Feedback Sought on Issues with Using IP Australia’s New Online Services Platform

With the impending decommissioning of IP Australia’s eServices Platform feedback is being sought on any issues users of IP Australia’s New Online Services Platform have had.

In 2018 IP Australia began developing a more customer-centric platform through the use of API technology, which improves the immediacy, reliability and connectedness to their external-facing services compared to the eServices Platform. External input was sought during the development stage through webinars with stakeholders who joined the Transactional Digital Services Reference Group.

In September 2020 the new Online Services Platform was made available to all customers for trialling and trade mark renewal purposes and progressively included more services while the eServices Platform remained available throughout as an alternative.

In March 2021 IP Australia announced that the new Online Services Platform will completely replace the eServices Platform from 1st July 2021, with the eServices Platform no longer being available for use. It was also announced that the filing of international patents would not be supported on the Online Services Platform and would need to be done via WIPO’s ePCT system, although payments for PCT filings can be made via the Online Services Platform.

Following concerns raised by patent and trade mark attorneys with aspects of the new platform representative attorney organisations IPTA and FICPI are increasing pressure on IP Australia to address the raised concerns and are encouraging more feedback on the new platform. Particularly of interest are any inefficiencies or inconveniences introduced by the new platform and any critical deficiencies such as could result in increased liability risks for attorneys.

Examples of concerns that have been raised are:

• The lack of provision for an attorney reference number;
• Listing all tasks rather than tasks relevant to a specific IP right such as patents, designs or trade marks;
• No longer providing an assignment form in a format that allows data entry;
• Providing payment receipts that do not mention the IP right that the payment has been made in respect of;
• Given the near instantaneous publication of trade marks the section 64 pre-publication amendment provisions are effectively redundant.

A recent outcome of these organisations having a video conference meeting with IP Australia on 8th June 2021 was IP Australia agreeing to allow for an attorney reference number and to delay the decommissioning of the eServices Platform until 1st August 2021. IP Australia are also expecting to resolve some other issues in the next couple of weeks. Feedback can either be made using IP Australia’s anonymous feedback tool and/or via the above attorney organisations.

Author: Quinn Miller

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