The Patents Rules 1995

REVOCATION OF PATENTS

Procedure on application for revocation under section 72

75.—(1) An application to the comptroller for the revocation of a patent 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 grounds of revocation, the facts upon which the applicant relies and the relief which he seeks.

(2) The comptroller shall send a copy of the application and statement to the proprietor of the patent.

(3) Within the period of two months beginning on the date when such copies are sent to him, the proprietor of the patent shall, if he wishes to contest the application, file a counter-statement in duplicate setting out fully the grounds upon which the application is contested; and the comptroller shall send a copy of the counter-statement to the applicant.

(4) The applicant may, within the period of two months beginning on the date when the copy of the counter-statement is sent to him, file evidence in support of his case and shall send a copy of the evidence to the proprietor.

(5) Within the period of two months beginning on the date when the copy of the applicant’s evidence is sent to him or, if the applicant does not file any evidence, within two months of the expiration of the time within which such evidence might have been filed, the proprietor of the patent may file evidence in support of his case and shall send a copy of that evidence to the applicant; and, within the period of two months beginning on the date when the copy of the proprietor’s evidence is sent to him, the applicant may file further evidence confined to matters strictly in reply and shall send a copy of it to the proprietor.

(6) No further evidence shall be filed by either party except by leave or direction of the comptroller.

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

Award of costs

76.  If, in proceedings before the comptroller under section 72, the proprietor of a patent offers to surrender it under section 29, the comptroller shall, in deciding whether costs should be awarded to the applicant for revocation, consider whether proceedings might have been avoided if the applicant had given reasonable notice to the proprietor before the application was filed.

Revocation and amendment of patents under section 73

77.—(1) The opportunity to be given by the comptroller under subsection (1) or (2) of section 73 to the proprietor of a patent to make observations and to amend the specification of the patent shall be given by the comptroller sending to the proprietor notice informing him that he may make the observations and amend the specification and that, if he wishes to do so, he must do so within three months after the notice is sent to him.

(2) Where the comptroller gives leave under section 73 for the specification of the patent to be amended, he may, before the specification is amended, require the applicant to file a new specification as amended, prepared in accordance with rules 16, 18 and 20.