73.
74.
Certificates of registrar to be prima facie evidence.
(1)
A certificate purporting to be signed by the registrar, to the effect that
any entry authorized by this Act to be made, has or has not been
made or that any other thing so authorized to be done has or has not
been done, shall be prima facie evidence of the matters specified in
that certificate.
(2)
A copy or an extract purporting to be a copy of an entry in the register
or of a document kept at the patent office or an extract from the
register or any such document, and purporting to be certified by the
registrar and to be sealed with the seal of the patent office, shall be
admitted in evidence before the commissioner and in all courts without
further proof or production of the originals.
(3)
If any document or book bears a date purporting to be the date on
which it became available to the public, that date shall, unless the
contrary is proved, be deemed to be the date on which it became so
available.
Certification of validity.
(1)
If in any proceedings the validity of any claim in a complete
specification is in issue, the commissioner or the court, as the case
may be, finding that claim to be valid, may certify to that effect.
(2)
If in any subsequent proceedings the validity of that claim is
unsuccessfully attacked by any party, that party shall, unless the
commissioner or the court, as the case may be, otherwise directs, pay
to the other party his full costs, charges and expenses as between
patent agent or patent attorney or attorney and client so far as that
claim is concerned.
CHAPTER XIII
APPEALS TO COMMISSIONER AND THE COURT
75.
Appeal from registrar to commissioner.
An appeal shall lie from any decision of the registrar to the commissioner,
who shall hear the parties, and the registrar if he desires to be heard, and the
commissioner shall issue such order on the matter as he may deem fit.
76.
Appeal from the commissioner to the court.
(1)
Save as is otherwise provided in this Act, any party to proceedings
before the commissioner may appeal against any order or decision of
the commissioner pursuant to such proceedings.
[Sub-s. (1) substituted by s. 4 (a) of Act No. 76 of 1988.]
(2)
(a)
Every appeal shall be noted and prosecuted in the manner
prescribed by law for appeals against a civil order or decision
of a single judge, and sections 20 and 21 of the Supreme
Court Act, 1959 (Act No. 59 of 1959), shall apply mutatis
mutandis.