Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Panama

Title:	Articles 30, 31 and 50 of the Law No. 35 of 10/05/1996 Enacting Provisions on Industrial Property and Article 23 (f) of the Executive Decree No. 257 of 17/10/2006
Field of IP:	Patents
Type of flexibility:	Disclosure related flexibilities
Summary table:

Provisions of Law

30. The description shall consist in the disclosure of the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it be evaluated and for a person skilled in the relevant technical field to be able to carry it out.

The description shall state the name of the invention and include the following information:

1. the sector of technology to which the invention refers or applies;

2. the prior technology known to the applicant that may be considered useful for the understanding and examination of the invention, and also references to earlier documents and publications relating to the said technology;

3. a description of the invention in terms that allow the technical problem and the solution provided by the invention to be understood and also the advantages thereof compared with earlier technology to be explained;

4. an explanation of the drawings, if any;

5. a description of the best method known to the applicant of carrying out the invention or putting it into practice, making use of examples and references to the drawings;

6. the manner in which the invention may be produced or used in a given activity, except where this is obvious from the description or nature of the invention.

31. Where the invention relates to a biological product or process requiring the use of biological material that is not available to the public and cannot be so described as to allow the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the art, the description shall be complemented with a deposit of the said material at a depositary institution such as those recognized under the 1977 Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, or any other institution recognized by DIGERPI. In such a case the deposit shall be made no later than on the filing date of the application in Panama, or where appropriate on the date of the priority claim.

When a deposit of biological material is made to complement the description, that fact shall be mentioned in the description together with the name and address of the depositary institution, the date of deposit and the deposit number assigned by the institution. The nature and characteristics of the material deposited shall likewise be described where necessary for the disclosure of the invention. The biological material deposited shall form an integral part of the description.

50. Where lack of clarity in the description or claims prevents the production of the report on the state of the art from proceeding, either entirely or in part, DIGERPI shall refuse the grant of the patent to the corresponding extent.

Before taking a final decision to refuse the grant of a patent, DIGERPI shall address the appropriate notification to the applicant, and shall allow him a period of six months, which may be extended for an additional two months, within which to present such arguments as he considers appropriate.

Executive Decree No. 257 of 17/10/2006

Articulo 23

Todos los Contratos de Acceso serán válidos por el periodo que determine la

UNARGEN en consulta con el CCT e incluirán las siguientes obligaciones con el Estado:

f) Toda solicitud de patente de invención o procedimiento que sea elevada a la Dirección

General de Propiedad Industrial del Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias y/o cualquier oficina de patentes de los países miembros de la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI) deberá comunicar por escrito el origen y procedencia del material genético. recurso genético y/o biológico utilizado en el desarrollo de la invención o el procedimiento, a titulo de información;