Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
| Title: | Articles 24 (1) (e) and (4), 25 (1), (2) and (3), 35 and 75 (1) (b) of the Patents Act of 15/12/1995(Text as it applies on 03/06/2009) |
| Field of IP: | Patents |
| Type of flexibility: | Disclosure related flexibilities |
| Summary table: |  |
Provisions of Law
Article 24
1. An application for a patent must be filed with the Office in writing and must:
e. be accompanied by a description of the invention containing, in one or more claims at the end, a description of the subject matter for which an exclusive right is being sought;
4. The application, the description of the invention, the drawings and the abstract must also be
in accordance with the other formal regulations laid down by ministerial order.
Article 25
1. The description of the invention must be clear and complete and worded such that an expert can understand the invention and use it on the basis of that description. The specifications provided in one or more claims at the end of the definition must be precise. The description should be accompanied by corresponding drawings if necessary.
2. In an invention relates to biological material that is not accessible to the public and cannot be explained in the definition such that an expert could use the invention on that basis, or if an invention implies the use of such biological material, the description will be deemed to be sufficient only if the biological material has been filed with an institution that has been designated for that purpose under or by virtue of a general order in council for the Kingdom no later than the date on which the application is filed.
3. If an invention relates to a sequence or partial sequence of a gene, the description shall contain a concrete description of the function and the industrial application of that sequence or partial sequence. In the event that a sequence or a partial sequence of a gene is used for the production of a protein or partial protein, the description of the industrial applicability shall contain a specification of the protein or partial protein that has been produced and its function.
4. Further regulations may be stipulated by general order in council for the Kingdom with respect to:
a. the information to be included in the application with respect to the characteristics and the identification of the biological material to be filed; and
b. the accessibility and availability of the biological material to be filed.
Article 35
1. If the Office is of the opinion that the search of the state of the art cannot be conducted
owing to the application's lack of clarity, it shall so inform the applicant as quickly as
possible in a substantiated, written notification.
2. If the defects are not remedied within two months of the dispatch of the notification
referred to in paragraph (1), or if the applicant gives notice before that time that he does not
wish to remedy them, the Office shall decide not to process the application. The Office shall
inform the applicant of its decision as quickly as possible.
Article 75
1. A patent shall be invalidated by the court insofar as:
b. the patent specification does not contain a description of the invention that, in
appropriate cases with the application of Article 25(2) and (3), is sufficiently clear and
complete to allow a person skilled in the art to use the invention;