Commonwealth Consolidated Regulations Commonwealth Consolidated Regulations(1) For subsection 56A(1) of the Act, a PCT application is taken to have become open to public inspection, and to have been published in Australia:
(a) if a notice in relation to the application is published under subregulation (3)--on the day the notice is published; or
(b) if subregulation (5) applies--on the day the application is published under Article 21 of the PCT.
(2) Subregulation (3) applies to a PCT application:
(a) that has not lapsed, or been withdrawn or refused; and
(b) for which the applicant has complied with subsection 29A(5) of the Act before the end of 18 months after the priority date of the application.
(3) The Commissioner must publish a notice in the Official Journal stating that the PCT application is open to public inspection:
(a) if the applicant asks the Commissioner in writing to publish the notice; or
(b) in any case--as soon as practicable after the end of 18 months after the priority date of the application.
(4) A request for publication under subregulation (3) must be in the approved form.
(5) The PCT application is open to public inspection if:
(a) the applicant does not comply with subsection 29A(5) of the Act within 18 months after the priority date of the application; and
(b) the application is published under Article 21 of the PCT.
(6) The following documents are open for inspection if a notice is published under subregulation (3) or if subregulation (5) applies:
(a) a copy of the relevant application;
(b) all documents in the possession of the Patent Office, other than those mentioned in subregulation (7), that are associated with:
(ii) any provisional application from which the application claims priority under Article 8 of the PCT.
(7) Subregulation (6) does not apply to the following documents:
(a) a document that would be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional privilege;
(b) a document mentioned in subregulation 4.3(2) ;
(c) a document setting out any information that was not transmitted to the International Bureau in accordance with Rule 26bis.3(h - bis) of the PCT;
(d) a document setting out any information in respect of which the International Bureau has, under Rule 48.2(n) of the PCT, notified the Commissioner that it has omitted that information from international publication;
(e) a document setting out any information in respect of which the International Bureau has, under Rule 94.1(f) of the PCT, notified the Commissioner that it has omitted that information from public access.
(7A) However, if the Commissioner makes a copy of a document mentioned in paragraph ( 7)(c), (d) or (e) in a form that does not contain information of the kind mentioned in those paragraphs then, unless the copy is covered by paragraph ( 7)(a) or (b), it is open for public inspection under paragraph ( 6)(b).
"priority date" has the same meaning as in the PCT.