Australian patent law

[3] The system of granting patents in the six Australian colonies was based upon British law, and can be traced back to the English Statute of Monopolies of 1623.

The first of these was South Australian Private Act No.1 of 1848, granted to Andrew John Murray of Adelaide for "An improved windlass", on 20 June 1848, for a period of 10 years.

[5] The first general patent act in Australia was introduced into New South Wales in 1852 and came into force on 10 January 1854.

[7] Section 51(xviii) of the Constitution of Australia gave the new federal parliament the right to legislate with regard to "copyrights, patents of invention and designs, and trade marks".

The APO is the direct predecessor of IP Australia, the current Australian government agency responsible for patents.