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No. 10
Patents and Industrial Designs Act
2012
No. 10
PART 1–PRELIMINARY
Interpretation.
1.
Patents and Industrial Designs Act
2012
"priority date" means the date of the earlier application
that serves as the basis for the right of priority
provided in the Paris Convention;
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires"agent " means a legal practitioner resident and
practicing in Sierra Leone;
"Paris Convention" means the Paris Convention for
the Protection of Industrial Property of March, 20
1883;
"ARIPO" means the African Regional Intellectual
Property Organisation;
"Registrar" means the Registrar of Intellectual Property;
"Registry" means the office of the Registrar.
"ARIPO Protocol" means the Protocol on Patents and
Industrial Designs adopted at Harare in December
1984;
"Court" means the High Court;
"industrial design" means any composition of lines or
colours or any three dimensional material, whether
or not associated with lines or colours, provided
that such a composition, form or material gives a
special appearance to a product of industry or
handicraft, can serve as a pattern for a product of
industry or handicraft and appeals to and is judged
by the eye;
"invention" means an idea of an inventor which
permits in practice a solution to a specific problem in
the field of technology;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Trade;
"patent" means the title granted to protect an
invention;
PART II - PATENTABILITY
2. An invention is patentable if it is new, involves an inventive Patentable
inventions.
step and is industrially applicable.
3.
(1) An invention is new if it is not anticipated by prior Novelty.
art.
(2) For the purpose of this Act, prior art consists of
everything disclosed to the public anywhere in the world, by
publication in tangible form or by oral disclosure, by use or in any
other way, prior to the filing or, where appropriate, the priority date,
of the application claiming the invention.
(3) In the evaluation of novelty, an application for the
grant of a patent in Sierra Leone shall be considered to have been
comprised in prior art as from the filing date of the application, or if
priority is claimed, as from the date of its validity claimed priority, to
the extent to which its content is available or is later made available
to the public in accordance with this Act.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2), a disclosure of
the invention to the public shall not be taken into consideration if it
occurred within twelve months preceding the filing date or where
applicable, the priority date of the application; and if it was by reason
or in consequence of-
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