Request for substantive examination under section 18U.K.
28.—(1) A request under section 18 for a substantive examination of an application must be made on Patents Form 10.
(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4) and rules 60 and 68(4), the period prescribed for the purposes of section 18(1) is six months beginning with the date the application was published.
(3) Where the comptroller has given directions under section 22(1) or (2) in relation to information contained in the application, the period prescribed for the purposes of section 18(1) is the relevant period.
(4) Paragraphs (2) and (3) do not apply to a new application.
(5) In relation to a new application, the period prescribed for the purposes of section 18(1) is—
(a)two months beginning with its initiation date; or
(b)if it expires later, the relevant period,
and the reference in paragraph (7) to the date of filing of the application is a reference to the date of filing of the earlier application.
(6) But where the new application is filed less than six months before the compliance date, the period prescribed for the purposes of section 18(1) is the period ending with its initiation date.
(7) For the purposes of this rule the relevant period is two years beginning with—
(a)where there is no declared priority date, the date of filing of the application; or
(b)where there is a declared priority date, that date.