28
Government Gazette 23 March 2012
Act No. 1, 2012
(b)
No. 4907
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ACT, 2012
the claimed invention is not excluded from protection under sections 17
or 18.
(2)
An examination contemplated in subsection (1) must be conducted
in the manner prescribed and the Registrar must take into account any search report
established in terms of section 37.
(3)
If the Registrar finds, after the application has been examined as
envisaged in subsection (1) and taking into account section 37, that the application does
not comply with the requirements referred to in subsection (1), or cannot be granted in
the light of the results of a search or examination report referred to in section 37, he or
she must notify the applicant in the manner prescribed, setting out the reasons for the
finding.
(4)
The applicant may, on receipt of the notification referred to in subsection
(3) and within the prescribed period, submit arguments as to why the application, despite
the finding of the Registrar, should be granted, or submit changes to the description,
claims or drawings to address the finding of the Registrar as contemplated in subsection
(5).
(5)
The Registrar must, on the request of the applicant within the prescribed
period, make such changes in the description, claims or drawings of the specification
as requested by the applicant in order to remove the reasons for non-compliance as
referred to in subsection (3), except that no such change will be allowed if it would
result in the introduction into the specification of matter not in substance disclosed in
the initial disclosure, or result in a claim not fairly based on matter disclosed in the
initial disclosure.
International-type search
37.
account -
(1)
(a)
the results of any international search report and any international
preliminary examination report established under the Patent Cooperation Treaty in relation to the application;
(b)
a search and examination report submitted under section 30(2)(a)
relating to a corresponding foreign application, if any, or a final decision
submitted under section 30(2)(c) on the refusal to grant a patent on a
corresponding foreign application, if any, or a final decision submitted
under section 30(3) relating to the withdrawal, surrender, revocation or
invalidation of a foreign patent application or a patent or other title of
protection granted on a foreign patent application as the case maybe, if
any; and
(c)
a search and examination report which was carried out upon his
or her request by an external search and examination authority as
contemplated in subsection (2).
For the purposes of section 36, the Registrar must take into