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Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Belarus

Title:Articles 18-21 of the Law No. 160-Z on Patents for Inventions, Utility Models and Industrial Designs of 16/12/2002 as last amended on 24/12/2007
Field of IP:Patents
Type of flexibility:Substantive examination
Summary table:PDF

Provisions of Law

Article 18

Expertise of the Application on Invention

1. The expertise of application on invention is conducted by the patent body in accordance with the present Law and other normative legal acts. The expertise of application on invention includes the preliminary and patent expertise.

2. If the applicant presents the additional materials for application on invention, it is checked whether or not they change the essence of the declared invention.

The additional materials in the part changing the essence of the declared invention, at consideration of the application on invention are not taken into account at consideration of the application and can be registered by the applicant as independent application.

3. If the application on invention is submitted with violation of the requirement of the unity of the invention, the patent body offers to the applicant within 2 months form the date of reception of the relevant notification to report which of the inventions shall be considered and at necessity to introduce the clarifications to the documents on application. At violation of the requirement of unity of invention and also at presence in the first documents on application on other inventions the applicant has the right to submit the divisional application(s).

In case, if the applicant within 2 months after reception of the notification of the patent body on violation of the requirement of unity of the invention does not report on which of the inventions should be considered and does not present the clarification documents the consideration of the invention first mentioned in the formula of invention shall be considered.

4. The application on invention can be recalled by the applicant before the date of publication of the information about the application but not later than the date of registration of the invention.

Article 19

Preliminary Expertise of the Applicant on Invention

1. Preliminary expertise of the application on invention is conducted in 3 months term from the date of its reception by the patent body.

2. At the course of conducting the preliminary expertise the presence of documents contained in application, the observance of the established requirements to them are checked and the question on whether or not the declared solution relates to the objects that can be recognized inventions.

3. The patent body directs to the applicant the notification in written form within 5 working days from the date of taking the decision about this decision taken under the results of preliminary expertise and also about the date of submitting the application to the patent body in accordance with the article 16 of the present Law.

4. If at the course of preliminary expertise it is established that the declared decision relates to the objects that are not considered inventions in accordance with the present Law the decision on refusal to issue the patent is taken.

5. If necessary, the applicant can be offered to introduce clarifications to the materials of the application within 2 moths after reception of the relevant request by the patent body. In this case the term of conducting the expertise is prolonged for the term necessary for reception of the response of the applicant.

If necessary clarifications are not submitted to the patent body in the established or the documents being absent on the date of reception of the application on invention are not presented or the petition on prolongation of the established term is not submitted, the application is considered recalled and the patent body notifies the applicant about it.

Article 20

Publication of the Information on Application on Invention

1. At expiration of 18 months from the date of submitting the application that has passed the preliminary expertise at the results of which the positive decision is taken, the patent body published the information about it in its official issue (further-official bulletin). The list of the published information is determined by the patent body.

2. At the petition of the applicant presented before expiration of 12 months from the date of submitting the application on invention the patent body can publish the information on application on invention earlier than the term established by point 1 of the present article.

3. After publication of information on invention any person has the right to get familiar with its materials being in patent body.

4. Information on application on invention are not published, if till the expiration of the term of publication it is recalled or partly recalled or the decision on issue of the patent is takes or its registration in the State Register of Inventions is made or the decision on refusal to issue the patent, the possibility of appealing which are limited, is taken.

5. The author of invention has the right to refuse to be mentioned as the author in the information published about the application on invention, if he is not an applicant.

Article 21

Patent Expertise of the Application on Invention

1. Within three years form the date of reception of the application on invention by the patent body the application or any interested person can submit the petition to the patent body on holding the patent expertise of the application. In case of not reception of the petition on holding the expertise in the mentioned period the application on invention is considered recalled.

2. At the course of patent expertise of application on invention the patentability of the invention is checked and the priority of the invention is established.

3. In the period of holding the patent expertise of application on invention the patent body has the right to request at the applicant the additional materials without which the fulfillment of expertise is impossible including the changed formula of invention.

The applicant has the right within one months form the date of reception of the mentioned request of the patent body to inquire the patent body about the copies of the materials opposed at the course of the expertise to his application.

The additional materials at the request of the patent body shall be presented without the change of the essence of the invention within two months from the date of reception by the application of the request or copies of the materials opposing the application.

In case, if the applicant in the mentioned term does not present the materials requested by the patent body or petition on prolongation of the established term, the application is considered recalled.

The additional materials in the part changing the essence of the declared invention at consideration of the application are not taken into consideration, the applicant is notified about it.

4. If as the result of conducted patent expertise it is established that the declared invention expressed in the formula on invention offered by the applicant complies with the terms of patentability, the patent body takes the decision on issue of the patent with such formula and indication of the established priority.

5. At establishing the non-compliance of the declared invention expressed by the formula offered by the applicant with the terms of patentability the patent body takes the decision to refuse to issue the patent.

The decision on refusal to issue the patent is taken also in case, when the applicant does not change of the formula of invention after notifying him about the fact, that the offered formula characterizes the invention complying to the terms of patentability but does not contain the signs absent in the first description (formula) of invention.

6. The patent body sends the notification to the applicant in written form within 5 working days from the date of taking the decision taken at the results of the expertise of the application on invention and also on establishing the priority of invention. 7. The applicant has the right to request the copies of the materials opposing his application on invention as the result of conducting the expertise within one month from the date of reception of the decision on application on invention.

8. The decision on issue of the patent can be revised by the patent body before the registration of the invention in connection with reception of application on invention, industrial model enjoying earlier priority in accordance with points 3-6 of the article 16 of the present Law and also in connection with the revealed application or the patent issued on the identical inventions or industrial model with the same priority.

9. The patent body can revise the decision on the results of the patent expertise, if it has been taken with violation of the order of consideration of the application on invention established by the present Law. The decision on issue of the patent can be revised before the registration of the invention in the State Register of Inventions.

10. At non-agreement of the applicant with the decision of the patent body on refusal to issue the patent the applicant has the right in 3 months term from the day of reception of the decision or the copies of the materials requested by him opposing to the application on invention with the petition on holding the repeated expertise.

11. The repeated expertise is held within 6 months from the day of reception to the patent body of the relevant petition of the applicant.

12. If in the process of expertise it is established that the identical inventions have the same date of priority so with the agreement of the applicants one patent is issued to them.

In case of non-agreement of the applicants they can turn to court for settlement of the matter on issue of the patent. The patent on invention is not issued by the patent body before the solving of the problem by court.

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