him any specification lodged in connection with the application: Provided that
no document containing proof of payment shall be returned to the applicant.
42.
43.
Notice and publication of acceptance of complete specification.
(1)
When a complete specification has been accepted, the registrar shall
give written notice of that fact to the applicant.
(2)
Such notice shall contain—
(a)
the date of acceptance of the specification; and
(b)
a statement that on publication by the applicant in the
journal of the acceptance of the specification, the
patent concerned shall be deemed to have been sealed
and granted as from the date of such publication.
(3)
Unless the acceptance is so published in the journal within the
prescribed period or within such further period as the registrar may, on
application to him and on good cause shown and on payment of the
prescribed fee, allow, the application shall lapse.
Inspection by public.
(1)
After the publication contemplated in section 42, or after being open
for public inspection in terms of subsection (3) of this section, the
patent and the application and all documents lodged in support thereof
shall on payment of the prescribed fee be open to public inspection in
the patent office.
(2)
When an application which claims a priority date in terms of section
31 (1) is so open to public inspection, any other application from which
it claims a priority date and any documents lodged in support of such
an application shall simultaneously be open likewise to public
inspection.
(3)
If the acceptance of an application which claims priority in terms of
section 31 (1) (c) is not published in terms of section 42 within 18
months from the earliest priority date claimed from the relevant
application in a convention country, it shall be open to public
inspection as provided in subsection (1).
[Sub-s. (3) substituted by s. 4 of Act No. 67 of 1983.]
(4)
(a)
(b)
(c)
After the expiry of five years following the date of application
for a patent, any person may apply to the registrar for the
patentee to supply the applicant with the prescribed particulars
of any search report issued in another country in respect of an
application for a patent relating to the same subject-matter
which has been lodged in that country.
On receipt of the application, the registrar shall forward a copy
thereof to the patentee at the patentee’s address for service.
If the patentee fails to comply with the application within three
months of receipt of the copy of the application at the
patentee’s address for service, the applicant may apply to the
commissioner for an order requiring compliance with the
application.