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Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Zimbabwe

Title:Section 20 of the Patents Act, Chapter 26:03 of 01/02/1972, as last amended by Act No. 14/2002
Field of IP:Patents
Type of flexibility:Security exceptions
Summary table:PDF

Provisions of Law

20 Provisions for secrecy of certain inventions

(1) Where, before or after the appointed day, an application for a patent has been made in respect of an invention and it appears to the Registrar that the invention is one of a class notified to him by the competent authority as relevant for defence purposes, he may give directions for prohibiting or restricting the publication of information with respect to the invention or the communication of such information to any person or class of persons specified in the directions, and while such directions are in force the application may, subject to the directions, proceed up to the acceptance of the complete specification but the acceptance shall not be advertised nor the specification published, and no patent shall be granted in pursuance of the application.

(2) Where the Registrar gives any directions in terms of subsection (1), he shall give notice of the application and of the directions to the competent authority and thereupon the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say-

(a) the competent authority shall, upon receipt of such notice, consider whether the publication of the invention would be prejudicial to the defence of Zimbabwe and, unless a notice under paragraph (c) has previously been given by the competent authority to the Registrar, shall reconsider that question before the expiration of nine months from the date of lodging of the application for the patent and at least once in every subsequent year;

(b) for the purposes of paragraph (a), the competent authority may, at any time after the complete specification has been accepted or, with the consent of the applicant, at any time before the complete specification has been accepted, inspect the application and any documents furnished to the Registrar in connection therewith;

(c) if, upon consideration of the invention, at any time it appears to the competent authority that the publication of the invention would not, or would no longer, be prejudicial to the defence of Zimbabwe, the competent authority shall give notice to the Registrar to that effect;

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

(3) When directions have been given in terms of subsection (1), if any use of the invention is made during the continuance in force of such directions by or on behalf of or to the order of a department of the State, section thirty-four shall apply in relation to that use as if a patent had been granted for the invention.

(4) If an applicant for a patent has suffered loss or damage by reason of his invention having been kept secret in pursuance of directions in terms of subsection (1), the Minister, with the consent of the Minister responsible for Finance, shall pay to him such reasonable compensation as is agreed upon or, in default of agreement, as may be determined by the Tribunal on a reference under subsection (1) of section thirty-six.

(5) Where a patent is granted in pursuance of an application in respect of which directions have been given in terms of subsection (1), no renewal fees shall be payable in respect of any period during which those directions were in force.

(6) If any person fails to comply with any direction given under this section he shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level seven or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(7) In this section-

"competent authority" means the Minister responsible for defence or any other Minister whom the President, by statutory instrument, designates as being the competent authority for the purposes of this section.

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