Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Trinidad and Tobago

Title:	Sections 23 and 24 of the Patents Act No. 21 of 1996
Field of IP:	Patents
Type of flexibility:	Substantive examination
Summary table:

Provisions of Law

(Examination as to form)

23.-(1) Where an application for a patent has a date of filing and is not withdrawn, upon the payment by the applicant of the prescribed fee, the Controller shall conduct a formalities examination.

(2) On such formalities examination the Controller shall determine whether the application complies with the provisions of this Act and rules made thereunder relating to such examination.

(3) If the Controller determines that all the formal requirements have not been complied with, he shall give the applicant an opportunity to make observations on the report and to amend the application within a specified period so as to comply with those requirements and if the applicant fails to do so the Controller may refuse the application.

(4) If the Controller refuses the application under subsection (3), he shall inform the applicant in writing of his decision and the reason therefor.

(Search and substantive examination)

24.-(1) Where the Controller is of the opinion that the application complies with the requirements of section 23 he shall, upon payment by the applicant of the prescribed fee, cause the application to be examined as to whether there has been compliance with the requirements of sections 8 to 12 and 18(3) and (4) and the rules relating thereto.

(2) For the purposes of the examination under this section the Controller may transmit the application to a duly authorized authority with which an arrangement to that effect has been made.