(3) Where the applicant is not the inventor, the request shall be accompanied by a
statement justifying the applicant’s right to the patent.
(4) The description shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and
complete for the invention to be evaluated, and to be carried out by a person having ordinary
skill in the art, and shall, in particular, indicate at least one mode known to the applicant for
carrying out the invention.
(5) The claim or claims shall determine the scope of the protection. The description
and the drawings may be used to interpret the claims.
(6) Claims shall be clear and concise and shall be fully supported by the description.
(7) Drawings shall be required when they are necessary for the understanding of the
invention.
(8) The abstract shall merely serve the purpose of technical information; in particular,
it shall not be taken into account for the purpose of interpreting the scope of the protection.
(9) The applicant may withdraw the application at any time during its pendency.
Unity of invention; amendment and division of applications
8.—(1) The application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so
linked as to form a single general inventive concept.
(2) The applicant may amend the application, but the amendment shall not go beyond
the disclosure in the initial application.
(3) The applicant may divide the application into two or more applications, namely,
divisional applications, but each divisional application shall not go beyond the disclosure in
the initial application.
(4) Each divisional application shall be entitled to the filing date and, where applicable,
the priority date of the initial application.
Right of priority
9.—(1) The application may contain a declaration claiming the priority, as provided for
in the Paris Convention, of one or more earlier national, regional or international applications
filed by the applicant or his predecessor in title in or for any State party to the said
Convention.
(2) Where the application contains a declaration under subsection (1), the Registrar
may require that the applicant furnish, within the prescribed time limit, a copy of the earlier
application certified as correct by the office with which it was filed.
(3) The effect of the said declaration shall be as provided in the Paris Convention.
LESOTHO
Industrial Property Order, 1989 (Order No. 5 of 1989, as last amended by Act No. 4 of 1997)
[LS 1-001]
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