IPA patent 5.5.3.7-errors-mistakes-omissions — IP Australia Patent Manual of Practice and Procedure – 5.5.3.7 Errors, Mistakes, Omissions

Also in this Chapter: 5.5.3.1 Words are given plain meaning ; 5.5.3.2 Read the specification as a whole ; 5.5.3.3 Purposive Construction ; 5.5.3.4 Dictionary Principle ; 5.5.3.5 Reject the absurd ; 5.5.3.6 Description Construed as a Technical Document ; 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) 5.7.5 Amendments to correct a clerical error or obvious mistake ​​​​​​​Treatment of minor errors, mistakes, and omissions In general, if the examiner can understand the specification despite some mistakes or omissions, they can assume that the skilled person (the intended reader of the specification) will also be able to do so. Similarly, examiners should not expect or insist that an invention be described with a degree of precision that is not required by those skilled in the art. McTiernan J stated in AMP v Utilux (1971) 45 ALJR 123 at page 128: "Specifications very frequently contain mistakes; they also have omissions. But if a man skilled in the art can easily rectify the mistakes and can readily supply the omissions, the patent will not be held to be invalid. The test to be applied for the purpose of ascertaining whether a man skilled in the art can readily correct the mistakes or readily supply the omissions, has been stated to be this: Can he rectify the mistakes and supply the omissions without the exercise of any inventive faculty? If he can, then the description of the specification is sufficient. If he cannot, the patent will be void for insufficiency."