Request early examination of your application for IP rights

This IP First Response website has been designed to help IP rights holders navigate IP infringement and enforcement by making it visible, accessible, and to provide information about the factors involved in pursuing different options. It does not provide legal, business or other professional advice, and none of the content should be regarded as recommending a specific course of action. We welcome any feedback via our IP First Response feedback form  and by emailing us.

What is it?

Expedited examination (sometimes called fast-track examination) is where IP Australia looks at your application faster than standard examination. This is available for some IP rights, including patents, trade marks and designs.  This process does not change the examination process outcome, it simply moves your application closer to the front of the queue, meaning the examination of your application will begin earlier than the normal waiting period for comparable applications. The deadline to respond to this report remains the same as regular examination timelines, but an earlier first examination report may help you make informed business decisions at an earlier stage.

   For patents

IP Australia offers expedited examination that can reduce the wait time for a first examination report (office first action) to around 8 weeks in many cases, instead of the usual longer wait. You usually need to give a legitimate reason, such as getting ready to start making or selling your invention, dealing with suspected infringement, or using an international work sharing programs such as the Patent Prosecution Highway so that work done in another country can help with examination here. 

   For trade marks

You or your representative can make a request for expedited examination if there is a genuine urgency. Common reasons can include a dispute with another business, plans to take action over suspected misuse of your brand, or other serious business reasons where timing is important. IP Australia examines most applications in the order they are filed, so an accepted expedited request may move your trade mark ahead of others that are waiting. The rules still apply in the same way – you simply get an earlier answer on whether your trade mark application can proceed. 

   For registered designs

You or your representative can make a written request through IP Australia’s online services to ask that your design be examined sooner. A design owner or third party can make a written request to the Registrar to expedite the examination of their registration.

IP Australia offers this process as a courtesy. Expedited examination is not mentioned in the legislation and is a business process. As a result, timelines for examination could vary based on operational requirements. Where possible, however, examinations of files with expedite requests will be processed before other requests.

Where possible, design applications with an accepted expedite request are examined before other files, but timing can still depend on IP Australia’s workload, and there is no guarantee of a specific date. The examination itself is the same as usual and can still result in questions or a report asking you to fix problems.

What are the benefits?

• Helps you get clarity about your potential IP rights sooner, which can help you plan other steps.
• May allow you to respond earlier to suspected copying or competing products.
• Can support business plans, such as product launches or investor discussions.
• Getting a faster examination may result in a faster refusal or adverse report which may help you decide earlier whether to spend more money on the idea.
• It may reduce the stress of waiting for an examination outcome.

What are the risks?

• Accelerating the examination and registration process will also bring forward the expiry date of rights which have limited terms (such as patents which can only be maintained for 20 years) If you are not ready to commercialise your idea, starting this limited protection period too early can represent a significant lost opportunity.
• For more complex applications (such as patents), accelerating the application process gives you less time to improve and develop your application before it is examined, leading to a rejected registration.
• If you receive an examination report, you may need to  respond earlier than you anticipated, which can put pressure on your business, as well as potentially requiring the services of an IP professional earlier.
• Expedited examination is not available in all situations.

What are the possible outcomes?

Outcomes of an expedited examination request will depend on your application and the legal tests. Possible outcomes include:

• IP Australia accepts your expedited exam request, and your IP right is examined within the expedited timeframes.
• Your expedited examination request is not accepted, and your IP right is examined in the standard timeframe.

What might the costs be?

You will still need to pay the usual application and examination fees for your patent, designs, or trade mark. These fees are the same whether your application is examined in the standard queue or through expedited examination. IP Australia does not charge an extra fee to request expedited examination.

In most cases, there is no extra fee to ask for expedited examination. There may be costs if you get help from an IP professional to make your request. 

Many businesses think about how important early certainty is for them, and how much they are comfortable spending, when deciding whether to ask for faster examination.

How much time might be involved?

The examination process can take many months or even years. Expedited examination is designed to shorten the waiting time for the first examination step so that your application is looked at sooner than usual.

If IP Australia agrees to your request, examination of your application may begin earlier than it would under the standard queue. Although examination begins sooner, the timing of the remaining examination stages is not exact and can vary based on several factors.

You will still need time to gather information for your request and, later on, to respond to any examination reports. This may involve several rounds of communication over months.

Overall, expedited examination may reduce waiting time, but it does not remove the work involved in preparing and managing your application.

Who can use this?

An applicant or an authorised user who has already filed a patent or trade mark or design application with IP Australia and has valid commercial reasons to need a faster decision (for example, business deadlines or suspected copying).

Who’s involved?

• The applicant or authorised user, who has requested for expedited examination and provides information.
• Any co-owners, business partners or investors who are helping to fund or manage the application.
• IP Australia examiners are responsible for deciding whether to accept the request and for examining the application.
• Optional: IP professionals such as patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys or IP lawyers, if you choose to seek their help.

What do you need to proceed?

• Details of your existing patent or trade mark or designs application, including application number and filing date.
• While it is not mandatory, you have the option to provide a clear reason for seeking faster examination, for example, an upcoming product launch, licensing talks, or suspected use by another business.
• You may need to provide documents that support your reasons, such as evidence of copying, deadlines, contracts or time-sensitive opportunities.
• Time and capacity to respond in a faster timeframe to examination reports or requests for more information.