Patent decision

BL number

O/074/01

Concerning rights in

EP application 93917457.9 and related patents and patent applications

Hearing Officer

Mr S N Dennehey

Decision date

14 February 2001

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Richard Munday v RPL Industries Pty Ltd

Provisions discussed

PA 1977 sections 12 and 13

Keywords

Entitlement, Inventorship

Related Decisions

None

Summary

After hearing evidence and argument on the matter, including cross-examination, the Hearing Officer found that Russell Long was the deviser of the concept of a padlock in which the body has at least at one end a formation which progressively reduces in cross-sectional dimension (the so-called 'conical top'), and accordingly that entitlement in this concept belonged to the defendant, RPL. He also noted that it was not in dispute that the concept of using a circlip to retain an outer body part of a padlock rotatably on an inner body part was devised by the claimant, Richard Munday, and that he is entitled to it. Costs were awarded in favour of RPL.

Full decision O/074/01 48Kb