The Patents Rules 1995

INVENTORS

Mention of inventor under section 13

14.—(1) An application to the comptroller under section 13(1) or (3) by any person who alleges—

(a) that he ought to have been mentioned as the inventor or joint inventor of an invention in any patent granted or published application for a patent for the invention; or

(b) that any person mentioned as sole or joint inventor in any patent granted or published application for a patent for the invention ought not to have been so mentioned,

shall be made on Patents Form 2/77 and shall be accompanied by a copy thereof and a statement in duplicate setting out fully the facts relied upon.

(2) The comptroller shall send a copy of any such application and statement to—

(a) every person registered as proprietor of, or applicant for, the patent;

(b) every person who has been identified in the patent application or a statement filed under section 13(2)(a) as being, or being believed to be, the inventor or joint inventor of the invention; and

(c) every other person whose interests the comptroller considers may be affected by the application;

other than the applicant under section 13(1) or (3) and any person who has consented in writing to the application.

(3) Any recipient of such a copy of an application and statement who wishes to oppose the application shall, within the period of two months beginning on the date when the copies are sent to him, file a counter-statement in duplicate setting out fully the grounds of his objection and the comptroller shall send a copy of the counter-statement to each of the persons described in this rule other than any person who is party to the counter-statement.

(4) The comptroller may give such directions as he may think fit with regard to the subsequent procedure.

(5) The document prescribed for the purposes of section 13(1) shall be an addendum or erratum.

Procedure where applicant is not the inventor or sole inventor

15.—(1) Subject to the provisions of rules 26, 81(3), 82(3), 85(7)(a) and 85(7A)(a), if the applicant or applicants are not the inventor or inventors, a statement under section 13(2) identifying the inventor or inventors and, where required by section 13(2)(b), the derivation of the right of the applicant or applicants to be granted the patent shall be made on Patents Form 7/77, within the period of sixteen months after the declared priority date or, where there is no declared priority date, the date of filing the application.

(2) Where the applicant is not the sole inventor or the applicants are not the joint inventors of the invention the subject of the application and the application does not contain a declared priority date which relates to an earlier relevant application as defined in section 5(5)(b), a sufficient number of copies of Patents Form 7/77 shall be filed by the applicant or applicants within the said period to enable the comptroller to send one to each inventor who is not one of the applicants.

(3) Where the application is an application for a European patent (UK) which by virtue of section 81 is to be treated as an application for a patent under the Act, the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) above shall be treated as having been complied with to the extent that the requirements of rule 17 of the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention have been fulfilled.

(4) Where the application is an international application for a patent (UK), the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) above shall be treated as having been complied with if the provisions of rules 4.1(a)(v) and 4.6 of the Regulations made under the Patent Co-operation Treaty have been complied with, whether or not there was any requirement that they be complied with.