The Patents (Amendment) Rules 1988

Made: 29th November 1988

Laid before Parliament: 7th December 1988

Coming into force

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 32(2)(b) and (e), (6) and (7) and 123(1) and (2) of, and paragraph 4A(5) of Schedule 1 to, the Patents Act 1977[^f00001], after consultation with the Council on Tribunals pursuant to section 10(1) of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971[^f00002], makes the following Rules:

1

These Rules may be cited as the Patents (Amendment) Rules 1988 and shall come into force as respects rules 1 and 2 on 1st January 1989 and as respects rule 3 on 15th January 1989.

2

• (1) For rule 52 of the Patents Rules 1982[^f00003] there shall be substituted the following—

(52) (1) Upon request made on Patents Form No. 24/77 and payment of the appropriate fee, but subject to paragraph (3) below, the comptroller shall supply— (a) a certified copy or certified extract falling within section 32(11); (b) a copy of an entry in or an extract from the register or a copy of or an extract from anything referred to in section 32(11)(b), certified by the impression of a rubber stamp; (c) a certificate for the purposes of section 32(10). (2) Upon request made on Patents Form No. 23/77 and payment of the appropriate fee, but subject to paragraph (3) below, the comptroller shall supply an uncertified copy of an entry in or an uncertified extract from the register or an uncertified copy of or an uncertified extract from anything referred to in section 32(11)(b). (3) The restrictions on making documents available for inspection contained in rule 93(5) shall apply equally to the supply by the comptroller under this rule of copies of or extracts from such documents or requests for information as are referred to in rule 93(5) and nothing in this rule shall be construed as imposing upon the comptroller the duty of supplying copies of or extracts from any documents filed with or sent to or by the Patent Office before 1st June 1978.

• (2) Paragraph (3) of rule 93 of the Patents Rules 1982 shall be omitted.

• (3) For subparagraph (e) of rule 93(5) of the Patents Rules 1982 there shall be substituted the following—

(e) that no request made under rule 48, 49(2), 52(2), 92 or this rule shall be open to inspection; and

• (4) There shall be substituted for Patents Forms Nos. 23/77 and 24/77 as set out in Schedule 2 to the Patents Rules 1982 the forms so numbered set out in Schedule 1 hereto.

3

• (1) The following rule shall be inserted after rule 67 of the Patents Rules 1982—

(67A) (1) A declaration under paragraph 4A of Schedule 1 to the Patents Act 1977 shall be made on Patents Form No. 58/77. (2) The comptroller shall cause to be entered in the register notice of any declaration filed under the said paragraph 4A and the entry in the register shall be published in the Journal and in such other manner (if any) as the comptroller thinks necessary.

• (2) The form set out in Schedule 2 hereto shall be inserted at the end of Schedule 2 to the Patents Rules 1982.

SCHEDULE 1

REVISED PATENTS FORM No. 23/77

REVISED PATENTS FORM No. 24/77

SCHEDULE 2

ADDITIONAL PATENTS FORM No. 58/77

Signed

Eric Forth — Department of Trade and Industry — 29th November 1988

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Rules)

These Rules substitute in the Patents Rules 1982 a new rule 52 for the present rules 52 and 93(3). The new rule 52 relates to certificates and copies supplied by the Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. The amendments are consequential on the coming into force on 1st January 1989 of the remaining provisions of the Patents, Designs and Marks Act 1986. Patents Forms Nos. 23/77 and 24/77 are revised.

These Rules also introduce a new rule 67A into the 1982 Rules which relates to certain patents which are subject to licences of right under paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Patents Act 1977. The new rule is consequential on the insertion of a new paragraph 4A in the said Schedule by section 293 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. New Patents Form No. 58/77 is introduced.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1977 c. 37; section 32 of the Patents Act 1977 was substituted by the Patents, Designs and Marks Act 1986 (c. 39), Schedule 1, paragraph 4; paragraph 4A of Schedule 1 to the Patents Act 1977 was inserted by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48), section 293.

[^f00002]: 1971 c. 62.

[^f00003]: S.I. 1982/717, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Rules.