Paris, PCT and the Accidental Disclosure

Australia. The disclosure was made by the applicant/inventor. Section 24 provides a grace period of 12 months for publication or use by the applicant or with the applicant's consent, but only in limited circumstances (the applicant's own publication is covered by s 24(1)(a) where it is a publication of the invention by the applicant). The LinkedIn post and trade-show display are the applicant's own acts. If s 24 applies, the 14 April 2024 disclosure is disregarded for novelty and inventive step, provided the complete application is filed within 12 months (i.e. by 14 April 2025). The provisional was filed 30 April 2024 and the PCT 20 March 2025 - within the window. Australia: likely saved by s 24, but the position is fact-specific and the grace period is not a general 'publish and still patent' rule.

EPO. No general grace period. The 14 April 2024 trade-show display and LinkedIn post are prior art under Art 54(2) EPC unless covered by the narrow Art 55 exceptions (abuse, or a recognised international exhibition under the Paris Convention - a trade show is generally not a recognised exhibition). EPO: the disclosure is fatal to novelty for the spectrometer as disclosed, unless the EPO recognises the specific exhibition. This is the most serious problem.

US. 35 USC 102(b)(1) provides a one-year grace period for the inventor's own disclosures. The April 2024 disclosure is within one year of the PCT filing (20 March 2025) and the provisional (30 April 2024). US: likely saved.

Japan. Japan has a limited grace period (6 months, extendable in some cases) requiring a formal procedure and specific circumstances. The April 2024 disclosure is more than 6 months before the PCT filing. Japan: likely fatal.

China. China has a 6-month grace period limited to specified exhibitions and academic conferences. A trade show and LinkedIn post are unlikely to qualify. China: likely fatal.

Overall: the disclosure is a serious error. The EPO, Japan and China positions are probably lost for the disclosed subject matter. Australia and the US are probably preserved.

Adding to the PCT. Under PCT Art 19 you may amend the claims within 16 months of the priority date (i.e. by 30 August 2025) - but Art 19 amendments are limited to claims, and cannot add matter beyond the international application as filed. Under PCT Art 34 you may amend the description, claims and drawings during Chapter II (demand for international preliminary examination), but again only within the disclosure as filed. You cannot add the new detector embodiment to the PCT without it being new matter; if added, it would not enjoy the 30 April 2024 priority date and would be examined against the intervening prior art, including Southern Cross's own April 2024 disclosure.

Options.

1. File a separate application (Australian standard or provisional, and a separate PCT) for the new detector, claiming priority from a new provisional filed before any disclosure of the detector. This gives the detector its own date. It does not retroactively protect the detector in the earlier family.
2. Add the detector to the national phase applications where national law permits (the US allows continuation-in-part; Australia allows a fresh application). In each case the new matter gets the later date and is exposed to the April 2024 disclosure as prior art.
3. Do not add the detector to the existing family; keep it as a separate family and cross-license or structure the portfolio accordingly.

Consequences. A CIP/continuation-in-part in the US is possible but the new matter is examined against the April 2024 disclosure. In the EPO, adding matter to a Euro-PCT application is restricted by Art 123(2) and the new detector cannot be added at all. In Australia, a divisional or fresh application is the practical route. The commercial consequence is a split priority date and a possible self-collision if the April 2024 disclosure is citable against the new matter in jurisdictions without a grace period.

Deadline. The PCT was filed 20 March 2025 claiming priority from 30 April 2024. The priority date is 30 April 2024. The 30-month national phase deadline is therefore 30 October 2026 (30 months from the priority date). The 31-month deadline, where available, is 30 November 2026. Some states allow later entry with surcharge.

Key steps by state.

• EPO (Euro-PCT): enter by 31 months (30 November 2026); file translation if not in an accepted language (the PCT is in English, which is accepted); pay filing, search and designation fees; request examination within 6 months of the Art 31/ Rule 161 communication. Note the April 2024 disclosure problem will be raised.
• US: enter by 30 months; file an application data sheet, inventor declarations, and pay fees; consider a preliminary amendment and a track-one request. The US grace period helps.
• Japan: enter by 30 months (extendable to 31 with surcharge); file Japanese translation; request examination within 3 years of the international filing date.
• China: enter by 30 months (extendable to 32 months with surcharge); file Chinese translation; pay fees; request substantive examination within 3 years.

General. In each state, confirm the applicant's entitlement, check the priority claim was properly made in the PCT request, and consider whether the Art 19/34 amendments (if any) are to be pursued. Given the disclosure issue, a cost-benefit review before 30 October 2026 is essential: it may not be worth entering Japan and China if the disclosure is fatal there.