Patent lawyers were kept busy throughout 2010, in a year which saw a company director being found liable for patent infringement, the Courts emphasising the importance of full and frank disclosure when seeking patent amendments, the first consideration of section 223 of the Patents Act, changes to patent prosecution practice, and legislative reform. 

Earlier this year, the Australian Patent Office (“APO”) in First Principles, Inc [2011] APO 1 considered the patentability of an invention relating to a method for “rational inquiry”.