The Patents Rules 1990

Applications

1.—(1) The specification of an application for a patent, or of a patent, for an invention which requires for its performance the use of a micro-organism—

(a) which is not available to the public at the date of filing of the application; and

(b) which cannot be described in the specification in such a manner as to enable the invention to be performed by a person skilled in the art,

shall, in relation to the micro-organism itself, be treated for the purposes of the Act as disclosing the invention in such a manner only if one of the conditions set out in subparagraph (2) below is satisfied.

(2) The conditions referred to in subparagraph (1) above are—

(a) a condition that,—

(i) not later than the date of filing of the application, a culture of the micro-organism has been deposited in a depository institution which is able to furnish a sample of the micro-organism; and

(ii) the name of the depository institution, the date when the culture was deposited and the accession number of the deposit are given in the specification of the application; and

(b) a condition, in the case of a European patent (UK), an application for a European patent (UK) or an international application for a patent (UK) which is treated, by virtue of section 77, 81 or 89 as a patent under the Act, or, as the case may be, an application for a patent under the Act, that the corresponding provisions of the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention or, as the case may require, the Patent Co-operation Treaty have been complied with,

and, where a new deposit is made under paragraph 4 below, a further condition that the applicant or proprietor makes a new deposit in accordance with that paragraph.

(3) Where the information specified in subparagraph (2)(a)(ii) above is not contained in an application for a patent as filed, it shall be added to the application—

(a) before the end of the period of sixteen months after the declared priority date or, where there is no declared priority date, the date of filing of the application;

(b) where, on a request made by the applicant, the comptroller publishes the application before the end of the period prescribed for the purposes of section 16(1), before the date of the request; or

(c) where the comptroller sends notification to the applicant that, in accordance with subsection (4) of section 118, he has received a request by any person for information and inspection of documents under subsection (1) of that section, before the end of one month after his sending to the applicant notification of his receipt of the request,

whichever is the earliest.

(4) The giving of the information specified in subparagraph (2)(a)(ii) above shall constitute the unreserved and irrevocable consent of the applicant to the depository institution with which a culture (including a deposit which is to be treated as having always been available by virtue of paragraph 4(2) below) is from time to time deposited making the culture available on receipt of the comptroller’s certificate authorising the release to the person who is named therein as a person to whom the culture may be made available and who makes a valid request therefor to the institution.

(5) The specification of an application for a patent described in paragraph (1) above shall mention any international agreement under which the micro-organism concerned is deposited.

(6) In relation to an application for a patent filed before this paragraph and paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 below come into force, rule 17 of the Patents Rules 1982(1) shall continue to have effect notwithstanding its revocation by rule 123(3) of these Rules.

(1)

S.I. 1982/717, to which there are no relevant amendments.