SHEPHERD V. ALANDEE PTY. LTD. AND OTHERS 3/1961

No.3. of. 1961 . Ces

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

-~ALANDEE_PTY. LTD. AND OTHERS

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

Judgment delivered at_MELBOURNE

'A.C. Brooks, Government Pinar, Melbourne 6.763960

GEORGE FREDERICK SHEPHERD Ve

ALANDEE PRY. LIMITED and SURECAST PRODUCTS PY. LIMITED CC—~—C"='"'"C:™*~C~™S

JUDGMENT McTIERNAN J.

GEORGE FREDERICK SHEPHERD

ve

ALANDEE PTY. LIMITED and SURECAST PRODUCTS PTY. LIMITED

This matter is an application under s. 86 of the Patents Act 1952-1962. The applicant is the patentee of an invention which is described in the Letters Patent as an "improved caster", The term of the patent ended on 26th July 1960. Am extension for a period of four years was granted by an order made on 26th October 1960 by the Commissioner of Patents pursuant to s. 95 of the Patents Act 1952-1960. The amendments of the specification which the patentee asks the Court to direct are specified in the notice of motion. The effect of them, if granted, would be to give the complete specification a new consistory clause and to recast the claims. The object of the amendments is to avoid the invalidation of . certain claims by copies of specifications deposited in the Patents Office Library at Canberra. The defendants in a pending action for infringement rely upon those specifications by way of defence and as a ground of their counter-claim for revocation. Besides these defendants there are two other objectors to the application. The Commissioner of Patents, who appears pursuant to s. 86(2), also opposes the application. The action was begun on 7th April 1961; the defence and counter-claim were delivered on 21st June. The action has not proceeded further. The present application was initiated soon after the patentee received a copy of the defence and counter-clain.

The patentee does not desire any amendment to the part of the specification which reads thus: