The Man Who Patented the Wheel: Australia's "Circular Transportation Facilitation Device"
Photo: nwimagesbysabrinae / Pixabay
"Reinventing the wheel" is usually a figure of speech. In 2001 it became an Australian patent. Innovation patent AU 2001100012, titled "Circular transportation facilitation device", was granted for what is, in plain terms, a wheel. It was a deliberate test of the system, and it worked a little too well.
What was patented
The application was filed on 24 May 2001 by John Michael Keogh of Hawthorn, Victoria, and published as granted on 2 August 2001. Its claims describe a device with a circular rim, a central bearing (a hub), and connecting members (spokes) between the two. A dependent claim adds an optional rubber or inflatable tube around the rim. In other words, a tyre.
Nothing in the document hides what it is. The record on Google Patents now lists the patent as revoked.
Why it was granted
The wheel got through because of how Australia's innovation patent worked. The innovation patent was a second-tier right introduced in 2001 to give small businesses quick, cheap protection for incremental inventions. It lasted up to eight years. Crucially, an innovation patent was granted after only a formalities check. Substantive examination for novelty and innovative step happened only if the owner or a third party later asked for it, and the patent could not be enforced until it had been examined and certified.
New Scientist reported in 2002 that the wheel application was filed by a lawyer to show the weaknesses of this fast-track system. Since nobody examined it before grant, an obviously old invention received a patent number.
The stunt won the 2001 Ig Nobel Prize in Technology. It was awarded jointly to Keogh, for patenting the wheel, and to the Australian Patent Office, for granting it.
What happened next
The wheel became a favourite example in debates about low-threshold patent rights. Australia eventually concluded that the innovation patent was not delivering enough benefit for the small businesses it was meant to help. According to IP Australia, no new innovation patent applications could be filed from 26 August 2021, so the last day to file was 25 August 2021. Existing innovation patents remain in force until they expire, and the last ones will end in 2029.
The lesson for patent systems
The wheel patent is funny, but it makes a serious point. A registration system that grants rights without examination will, sooner or later, grant rights over things that are not new. Such systems can still work, but only if:
- the rights cannot be enforced until examined, as was the case in Australia;
- third parties have a cheap, easy way to challenge them; and
- the public understands that a registration number does not mean the invention was actually checked.
Indonesia angle
Indonesia has its own second-tier right, the simple patent (paten sederhana). It covers new products or processes with practical use and has a shorter term than a standard patent: 10 years instead of 20. As with any registered right, a simple patent certificate is only as strong as the examination behind it, and businesses should not assume that a competitor's simple patent is unchallengeable. We are not aware of an Indonesian court decision involving anything quite as old as the wheel. Before relying on a simple patent, or worrying about one, it is worth checking the prior art.
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