Patents Regulations (Amendment) 1998 No. 241
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1998 NO. 241
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism
Patents Act 1990
Patents Regulations (Amendment)
The Statutory Rules amend the Patents Regulations (the Regulations) pursuant to the amendment of the Patents Act 1990 (the Act) by the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 1998. These amendments to the Regulations:
* provide for the timing of the giving of a notice by the Commissioner in relation to the payment of a fee (if a full fee is not paid) and for the timing of the payment of the fee once the notice has been given, for the purposes of paragraphs 227(5)(b) and (c) of the Act, respectively;
* include as a prescribed action (for the purposes of subsection 223(11) of the Act) the paying of a fee mentioned in paragraph 227(5)(a) of the Act (other than a fee payable for filing a patent request and the accompanying specification) with the result that the action of payment of this fee will not be eligible for an extension of time.
Details of the amendments made by these Statutory Rules are as follows:
Regulation 1 - provides that the Regulations will commence on gazettal.
Regulation 2 provides that the Patents Regulations are amended as set out in these Regulations.
Regulation 3 omits subregulation 22.1(3) as a consequence of the amendment of section 227(5) of the Act by Schedule 3 to the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act 1998.
Regulation 4 - inserts new regulation 22.2A into the Regulations which provides for the timing of the giving of a notice by the Commissioner (if a full fee is not paid in respect of the doing of an act by someone other than the Commissioner or the filing of a document) and for the payment of a fee once a notice has been issued, for the purposes of paragraphs 227(5)(b) and (c) of the Act.
Regulation 5 - inserts paragaph 22.11(3)(c) which includes as a prescribed action the paying of a fee mentioned in paragraph 227(5)(a) of the Act (other than a fee payable for filing a patent request and the accompanying specification) where the Commissioner has given a person written notice about the payment of the fee.