Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 2 and Other Measures) Act 2020

2 Commencement

Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3 Schedules

Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

4 Review of the accessibility of patents

The Minister must cause a review of the accessibility of patents for small and medium sized enterprises within 3 months of the commencement of this section.

Without limiting the matters the review should consider, the persons conducting the review must examine:

the cost of applications for patents; and

processing times of patents; and

advice provided by the Australian Government with respect to the patent application process; and

awareness of the patent application process.

The persons conducting the review must provide the Minister with a written report of the review within 12 months of the commencement of the review.

(4) The Minister must cause copies of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the report is given to the Minister.