EFIS 93, September 2014 : Intellectual Property

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The Patents (Amendment)(No.2) Rules 2014 were laid before Parliament on 9th September and will come into force on 1st October.

These 2014 Rules amend the Patents Rules 2007 to clarify that the only type of examiner's report which is relevant to determining the deadline for filing a new application for a patent is an examiner's report under section 18 of the Patents Act 1977.

Rule 10 of these 2014 Rules introduces a new rule which outlines the matters in relation to a patent or a supplementary protection certificate which a person may request the comptroller to issue an opinion under section 74(A)(1) of the Patents Act 1977. These matters include infringement and aspects of validity.

From 27th September, the Intellectual Property Office will stop issuing paper copies of cited patent specifications but the choice to opt in when a search is requested will remain. Patents Form PF9A has been amended to reflect this change.

In addition, the Intellectual Property Office has removed the 'consent to share prepublication data' question from PF9A and PF10 because this permission will no longer be required from 1st October due to the amendments made to the Patents Act 1977 by the Intellectual Property Act 2014.

Both forms can be used immediately.

Forms affected

PF9A	Request for search		New/Amended
PF10	Request for a Substantive Examination		New/Amended

Crown copyright forms are reproduced with the permission of the Controller of the Stationery Office. Law Society forms are reproduced with the permission of the Law Society. Legal Aid Forms are produced with the permission of the LSC.