The Patents Rules 2007

Requests for certain information

54.—(1) Where a person requests to be notified of a relevant event, he must use Patents Form 49.

(2) Where a person has made such a request, the comptroller must notify him that the relevant event has occurred as soon as practicable after the event.

(3) But the comptroller shall not give him information or permit him to inspect a document unless he would be entitled to such information or to inspect such a document under section 118.

(4) A request on Patents Form 49 must be for information regarding a single relevant event only.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (1), in relation to an application for a patent, each of the following is a relevant event—

(a) an applicant requesting, or failing to request, a substantive examination before the end of the period prescribed for the purposes of section 18(1);

(b) the application being published;

(c) the notice of grant of the patent being published under section 24;

(d) the application being terminated or withdrawn.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (1), in relation to a patent, each of the following is a relevant event—

(a) a request for an opinion under section 74A;

(b) the patent ceasing to have effect by reason of section 25(3);

(c) the renewal fee and any additional fee being paid during the period specified in section 25(4);

(d) an application being made for the restoration of the patent which has ceased to have effect.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (1), in relation to a patent or an application for a patent, each of the following is a relevant event—

(a) an entry being made in the register;

(b) a document becoming available for inspection under section 118 (by reason of a prescribed restriction no longer applying to the document);

(c) an application to register a transaction, instrument or event being made under rule 47;

(d) a matter being published in the journal.