All along, Chinese companies are very concerned about the topic of differences between the patent laws in Australia, Europe and the United States are, which lead to differences in patentability, scope of protection, how to be protected and how to safeguard right, etc problems.
One of the characteristics of the U.S. patent system is the principle of first to invent. Australia, Europe and many other countries apply the principle of first to apply.
The patent laws of Australia and the United States both have a 12-month grace period, in which one can legally submit a patent application for invention after the same has been made public. In Australia, the grace period only refers to the publication by the patent applicant or those derived from the applicant; in the United States, this grace period includes the third-party publication. It should be noted that the grace period of the United States becomes more consistent with the Australian after the passing of the Invention Act.
In Australia and Europe, the novelty is absolute: disclosure or use in any part of the world is considered as prior art. In the United States, the disclosure or use of prior art is only limited to the United States.
A patent not subject to protection in one jurisdiction does not mean that it can not be protected in other jurisdiction. It shows that we can also see the differences as an advantage, because it provides the patentee, as to its product, more choices to carry out its patent acts, so as to maximize the benefit in the growing global market.
