Patents of Invention
Legal Basis
– Industrial Property Act, 2001.
– Industrial Property Rules, 2001 (no information as to the date of entry into force is available).
Membership in International Conventions
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), with effect from March 16, 1994.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since August 4, 2000.
Filing
Applicant: the inventor(s) or his assignee.
Naming of the inventor: compulsory.
Notion of the invention: must be new, involve an inventing step and be industrially applicable; it may be or relate to a product or a process.
Novelty: worldwide novelty.
Not patentable: (a) discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods; (b) schemes, rules or methods for doing business, performing purely mental acts or playing games; (c) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body; this provision shall not apply to products for use in any of those methods.
Priority: may be claimed according to the Paris Convention.
Classification: international.
Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Name, address, nationality and residence of the applicant and the inventor(s);
2. Power of attorney;
3. Specification and abstract;
4. Drawings in triplicate (A4 sheets with a usable surface area not exceeding 26.2 cm x 17 cm).
Examination, Protection
Examination: formal and substantive examination is carried out.
Publication: after granting in the Official Gazette.
Duration: twenty years counted from the filing date.
Annual fees: must be paid.
Assignments and licensing: must be recorded.
Invalidation: any interested person may request the court or the Registrar to invalidate a patent.