Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Tonga

Title:	Section 11 of the Industrial Property Act No. 19 of 09/11/1994
Field of IP:	Patents
Type of flexibility:	Substantive examination
Summary table:

Provisions of Law

11- Filing Date; Examination.

(1) The Registrar shall accord as the filing date, the date of receipt of the application, provided that, at the time of receipt, the application fee is paid and the application contains -

(a) the name of the applicant;

(b) a part which on the face of it appears to be a description;

(c) a part which on the face of it appears to be a claim or claims;

(d) an express or implicit indication that the grant of a patent is sought.

(2) If the Registrar finds that the application did not, at the time of receipt, fulfil the requirements referred to in subsection (1), he shall invite the applicant to file the required correction and shall accord as the filing date the date of receipt of the required correction, but if no correction is made, the application shall be treated as if it had not been filed.

(3) Where the application refers to drawings which in fact are not included in the application, the Registrar shall invite the applicant to furnish the missing drawings.

(4) If the applicant complies with the invitation referred to in subsection (3), the Registrar shall accord, as the filing date, the date of receipt of the missing drawings. Otherwise the Registrar shall accord, as the filing date, the date of receipt of the application and shall treat any references to the said drawings as non-existent.

(5) After according a filing date, the Registrar shall examine whether the application complies with the requirements of section 7(1), (2), (3) and (4).