Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Trinidad and Tobago
| Title: | Sections 18 (2) (b) and (3), 21, 22, 24 (1), 26 (2) and 60 (b) of the Patents Act No. 21 of 1996 |
| Field of IP: | Patents |
| Type of flexibility: | Disclosure related flexibilities |
| Summary table: |  |
Provisions of Law
(Making of application)
18.-(2) Every application for a patent shall contain-
(b) a specification containing a description of the invention, a claim or claims and any drawings referred to in the description or any claim;
(3) The specification of an application shall disclose the invention in a manner which is clear and complete enough for the invention to be performed by a person skilled in the art, and shall, in particular, indicate at least one mode known to the applicant for carrying out the invention.
(Information on corresponding foreign applications)
21.-(1) The applicant shall, at the request of the Controller, furnish the Controller with the date and number of any other application for a patent or other title of protection made in an industrial or intellectual property office of any other country, or within a regional industrial or intellectual property office (hereafter in this section referred to as a "foreign application"), relating to the same or essentially the same invention as that claimed in the application filed with the Controller.
(2) The applicant shall upon request furnish the Controller with the following documents relating to one of the foreign applications referred to in subsection (1):
(a) a copy of any communication received by the applicant concerning the result of any search or examination carried out in respect of the foreign application;
(b) copy of the patent or other title of protection granted on the basis of the foreign application;
(c) a copy of any final decision rejecting the foreign application or refusing the patent requested in the foreign application;
(d) a copy of any final decision invalidating the patent or other title of protection granted on the basis of the foreign application referred to in subsection (2).
(3) Documents furnished pursuant to subsections (1) and (2)
(a) shall, if not in English, be accompanied by a translation thereof in English verified by the translator that the translation is to the best of his knowledge complete and faithful; and
(b) may be used only for facilitating the evaluation of the novelty and inventive step of the invention for which the patent application is made.
(4) The applicant for a patent may submit comments on any documents furnished by him under subsections (1) and (2).
(Disclosure of matter, etc., between earlier and later applications)
22. Where an application is made for a patent under section 19 and a declaration is made in accordance with section 20(2) in or in connection with that application specifying an earlier application, the first-mentioned application and any patent granted in pursuance thereof shall not be invalidated by reason only of the fact that any subject matter disclosed in the earlier application was made available to the public at any time after the date of filing of the said earlier application.
Search and substantive examination
24.-(1) Where the Controller is of the opinion that the application complies with the
requirements of section 23 he shall, upon payment by the applicant of the prescribed fee,
cause the application to be examined as to whether there has been compliance with the
requirements of sections 8 to 12 and 18(3) and (4) and the rules relating thereto.
26.- (2) No amendment of an application shall be allowed under section 23(3) or 25(l) or
this section if such amendment extends the matter disclosed in the application as filed.
Grounds for revocation
60. An application for revocation of a patent may be made only on any of the following grounds, that is to say:
(b) the specification of the patent does not disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art;