Specification Key To Unlocking Prior Art Admissions

The Full Court of the Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by Lockwood Security Products Pty Ltd (Lockwood) and has held that several claims in Lockwood’s Australian Patent No. 702534 (the Patent) were invalid for being obvious. In addition, the Full Court also held that Doric Products Pty Ltd (Doric) did not infringe those claims that covered the preferred embodiment of the invention described in the Patent. This case reminds practitioners and patentees of the need to carefully draft patent specifications when describing known prior art.

In Lockwood Security Products Pty Ltd v Doric Products Pty Ltd (2004) 214 CLR 274, the High Court of Australia held that the claims of the Patent were fairly based and remitted the matter back to the Full Court to determine the remaining issues of infringement of the claims defining the preferred embodiment of the invention described in the Patent (the preferred embodiment claims) and obviousness of the