IPA patent 5.5.2.1-initial-considerations — IP Australia Patent Manual of Practice and Procedure – 5.5.2.1 Initial Considerations

Also in this Chapter: 5.5.2.2 The addressee 5.5.2.3 The role of common general knowledge 5.5.2.4 The invention described​​​​​​​ Key Legislation: Patents Act: s7 Novelty, inventive step and innovative step s7A Meaning of useful s18 Patentable inventions s40 Specifications s41 Specifications: micro-organisms ​​​​​​​ Related Chapters: 5.6.4 Citations: Prior art base and construction of prior art ; 5.6.5 Novelty, Whole of Contents, and Secret Use ; 5.6.6 Inventive Step ; 5.6.7 Full Disclosure, Sufficiency, Clarity, Support and Usefulness (s40) 5.6.8 Patent Eligible Subject Matter (Manner of Manufacture) ​​​​​​​​​​​​ On this page Identify the Field of the Invention Identify the problem addressed Identify the Field of the Invention Identify the field of the invention; that is, which area of technology the invention involves. For example, the invention lies in the field of refrigerated gases. Typically, most specification will provide a broad statement as to the general field to which the invention relates. Such statements are usually provided at the beginning of the specification or as part of the discussion on the background of the invention. While such statements may provide a useful indication of the field of technology in which the invention lies, examiners are reminded that the determination of the field should be done based on a consideration of the specification as a whole. Identify the problem addressed Identify the problem that the invention is intended to solve. The problem provides the context for identifying the person skilled in the art and determining the relevant common general knowledge. It is also the basis for understanding the state of the art in order to be able to assess inventive step. In many cases, the specification will explicitly identify the problem. If not, it should be possible to infer the problem from statements in the specification about: a stated object (aim) of the invention; or difficulties identified with the prior art. If the specification presents conflicting indications as to the nature of the problem, the examiner needs to resolve the conflict by weighing the different statements. Do not include any part of the solution in the phrasing of the problem.