The Australian Patent Office (APO) is a division of IP Australia which is an agency of the Australian Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. APO issues patents for inventions. APO was established in 1904 by the Commonwealth of Australia and since 1998 has been located in one building, Discover House, in Canberra, Australia. In 2007 Discover House was expanded to include a third wing allowing co-location of all personnel. The new west wing of Discovery House was officially opened on 31 October 2007 by the Governor-General, His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC (Retd). In 2008-9 IP Australia opened a Patent Examination Centre in Melbourne to accommodate 40 patent examiners.
APO has been an International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) for patent applications filed in accordance with the Patent Co-operation Treaty since 31 March 1980. "APO issues reports on approximately 3,000 international searches each year. This workload has doubled since 1997 and it is increasing."
Read more about IP Australia: Statutory Basis, Organisational Structure, Patent Examiners, Notable Australian Patents
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