Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - African Regional Industrial Property Organization (ARIPO)

Title:	Section 3, (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of the Harare Protocol of 10/12/1982 as last amended on 26/11/1999
Field of IP:	Patents
Type of flexibility:	Substantive examination
Summary table:

Provisions of Law

Section 3 - Patents

(2)(a) The Office shall examine whether the formal requirements for applications have been complied with and shall accord the appropriate filing date to the application.

(b) If the Office finds that the application does not comply with the formal requirements, it shall notify the applicant accordingly, inviting him to comply with the requirements within the prescribed period. If the applicant does not comply with the requirements within the said period, the Office shall refuse the application.

(c) The Office shall notify each designated State of the fact that a patent application has been filed which complies with the prescribed formal requirements.

(3) The Office shall undertake, or arrange for, the substantive examination of the patent application. If it finds that the invention claimed in the application does not comply with the requirements of patentability referred to in subsection (9), it shall refuse the application.

(4) Where under:

(a) subsection (2)(b) or (3) of this Section;

(b) any other Protocol within the framework of ARIPO;

the Office refuses any application, the applicant may, within the prescribed period, request the Office to reconsider the matter.

(5) If after the Office has reconsidered the application, the Office is still of the view that the application shall be refused, the applicant may lodge an appeal against the decision of the Office to the Board of Appeal established in terms of Section 4bis of the Protocol.

(6) Before the expiration of six months from the date of the notification referred to in subsection (5), a designated State may make a written communication to the Office that, if a patent is granted by the Office, that patent shall have no effect in its territory for the reason

(i) that the invention is not patentable in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol, or

(ii) that, because of the nature of the invention, a patent cannot be registered or granted or has no effect under the national law of that State.

(7) After the expiration of the said six months, the Office shall grant the patent, which shall have effect in those designated States which have not made the communication referred to in subsection (6). The Office shall publish the patent granted.

(8) If the Office refuses the application notwithstanding a request for reconsideration under subsection (4), the applicant may, within three months from being notified of such refusal, request that his application be treated, in any designated State, as an application according to the national law of that State.