Commissioner of Patents v Ethyl Corporation [1969] HCA 1

High Court of Australia McTiernan J. Barwick C.J. Kitto, Menzies and Windeyer JJ. Commissioner of Patents v Ethyl Corporation

ORDER Appeal allowed. Decision of the Deputy Commissioner of Patents reversed. Order that the application and complete specification No. 4214 of 1961 be accepted. No order as to costs. Usual order with respect to exhibits. Rescind the leave to appeal granted on 21st April 1969. Grant leave to the Commissioner of Patents to maintain his appeal against the order of the Appeal Tribunal of 21st February 1969, conditionally upon the appeal being limited to the question whether the said order is in due form. The appellant having by his counsel accepted the condition, Vary the Order of the Appeal Tribunal by omitting therefrom the order that the decision of the Deputy Commissioner of Patents be reversed and that the application and complete specification No. 4214 of 1961 be accepted by the Deputy Commissioner of Patents, and by substituting therefor a declaration that the objections based upon pars. (b) and (e) of s. 48 (1) of the Patents Act 1952-1966 are not lawful objections to the granting of the application No. 4214 of 1961, and an order that the direction of the Deputy Commissioner of Patents pronounced on 7th June 1965 be vacated. Otherwise dismiss the appeal, without costs and without prejudice to any question to which the leave hereby granted does not extend.

Cur. adv. vult.

1969, Feb. 21 McTiernan J. delivered the following written judgment:—

The questions for determination in these proceedings arise by way of an appeal under the Patents Act 1952 (as amended) Cth from the refusal of the Deputy Commissioner of Patents to accept an application for a patent relating to a fuel composition. The relevant application is No. 4214 of 1961. The invention claimed by the appellant by its amended specification is of improved motor fuel compositions having superior octane qualities. Those qualities are relevant to the problem of high speed knock in current automobiles. A statement of the invention contained in the specification corresponds to claim 1 which reads as follows: