EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1983 NO. 48
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Science and Technology
The purpose of the attached Regulations under the Patents Act 1952 (“the Act”) is to:
(a) effect a minor change to Regulation 5 of the Patents Regulations to enable fees to be prescribed under sub-section 176(1) of the Act in connection with any compensation provisions which are prescribed under sub-section 191(11) of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No.1) 1982; and to
(b) amend the Patents Regulations to insert an application form in the First Schedule to those Regulations to enable applications for patents to be made under sub-section 191(3) of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No.1) 1982.
Section 49A of the Act allowed one type of divisional application for a patent. This section was repealed by the Patents Amendment Act 1979, which inserted a new section 49A relating to petty patents. Sub-section 191(2) to 191(12) of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No. 1) 1982 contain transitional provisions to reinstate the operation of repealed section 49A of the Act in a limited range of cases. In effect, if a person had a right to make a divisional application by virtue of the former paragraph 49A(1)(a) but had not in fact made such an
application by 1 July 1979, then the right to make such an application is reinstated for a limited period.
Details of the proposed regulations are set out below:
Regulation 1 provides for a commencement date of 1 May 1983.
Regulation 2 is a technical amendment to allow fees other than those set out in the Second Schedule to the Patents Regulations to be prescribed for the purposes of sub-section 176(1) of the Act.
Regulation 3 amends Regulation 9 of the Patents Regulations to specify that an application in accordance with sub-section 191(3) of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act (No.1) 1982 is to be made in accordance with Form 1AA as set out in the First Schedule to the proposed Patents Regulations (Amendment).
Regulation 4 inserts Form 1AA, which is an application for a standard patent in respect of an excluded invention, into the First Schedule of the Patents Regulations.