IPA design withdrawal-of-request-for-examination — IP Australia Designs Examiners' Manual – 8.10. Examination and certification: Withdrawal of request for examination

While the regulations do not expressly deal with withdrawals of requests for examination, there is a general principle that a person who files a request may withdraw that request. Note that a person can only withdraw their own request – they cannot withdraw a request made by a third party . If the person asks to withdraw their request for examination before the examiner has issued a report, their request can be withdrawn. However, any fees they paid will not be refunded. If the examiner has completed a first report (an adverse report or a clear report), the examination has been done and the request has been carried out. This being the case, the owner cannot withdraw the request for examination. The time for completion of examination is set by the date of the first report (reg 5.04 ). Therefore, once the examiner has completed the first report, the examination must be dealt with on its merits. The owner cannot avoid dealing with the report by withdrawing the request for examination. ​​​​​​​ In all circumstances, the fee for filing the request is non-refundable. Withdrawing a request for examination, even before the due date for paying the examination fee, does not avoid the consequence of the registered design ceasing if that fee is not paid.