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Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Saint Lucia

Title:Sections 29 and 30 of the Patents Act No. 16 of 2001
Field of IP:Patents
Type of flexibility:Security exceptions
Summary table:PDF

Provisions of Law

Information prejudicial to defence of Saint Lucia or safety of public

29.- (1) Where an application for a patent is filed with the Registrar, whether under this Act or any treaty or international convention to which Saint Lucia is a party, and it appears to the Registrar that the application contains information of a description notified to him or her by the Minister as being information the publication of which might be prejudicial to the national security of Saint Lucia, the Registrar shall give directions prohibiting or restricting the publication of that information or its communication to any specified person or description of persons.

(2) If it appears to the Registrar that any application so filed contains information the publication of which might be prejudicial to the safety of the public, the Registrar may give directions prohibiting or restricting the publication of that information or its communication to any specified person or description or persons until the end of a period not exceeding three months from the end of a period prescribed for the purposes of section 23.

(3) While directions are in force under this section with respect to an application -

(a) if the application is made under this Act, it will be held in abeyance after the formal requirements of this Act and the Regulations have been met and will not proceed to be processed in accordance with section 25 until the directions are revoked under subsection (4) (e); and

(b) if it is an international application for a patent, a copy of it shall not be sent to the International Bureau or any international searching authority appointed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty.

(4) Where the Registrar gives directions under this section with respect to any application, he or she shall give notice of the application and of the directions to the Minister, and the following provisions shall then have effect -

(a) the Minister shall, on receipt of the notice, consider whether the publication of the application or the publication or communication of the information in question would be prejudicial to the defence of Saint Lucia or the safety of the public;

(b) if the Minister determines under paragraph (a) that the publication or communication of that information would be prejudicial to the safety of the public, he or she shall notify the Registrar who shall continue his directions under subsection (2) until they are revoked under paragraph (e);

(c) if the Minister determines under paragraph (a) that the publication of the application or the publication or communication of that information would be prejudicial to the defence of Saint Lucia or the safety of the public, the Minister shall, unless a notice under paragraph (d) has previously been given by the Minister to the Registrar, reconsider that question during the period of nine months from the date of filing the application and at least once in every subsequent period of twelve months;

(d) if on consideration of an application at any time it appears to the Minister that the publication of the application or the publication or communication of the information contained in it would not, or would no longer, be prejudicial to the defence of Saint Lucia or the safety of the public, he or she shall give notice to the Registrar to that effect; and

(e) on receipt of such a notice the Registrar shall revoke the directions, and may, subject to such conditions, if any, as he or she thinks fit, extend the time for doing anything required or authorised to be done by or under this Act in connection with the application, whether or not that time has previously expired.

(5) The Minister may at any time, for the purpose of enabling him or her to decide the question referred to in subsection (4) (c), do one or both of the following, that is to say, inspect or authorise any person to inspect the application and any documents sent to the Registrar in connection with it and where a person is authorised to carry out such inspection, he or she shall as soon as practicable report on his or her inspection to the Minister.

(6) Where directions given under this section in respect of an application for a patent for an invention are revoked, and the application is brought in order for the grant of a patent and a patent is granted for the invention, then -

(a) if while the directions are in force the invention is worked by, or with the written authorization of or to the order of, a Government department, the provisions of Part XII shall apply as if -

(i) the working was use made pursuant to section 57;

(ii) the application had been published at the end of the prescribed period or at the time the directions were revoked, whichever is earlier; and

(iii) a patent had been granted for the invention at the time the application is brought in order for the grant of a patent, taking the terms of the patent to be those of the application as it stood at the time it was so brought in order; and

(b) if it appears to the Minister that the application for the patent has suffered hardship while the directions were in force, the Minister may make such payment, if any, by way of compensation to the applicant as appears to the Minister to be reasonable having regard to the inventive merit and utility of the invention, the purpose for which it is designed and any other relevant circumstances.

(7) Where a patent is granted pursuant to an application in respect of which directions have been given under this section, no renewal fees shall be payable in respect of any period during which those directions were in force.

(8) Any person who fails to comply with any direction under this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

(9) Nothing in this section shall prevent the disclosure of information concerning an invention to a Government department or authority for the purpose of obtaining advice as to whether directions under this section with respect to an application for a patent for that invention should be made, amended or revoked.

Restrictions on applications abroad by Saint Lucia residents

30.- (1) Subject to this section, a person resident in Saint Lucia shall not, without written authority granted by the Registrar, file or cause to be filed outside Saint Lucia an application for a patent for an invention unless –

(a) an application for a patent for the same invention has been filed in the Registry not less than two months before the application outside Saint Lucia; and

(b) no directions have been given under section 29 in relation to the application in Saint Lucia or all such directions have been revoked.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to an application for a patent for an invention for which an application for a patent has first been filed in a country outside Saint Lucia by a person who is resident outside Saint Lucia.

(3) A person who files, or causes to be filed an application for the grant of a patent in contravention of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

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