistic and inutile design publication system.

Uptake on all three registrable IP rights was on the increase in 2021 and, whilst Australia no longer has an innovation patent, this upward trend is likely to continue throughout 2022.