The Patents Rules 2007

Correcting a declaration made for the purposes of section 5(2)

24.—(1) Where, on the preliminary examination under section 15A of an application, the examiner finds that a declaration made for the purposes of section 5(2) specifies a date of filing for an earlier relevant application—

(a) more than twelve months before the date of filing of the application in suit; or

(b) where the comptroller has given permission for a late declaration to be made under section 5(2), more than fourteen months before the date of filing of the application in suit,

he must report this finding to the comptroller, and the comptroller must notify the applicant accordingly.

(2) Where the comptroller has notified the applicant under paragraph (1), the applicant must, before the end of the period of two months beginning with the date of that notification, provide the comptroller with a corrected date; otherwise the comptroller must disregard the declaration in so far as it relates to the earlier relevant application.

(3) In paragraph (2) “corrected date” means a date that would not have been reported by the examiner under paragraph (1).