AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INNOVATOIN PATENT (Original) APPLICATION NO: LODGED: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION LODGED: ACCEPTED: PUBLISHED: RELATED ART: NAME OF APPLICANT: Registration Stickers Pty Ltd ACTUAL INVENTOR: John Anthony Nelli ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: LORD AND COMPANY, Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, of 4 Douro Place, West Perth, Western Australia, 6005, AUSTRALIA. INVENTION TITLE: "MULTIPURPOSE REMINDER DEVICE" DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO'S: Australian Provisional Patent Application Number 2010902212 filed on 20 May 2010 The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me/us: TITLE "MULTIPURPOSE REMINDER DEVICE" The present invention relates to a multipurpose reminder device. 5 Motorists are familiar with registration stickers typically issued by the State Department of Transport upon renewal of vehicle registration in Australia. The main purpose of registration stickers was to allow police to identify whether a vehicle was licensed, with the registration up to date, as required by law. For the public, the registration stickers, commonly displayed at a lower corner of the windscreen of a car, also serve as an 10 important reminder that renewal of the vehicle registration is due. Recently, however, the State of Western Australia has enacted the Road Traffic Legislation Amendment (Registration Labels) Bill 2009, abolishing the need to issue a registration sticker (label) for a light vehicle (e.g. cars and motorbikes). This was a result 15 of the cutting-edge technology used by the Western Australian (WA) Police, particularly with the hand-held TADIS-lite computers, which are not yet available to Police in other States of Australia. The hand-held computers allow the WA Police to simply type in a vehicle registration number and "within seconds they'll have all of the information associated with that vehicle", as noted by Police superintendent Lance Martin. 20 The public on the other hand may be adversely impacted without the registration sticker acting as a constant reminder on the windscreen for timely renewal of vehicle registration. This could lead to increased incidence where a motorist had unintentionally taken an unregistered vehicle on to the road, which is not only illegal but also may result 2 in vehicle impoundment and a severe fine. If a vehicle becomes unregistered, the owner will have to undertake a vehicle inspection in order to reinstate the registration of the vehicle. This process can be costly and time consuming. Expired vehicle registration also results in the loss of third-party insurance; similarly, private insurance does not cover an 5 unregistered vehicle. Therefore, should an accident occur in the period after the vehicle registration expired, the driver or vehicle owner may face detrimental financial and legal consequences. The abolishment of vehicle registration stickers is also likely to impact on the business 10 operation of motor vehicle dealers. In small to medium sized car yards, where record keeping systems may not be (fully) computerised, the dealers often rely on walking around the car yards and studying the registration stickers to determine the upcoming renewals required to keep the vehicle registrations up to date. 15 For generations, the public has relied on the registration stickers, both as a notification that the vehicle is registered and as a reminder that the registration is to be renewed before the end of the month displayed on the sticker. The 'sudden' removal of the convenient registration sticker system may result in legal ramifications for the general public. 20 The present invention attempts to overcome at least in part the aforementioned disadvantages associated with the abolishment of registration stickers typically issued by the Department of Transport. 3 In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a multipurpose reminder device comprising a first zone incorporating a reminder means and a second zone available for advertisement, artwork or message display. 5 The reminder means is preferably a calendar, diary or chart system which enables at least one date or month of importance to be marked. The first zone incorporating the reminder means may also incorporate supporting information, such as explanatory notes about the date(s) marked. 10 The reminder means is preferably used to remind a user about vehicle registration renewal. In this instance, the date or month of importance to be marked in the calendar, diary or chart system is the due date or month for vehicle registration renewal. The multipurpose reminder device according to the present invention preferably further 15 comprises means for attachment of the device to an object, thereby enabling the device to be conveniently displayed and viewed. More preferably, the multipurpose reminder device of the present invention takes the form of a substantially planar sticker, with the first and second zones mentioned 20 hereinabove arranged preferably in a side by side manner on a planar surface. The device preferably has contact adhesive as means for attachment of the device to a light vehicle, as preferred. The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the 4 accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a multipurpose reminder device in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the device of Figure 1; and 5 Figure 3 is a front view of a further embodiment of the device of Figure 1. Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a multipurpose reminder device 10 in accordance with the present invention. The device 10 has a front surface 12 divided into two zones. A first zone 14 incorporates a reminder means 16 arranged in a grid system. A second 10 zone 20 is shown as vacant and available to be used as an open display zone as desired. The vacant zone 20 may be offered to a commercial or non-profitable organisation for free or at an agreeable cost, and the zone 20 used to promote the organisation or their products or services. 15 Referring to Figure 2, there is shown a particular embodiment 100 of the device 10 of Figure 1. In this embodiment 100, the reminder means 116 located in the first zone 114 of the front surface 112 is provided in the form of a month-calendar. Each of the twelve months of the calendar is presented as an Arabic numeral and placed in a square enclosure 115. The twelve months are evenly divided into four quarters, each quarter 20 comprising three consecutive months, wherein the three square enclosures 115 are placed side by side adjacent each other. The four quarters are arranged in a grid system as shown in Figure 2, with each quarter forming an arm 117 of the grid. The four arms 117a, 117b, 117c, and 117d abut to form an enclosure defining a centrally disposed rectangular area 119, wherein any written information associated with the reminder 5 means 116 may be displayed. The reminder means 116 is preferably used to remind a user about vehicle registration renewal as with the embodiment 100 shown in Figure 2. In this instance, the purpose of 5 the reminder means 116 is written and displayed in the centrally disposed rectangular area 119. One way of enabling a month of importance to be marked in the month-calendar (serving as the reminder means 116) is by first covering the twelve square enclosures 115 10 containing the Arabic numerals in a scratchable coating. The enclosure 115 corresponding to the particular month that the vehicle registration renewal is due (for example) may be marked by scratching the coating to reveal the numeral beneath. The display of this particular numeral may remind the user to renew the vehicle registration in the month corresponding to that numeral. 15 The first zone 112 incorporating the reminder means 116 may contain additional information associated with the reminder means 116. For example, an upper part of the first zone 112 may display details (including website and telephone number) of a provider of the registration reminder means 116 (or of the multipurpose reminder device 100), as 20 shown in Figure 2. In another embodiment of the present invention, the reminder means 116 may be used to remind a user not only about vehicle registration renewal, but also a due date for vehicle servicing and maintenance. For example, if the registration is due to be renewed in 6 October and the vehicle is due to be serviced by a mechanic in December, the coatings covering the numerals 10 and 12 may be scratched to reveal these two months of importance. Written information or brief explanatory notes about the significance of each of these months may be incorporated into the centrally disposed rectangular area 119. 5 As shown in Figure 2, the front surface 112 of the multipurpose reminder device 100 further comprises a second zone 120, located adjacent the first zone 114. In this instance, the zone 120 is used as an advertising zone, displaying a logo of Mitsubishi and the name of a car dealer (John Hughes) who sells Mitsubishi model of vehicles. 10 The multipurpose reminder device 100 takes the form of a substantially planar sticker, similar in dimension to a known registration sticker abolished by the recent legislative amendment. In this instance, the means for attachment of the reminder device 100 is a contact adhesive applied to the front surface 112 of the device 100. To protect the 15 contact adhesive, a backing would be required as with a known registration sticker. Further, the multipurpose reminder device 100 is preferably made of a glossy plastic as with a known registration sticker. 20 Variations of the multipurpose reminder device 100 are possible. For example, a reminder device 200 in accordance with the present invention and as shown in Figure 3 displays an artwork in the second zone 220. A reminder device in accordance with the present invention may take other shapes (e.g. circular) or forms (e.g. a 3-dimentional device rather than a planar sticker). The reminder means 116 can be a calendar, diary or 7 chart system as mentioned hereinabove. The means for attachment of the device can be Velcro, for example, rather than a contact adhesive. It would be appreciated that many variations are possible with the multipurpose reminder device of the present invention. 5 In use, a reminder device 100 or 200 in the form of a sticker may be purchased from a provider (e.g. as that shown in the first zone 114 of device 100) or handed out by a car dealer (with the purchasing of a new vehicle), with a backing attached to protect the contact adhesive. The user may then mark one or more important date(s) or month(s) in the calendar system of the reminder means 116, for example, peel off the backing to the 10 sticker and display the reminder device 100 or 200 on a windscreen of a car or a protective casing of a motorbike. The multipurpose reminder device of the present invention not only serves as an effective reminder, but also may be used for commercial promotion or personalised with the 15 display of a particular message or artwork, thus adding a personal touch and possibly enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the object onto which the reminder device is attached. Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. 8