During the 1990s Australian courts have focused more closely on the wording of patent specifications when assessing validity. In many cases, granted claims have been held to be novel and inventive but nevertheless invalid due to the failure of the claims to comply with section 40 of the Australian Patents Act 1990. Section 40(2) requires that a complete specification 'describe the invention fully, including the best method known to the applicant of performing the invention' while section 40(3) requires that 'the claim or claims must be clear and succinct and fairly based on the matter described in the specification'. While it is possible to amend a patent specification during infringement proceedings, an Australian court has the discretion to refuse the amendments1 and there are also issues regarding recovery of damages before amendments.2
