Hong Kong Ordinances

PATENTS ORDINANCE - SECT 15

Filing of request to record

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

Request to record a designated patent application

(1) A person entitled under section 12(1) to apply for the grant of a
standard patent for an invention may, at any time within 6 months after the
date of publication of an application in a designated patent office for a
patent for the invention, request the Registrar to enter a record of that
designated patent application in the register (in this Ordinance
referred to as a "request to record").

(2) Every such request shall be signed by the applicant and be filed with the
Registrar in the prescribed manner and shall contain-

   (a)  a photocopy of the designated patent application as published, that is
        to say, including any description, claims, drawings, search report or
        abstract published together with the designated patent application;

   (b)  where the designated patent application does not contain the name of
        any person as being the inventor, a statement identifying the person
        or persons whom the applicant believes to be the inventor or
        inventors;

   (c)  the name and address of the person making the request;

   (d)  where the person filing the request is a person other than the person
        named as applicant in the designated patent application, a statement
        explaining his entitlement to apply for the grant of a standard 
        patent for the invention and prescribed documents supporting that
        statement;

   (e)  where priority is claimed under section 98 in respect of a right of
        priority enjoyed in the designated patent office on the basis of an
        earlier application as mentioned in that section, a statement that
        indicates the details of- (Amended 2 of 2001 s. 3)

        (i)    the date of priority claimed;

        (ii)   the country in which the earlier application was filed;

   (f)  where at the time of filing the designated patent application a claim
        was made in accordance with the law of the designated patent office in
        respect of any previous disclosure of the invention that was, for the
        purposes of the law of the designated patent office, a
        non-prejudicial  disclosure, a statement that indicates the prescribed
        details relating to the previous disclosure; and (Amended 2 of 2001 s.
        3)

   (g)  an address in Hong Kong for service of documents.

(3) Every such request shall also comply with the requirements of this
Ordinance as to the provision of information in, or the translation of
documents into, one or both official languages.

(4) A filing fee and an advertisement fee shall be payable within 1 month
after the earliest filing with the Registrar of any part of the
request to record, and if either fee is not paid within that period or within
such further period as may be allowed under subsection (5) the
application for a standard patent shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

(5) Rules may provide for a period of grace within which a filing fee or
advertisement fee that has not been paid within the time limit specified in
subsection (4) may still be validly paid.

(6) Subsection (1) shall not apply in respect of a designated 
patent application published before the date on which the designated 
patent office was designated under section 8.

(7) Nothing in this section shall preclude a request to record being initiated
by documents complying with section 17. [cf. EPC Art. 78; 1977 c. 37 s. 14
U.K.]