PART 2APPLICATIONS FOR PATENTS
Search and substantive examination
Substantive examination reports29.
(1)
Whenever the examiner reports to the comptroller under either section 18(3) or (4) on whether the application complies with the requirements of the Act and these Rules, the comptroller must send a copy of that report to the applicant.
(2)
The comptroller may, if he thinks fit, send to the applicant a copy of any document (or any part of it) referred to in the examiner's report.
(3)
For the purposes of rules 30 and 31—
(a)
“first substantive examination report” means the first report sent to the applicant under paragraph (1); and
(b)
“first observations report” means a report sent to the applicant under paragraph (1) which meets the condition in paragraph (4).
(4)
The condition is that—
(a)
a person has made observations to the comptroller under section 21(1) on the question whether the invention is a patentable invention;
(b)
the examiner has reported to the comptroller, as a consequence of those observations, that the invention does not comply with the requirements of the Act or these Rules; and
(c)
the comptroller has not previously sent to the applicant a report, relating to those observations, under paragraph (1).