Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Antigua and Barbuda
| Title: | Section 9 of the Patents Act No. 23 of 29/12/2003 |
| Field of IP: | Patents |
| Type of flexibility: | Substantive examination |
| Summary table: |  |
Provisions of Law
9. (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 contains:
(a) an express or implicit indication that the granting of a patent is sought;
(b) indications allowing the identity of the applicant to be established;
(c) a part which, on the face of it, appears to be a description of an invention.
(2) If the Registrar finds that the application did not, at the time of receipt, fulfill 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. If the applicant complies with the said invitation, 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 reference to the said drawings as non-existent.
(4) After according a filing date, the Registrar shall examine whether the application complies with the requirements of section 5(1), (2), (3) and (4) and the Regulations pertaining thereto and those requirements of this Act and the Regulations which are designated by the Regulations as formal requirements for the purposes of this Act and whether information requested under section 8, if any, has been provided.
(5) Where the Registrar is of the opinion that the application complies with the requirements indicated in subsection (4), the Registrar shall take a decision as to whether the requirements of sections 2(l)(ii) and (2), 3, 5(5), (6), (7) and (8) and 6 and the Regulations pertaining thereto are fulfilled and for this purpose may, as provided for in the Regulations, cause the application to be examined.
(6) The Registrar shall take into account, for the purposes of subsection (5),
(i) the results of any international search report and any international preliminary examination report established under the PCT in relation to the application; and/or
(ii) a search and examination report submitted under section 8(2)(a) relating to, or a final decision submitted under Section 8(2)(c) on the refusal to grant a patent on, a corresponding foreign application; and/or
(iii) a search and examination report which was carried out upon his request by an external search and examination authority.