Exemptions

The Board may exempt you from a topic group if you have a satisfactory pass in a course of study with similar outcomes to an accredited course in the same topic group.

In assessing an exemption application, the Board needs extensive information from the applicant about the course including:

• a mapping of the topic requirements against the course undertaken together with evidence of the inclusion of the particular component;
• an indication of the time spent in class and tutorial work; and
• where appropriate, an indication that the assessment undertaken by the candidate included relevant topic areas.

Information provided is then assessed against the outcome required by the Regulations to determine whether the Board would consider the course as meeting the test of "the same or similar to an accredited course".

In assessing that outcome, the Board pays particular attention to:

• whether the course is based on a law that is the same or similar to the Australian law applying to the topic group;
• the coverage of the particular components as identified in the syllabus and its relevance to the purpose of the registration;
• the required assessment; and
• the time taken to cover a particular component or topic group.

In many cases, the Board is given insufficient evidence to satisfy it that a particular course has delivered appropriate outcomes.

While the subject matter might be cited in the syllabus, the depth of study apparent from the time allocation may not show sufficient emphasis on a particular component seen to be important in professional practice.

The Board has declined to grant exemptions where a course has not covered one or more components identified in the topic group.

Failure to include such a topic group may compromise the specified outcome in professional practice.

The Board does not grant exemptions purely on the basis that a qualification from another jurisdiction has satisfied the requirements of that jurisdiction.

The law and/or legal institutions and their workings should be similar to that in Australia.

The result of this policy has been that people with qualifications as patent attorneys in the UK and South Africa have not been granted exemptions for equivalent subjects in the Australian system where the laws are different.

Exemptions have been granted for the skills-based subject of drafting while some courses in Legal Process have been disallowed for not covering enough of the specified topic groups.

It is possible for a course of study provided by an institution to be accredited under the provisions contained in Regulation 20.2A where the course:

"...(a) achieves the outcomes stated for a topic group mentioned in Schedule 5; and
(b) includes the topics mentioned in the topic groups."

However, there is some doubt as to whether the Regulations allow an accredited provider to grant exemptions as accredited providers do not classify exemptions as a "pass" on academic records but rather as an "exemption" or "credit".

While the Board has given accreditation to institutions for courses of study covering relevant topic groups - and recognises the right of those organisations to provide exemptions for the purpose of the academic award - it must try to ensure that, for the purpose of registration as a patent or trade marks attorney, the validity of any exemption is not in question.

As a consequence, the Board has decided that, for the purposes of registration as a patent and trade marks attorney, a course of study should be exempted by application under Regulation 20.13 of the Patent Regulations.

The Board recognises that such a decision may cause some inconvenience to students seeking to enrol in university subjects or for the purpose of an award but the institution must have the right to determine its own education policy.

Application for exemptions

Applications for exemption should be made on the approved two-part form.

Applicants must complete both parts of the form and provide:

• a certified copy of the academic or similar record indicating successful completion of a course of study on which the application for exemption is based ;
• syllabus details showing information about the course of study on which the application is based; and
• information on the assessment regime and evidence that the assessment covered relevant topic areas.

Care should be taken when identifying and mapping information supporting the exemption as the Board may not seek relevant information where it is not identified.

Part 1 is the cover form, and

Part 2 relates to the particular topic group in which the exemption is sought:

• Group A - Legal Process and Overview of Intellectual Property
• Group B - Professional Conduct
• Group C - Trade Mark Law
• Group D - Trade Mark Practice

See an example of the completed forms.

Sample Part 1 and Sample Part 2 .

Board consideration

The Board considers exemption applications at its meetings (in 2005 these are 1 April, 22 July and 28 October).

Applications will be accepted for a meeting if received at least a month before the next meeting date.

This cut-off date enables the Secretariat to review the format and content of the applications and advise applicants if more information is required.

Where the Board is unable to make a decision on an application - if not enough information is provided - it may defer the application until the next scheduled meeting and seek further evidence.

Exemption regulation

Exemptions in Accordance with Regulation 20.13 of the Patent Regulations for the Purpose of Registration as a Patent or Trade Marks Attorneys.

Regulation 20.3 of the Patent Regulations 1991 provides that
"20.3
(1) For paragraph 198(4) of the Act, the qualifications are:
(a) for each topic group mentioned in Schedule 5 - a pass in:
(i) a course of study, that includes the subject matter in the topic group, accredited by the Board; or
(ii) the examination conducted by the Board; ....
(2) For paragraph (1)(a), an exemption under regulation 20.13 is taken to be a pass in the topic group for which the exemption is granted. ...
20.13
(1) The Board may exempt a person from having to satisfy all or some of the requirements of a topic group mentioned in Schedule 5
(2) The Board must not give an exemption to a person unless:
(a) the person makes an application in the approved form; and
(b) the person gives the Board enough information for the Board to be satisfied under paragraph (c); and
(c) the Board is satisfied that :
(i) the person has passed a course of study at a satisfactory level; and
(ii) the course of study has the outcomes that are the same as, or similar to, those of an accredited course for the topic group for which the exemption is sought.