About Intellectual Property IP Training IP Outreach IP for… IP and... IP in... Patent & Technology Information Trademark Information Industrial Design Information Geographical Indication Information Plant Variety Information (UPOV) IP Laws, Treaties & Judgements IP Resources IP Reports Patent Protection Trademark Protection Industrial Design Protection Geographical Indication Protection Plant Variety Protection (UPOV) IP Dispute Resolution IP Office Business Solutions Paying for IP Services Negotiation & Decision-Making Development Cooperation Innovation Support Public-Private Partnerships The Organization Working with WIPO Accountability Patents Trademarks Industrial Designs Geographical Indications Copyright Trade Secrets WIPO Academy Workshops & Seminars World IP Day WIPO Magazine Raising Awareness Case Studies & Success Stories IP News WIPO Awards Business Universities Indigenous Peoples Judiciaries Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions Economics Gender Equality Global Health Climate Change Competition Policy Sustainable Development Goals Enforcement Frontier Technologies Mobile Applications Sports Tourism PATENTSCOPE Patent Analytics International Patent Classification ARDI – Research for Innovation ASPI – Specialized Patent Information Global Brand Database Madrid Monitor Article 6ter Express Database Nice Classification Vienna Classification Global Design Database International Designs Bulletin Hague Express Database Locarno Classification Lisbon Express Database Global Brand Database for GIs PLUTO Plant Variety Database GENIE Database WIPO-Administered Treaties WIPO Lex - IP Laws, Treaties & Judgments WIPO Standards IP Statistics WIPO Pearl (Terminology) WIPO Publications Country IP Profiles WIPO Knowledge Center WIPO Technology Trends Global Innovation Index World Intellectual Property Report PCT – The International Patent System ePCT Budapest – The International Microorganism Deposit System Madrid – The International Trademark System eMadrid Article 6ter (armorial bearings, flags, state emblems) Hague – The International Design System eHague Lisbon – The International System of Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications eLisbon UPOV PRISMA Mediation Arbitration Expert Determination Domain Name Disputes Centralized Access to Search and Examination (CASE) Digital Access Service (DAS) WIPO Pay Current Account at WIPO WIPO Assemblies Standing Committees Calendar of Meetings WIPO Official Documents Development Agenda Technical Assistance IP Training Institutions COVID-19 Support National IP Strategies Policy & Legislative Advice Cooperation Hub Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC) Technology Transfer Inventor Assistance Program WIPO GREEN WIPO's Pat-INFORMED Accessible Books Consortium WIPO for Creators WIPO ALERT Member States Observers Director General Activities by Unit External Offices Job Vacancies Procurement Results & Budget Financial Reporting Oversight

Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Austria

Title:Sections 57a, 99 and 100 of the Patents Law BGBl. No. 259/1970 as last amended by BGBl. No. 143/2001
Field of IP:Patents
Type of flexibility:Substantive examination
Summary table:PDF

Provisions of Law

Section 57a. Services Rendered and Information Given by the Patent Office

The Patent Office shall, upon request, furnish expert opinions in writing

1. on the state of art concerning a concrete technical problem (searches) and

2. on the fact if there is an invention patentable according to the provisions of Sections 1 to 3 as compared with the state of art cited by the applicant or to be searched by the Patent Office.

Section 99. Preliminary Examination

(1) A preliminary examination of the application shall be made by a member of the Technical Division. The examination shall not relate to the financial return to be expected from the invention.

(2) If the application does not fulfill the requirements laid down, the applicant shall be requested to remedy the defects within a prescribed period.

(3) Where the preliminary examination shows, if necessary after experts have been heard, that the invention is manifestly not patentable under Sections 1 to 3, applicant shall be informed accordingly, if necessary after having been questioned by the examiner. He shall be informed of the reasons and requested to state his case within a prescribed period.

(4) The period (subsections (2) and (3)) may be extended on request. There shall be no remedy against rejection of a petition for extension of the period, but a statement of the case in reply to a preliminary decision may be submitted out of time within two weeks after the decision rejecting the petition has been served.

(5) If, within the time limit laid down, neither a statement of the case in reply to the preliminary decision (subsections 2 and 3) nor a petition for an extension of the time limit is submitted, the application shall be deemed withdrawn. This legal consequence shall not take effect if, within four months of the expiry of the period (subsections 2 and 3), the statement of the case in reply to the preliminary decision is postfiled, if a fee equal to the application fee is paid (Section 166(1)) and if the payment of that fee is duly proved (Sec. 169). If timely payment has not been duly proved, a time limit of one month, which may not be extended, shall be prescribed for the applicant.

(6) The President of the Patent Office may issue guidelines on the principles governing the preliminary examination and on the procedure for such examination to be observed by the members of the Technical Division. In particular, he may determine the periods to be laid down by the Office. In this connection, he shall take account of the need for as rational and careful a preliminary examination as possible and for uniformity in the treatment of applications.

Section 100. Rejection of an Application

(1) Where the original or amended application does not fulfill the requirements laid down or where the invention is ex facie not patentable within the meaning of Sections 1 to 3 (Section 99), the application shall be rejected. Where the conditions referred to apply only in part, only the corresponding part of the application shall be rejected.

(2) Where the application is to be rejected for a reason which was not already communicated to the applicant during the preliminary examination, he shall be given an opportunity to state his case in regard to that reason within a prescribed period.

https://www3.wipo.int/contact/en/area.jsp?area=development_agenda https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/ https://www.wipo.int/tools/en/disclaim.html https://www.wipo.int/en/web/privacy-policy/ https://www.wipo.int/en/web/accessibility/ https://www.wipo.int/tools/en/sitemap.html https://www3.wipo.int/newsletters/en/ https://www.wipo.int/podcasts/en/ https://www.wipo.int/news/en/