Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Andorra

Title:	Article 20 of the Patent Law of 10/06/1999
Field of IP:	Patents
Type of flexibility:	Substantive examination
Summary table:

Provisions of Law

Article 20

Examination of application and grant of patent

(1) If an application has been accorded a filing date, the Patent Office shall examine whether the application complies with the requirements of Articles 9 and 10.

(2) The Patent Office is under no obligation to examine whether the application and the invention to which it relates comply with the requirements under Articles 2 to 5, 12, 13, 15 and 18 (2).

(3) Where the Patent Office finds that the application does not comply with the requirements referred to in paragraph (1), it shall indicate the deficiencies to the applicant and give him an opportunity to correct them in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. The application shall be rejected if the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies indicated by the Patent Office.

(4) Where the application complies with the requirements referred to in paragraph (1), the Patent Office shall, on payment of the fees prescribed in the Patent Office Tax Law, grant a patent on the application. The Patent Office shall record the grant of the patent in the Patent Register and publish the patent specification as prescribed in the Implementing Regulations.

(5) Where the applicant has filed a request for early publication of the application pursuant to Article 19(1)(b), he may request that the patent be granted immediately upon publication of the application.