World 4 · Innovation Scout · Lesson 16

Publication, confidentiality and filing strategy

Disclosing before filing can cost you the right. A grace period is a safety net in some countries, not a plan. The sensible order is usually: keep it confidential, take advice, file, then go public.

5 min
Jurisdictions: International / treaty, Australia, Vietnam
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026

Draft — awaiting editorial review

Educational content, not legal advice. Lessons are drafts awaiting editorial review.

You will learn to

Recognise the kinds of disclosure that can destroy novelty.
Explain why grace periods are not the same in every country.
Know the roles of priority, the PCT and the Hague System in a filing strategy.

What counts as disclosure

A public pitch, a demo video, a crowdfunding campaign, a trade-show stand, a conference talk, an open-source repository or a social media post can each take away the novelty of an invention or a design. IP Australia advises keeping an invention secret until you have applied or chosen another option, and, when you need to discuss your field, talking only about the problem the invention solves, not your solution. A private discussion under a confidentiality agreement (NDA) is different from public disclosure — but only while the agreement is respected.

Grace periods: a safety net, not a plan

According to IP Australia, if your invention has already been made public you have a 12-month grace period to file a standard patent application; it covers disclosures made by you, with your consent or without it. For designs, Australia has a 12-month grace period for applications and disclosures from 10 March 2022. It does not cover a design already published in a designs register or database, and someone who used a similar design before you applied may be exempt from infringement. But IP Australia also says that not every country offers a grace period. Vietnam has its own rules, with their own conditions and time limit, to be checked with IP Vietnam or an industrial property representative. A disclosure excused in Australia may still count against you elsewhere.

Filing first: priority, the PCT and Hague

In Australia a provisional application gives no protection, but it establishes a priority date and gives you 12 months to decide whether to file a full application. If you have already disclosed, the 12-month grace period runs from the disclosure: the standard (complete) application must be filed within it. A provisional does not extend that deadline. Under the Paris Convention, a first application in one member country gives you a right of priority when filing in other member countries: 12 months for patents and utility models, 6 months for industrial designs. The PCT lets you file one international application, followed by a national phase in each country — there is no "world patent". The Hague System allows one international application for designs in its member countries. Another option is to keep the solution as a trade secret. Vietnamese founders should also ask whether Vietnam's security-control rule for filing abroad applies to their field.

Try a scenario

Hoa founded a hardware company in Hanoi. In three weeks she is pitching at a public, livestreamed demo day in Sydney. Her prototype has a cooling mechanism she believes is new. She has not filed anywhere.

What is the most sensible approach?

Show everything — Australia has a 12-month grace period, so it is fine.Ask a patent adviser now about filing before the demo, talk only about the problem and the results on stage, and use NDAs for private investor meetings.Cancel the demo and never tell anyone.

Check your understanding

PracticePractice testSee the explanation after each question.

Pass mark: 80% — for this lesson that means every question.

Question 1 of 4Two months ago a Brisbane developer posted a detailed demo video of his invention. He now wants protection in Australia and some other countries.What is most accurate?

It is too late everywhere.There is no problem in any country.In Australia he may still be within the grace period, but elsewhere the video may already have destroyed novelty — he needs advice quickly.

Take away

Keep it confidential → take advice → file → then go public. Never rely on a grace period as the plan.

Apply it to your IP

Nothing runs or is saved on its own. Each option only opens a tool when you choose it.

What this lesson cannot tell you

This lesson cannot tell you whether a particular disclosure has already cost you the right in a given country, and it is not filing-strategy advice. Time limits and conditions differ by country and can change.