5.3.2.1 Title of the application

Also in this Chapter:

• 5.3.2.2 Abstracts
• 5.3.2.3 Requirements for text, pagination, formulas, equations, and drawings
• 5.3.2.4 Substitute pages to comply with formalities
• 5.3.2.5 Requirements for amino acid and nucleotide sequences
• 5.3.2.6 Scandalous matter.​​​​​​​

Key Legislation: 

Patents Act : 

• s104 Amendments by applicants and patentees​​​​​​​

On this page

• Overview
• Examination practice:

  • Amendments to the title

  • Consistency of title between the documents

  • Title on the certificate of grant.

Overview

A specification should commence with a short and precise title.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Examination practice

There is no need for an objection if the title is inadequate.

Amendments to the title

Applicants can choose to amend the title under s104.

For national phase applications, any request to amend the title on the front page of the PCT pamphlet will be treated as a request to change the record in the case file bibliographic data. 

• If accepting a national phase application with a request to amend the title where the change has not already been made to the case file, examiners should complete the fields under the “Examining Delegate's Report on Amendments” field in RIO indicating that there are proposed s104 amendments and that these include bibliographic amendments (see RIO - Processing National Examination Tasks - Prepare for Acceptance for example images of the acceptance screens). 

• If a request to amend the title on the front page is received at any other time and has not already been actioned in the case file, examiners should send CEG an email at era@ipaustralia.gov.au identifying the title change request with an informative comment. 

Consistency of title between the documents

The title should be consistent between all documents in the case file. However, no objection arises if the documents are not consistently titled but a relationship between them can otherwise be clearly established.

Where all documents in the case file are consistently titled and the title of one of them is amended, there is no objection to the resulting inconsistency of titles.

Title on the certificate of grant

The title on the certificate of grant is based on the title in the patent request. For national phase applications, it is based on the title that appears on the front page of the PCT pamphlet.

Note: Examiners should be aware that when applicants request an amendment to the title, they almost certainly have an expectation that the amended title will appear on the certificate of grant. If a request to amend the title does not include amending the title on the patent request or in the case bibliographic data, this should be brought to the applicant's attention either by way of a note in any adverse report, or by phone.