Article 41: Other limitations to patent rights
The rights stemming from the patent shall not be extended to:
1° the use of the patented invention on board foreign machines, vessels, vehicles and
spacecraft which temporarily or accidentally enter the airspace, waters or territory of the
Republic of Rwanda;
2° the acts relating to a patented invention carried out for scientific and technological
research purposes and for public non-profit use;
3° the acts performed by any person who, in good faith and on the filing date or, where
priority is claimed, on the priority date of the application on the basis of which the patent
is granted, was using the invention or was making effective and serious preparations to
use it, insofar as these acts do not differ, in their nature or purpose, from previous
effective or envisaged use.
The right of the prior user referred to in paragraph 1(3) of this article may be transferred or
devolve only to the enterprise or business, or part thereof, in which the use or preparations
with a view to use took place.
It is not an infringement of a patent for any person where the use, manufacture, construction
or sale of the patented invention is justified only insofar as it is necessary for the preparation
and production of the information file which must be provided according to a domestic or
foreign law governing the manufacture, construction, use or sale of a product.
Article 42: Duration of the patent and its renewal
Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of this article, the patent shall lapse
twenty (20) years after the filing date of the patent application.
In order to maintain the patent or patent application in force, an annual fee shall be paid in
advance to the empowered authority, for each year, the first being paid one year after the
filing date of the patent application. A grace period of six (6) months shall be granted for
payment of the annual fee after the deadline, in return for payment of the prescribed
surcharge.
All fees stipulated in this article shall be determined by a ministerial order.
Where an annual fee is not settled in accordance with the provisions of this article, the patent
application shall be considered to have been withdrawn or the patent shall lapse.