Commonwealth Numbered Regulations

1991 No. 71 PATENTS REGULATIONS - REG 3.12

3.12 (1) Subject to regulations 3.13 ("priority dates: certain persons and
applications") and 3.14 ("priority dates: certain amended claims") and
subregulation (2), the priority date of a claim of a specification is the
earliest of the following dates:

   (a)  the date of filing of the specification;

   (b)  if the claim is fairly based on matter disclosed in 1 or more relevant
        applications-the date of making the relevant application in which the
        matter was first disclosed;

   (c)  if:

        (i)    the specification is a complete specification filed in respect
               of a divisional application; and

        (ii)   the claim is fairly based on matter disclosed in the
               specification referred to in paragraph 39 (1) (a) or
               subsection 39 (2) of
the Act ("divisional applications"); the date that would have been the
priority date of the claim if it had been included in the last-mentioned
specification.
(2) In paragraph (1) (b), "relevant application" means:

   (a)  a provisional application that is associated with a complete
        application
in accordance with section 38 of the Act ("time for making complete
application"); or

   (b)  if the application is a Convention application, a basic application, a
        specification or another document filed in respect of, and at the same
        time as, a basic application that is related to the Convention
        application; or

   (c)  if the application is a PCT application that claims priority under
        Article 8 of the PCT of an earlier application that is:

   (i)  an application made in Australia not more than 12 months before the
        international filing date of the PCT application; or

   (ii) a basic application that is:

                (A)  the first application made in a Convention country in
                     respect of the invention; and

                (B)  made not more than 12 months before the international
                     filing date of the PCT application; or

        (iii)  a basic application made after a basic application referred to
               in subparagraph (ii); that earlier application; or

   (d)  a specification filed in relation to:

        (i)    a basic application referred to in paragraph (b); or

        (ii)   the earlier application referred to in paragraph (c); after the
               making of the application.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1) (c) (ii), a claim is not fairly based on
the specification referred to in paragraph 39 (1) (a) or subsection 39 (2) of
the Act if, in order to comply with paragraph 40 (2) (a) of the Act
("specifications"), the deposit requirements must be satisfied and on the date
of making the divisional application:
(a) the requirement specified in paragraph 6 (a) of the Act ("deposit
requirements") is not satisfied; or

   (b)  the period prescribed in subregulation 1.5 (1) ("prescribed periods:
        deposit requirements") has ended and the requirements of paragraph 6
        (c) of the Act are not satisfied; in relation to the specification
        referred to in paragraph 39 (1) (a) or subsection 39 (2) of the Act.

(4) If a PCT application claims priority from a basic application, a
specification or other document filed in respect of, and at the same time as,
a basic application, section 96 of the Act ("withdrawn, abandoned or refused
applications") is taken to apply to the PCT application as if it were a
Convention application. Note: The text of the PCT is set out in Schedule 2.