C.706
Declaration of
priority and
translation of
earlier
application
(7) All sheets shall be numbered at the top of the sheet, in the middle, in
consecutive Arabic numerals.
(8) In effecting the sequential numbering of the sheets, the elements of an
application for a patent shall be placed in the following order —
(a) a request;
(b) a description;
(c) one or more claims;
(d) drawings; and
(e) an abstract.
(9) The sequential numbering of the sheets shall be effected by using the
following three separate series of numbering —
(a) the first series applying to the application only and commencing with the
first sheet of the application;
(b) the second series commencing with the first sheet of the description and
continuing through the claims until the last sheet of the abstract,
(c) and the third series being applicable to the sheets of the drawings only and
commencing with the first sheet of the drawings.
(10) The text matter of the application shall be typed in black, except for the
graphic symbols, chemical or mathematical formulae and certain characters
which may be handwritten or drawn.
11. (1) Where priority is claimed in an application for a patent, a declaration
in terms of section 17 (1) of the Act, shall provide —
(a) a certified copy of the application earlier filed;
(b) the date of filing of the earlier application;
(c) the symbol of the International Patent Classification which has been
allocated to the earlier application, subject to subregulation (3);
(d) the country in which the earlier application was filed or, where the earlier
application is a regional or an international application, the country or
countries for which it was filed; and
(e) where the earlier application is a regional or an international application,
the office with which it was filed.
(2) Where at the time of filing the declaration referred to in subregulation (1),
a copy of the application earlier filed is not found, that copy shall be furnished
within three months from the date on which the application containing the
declaration was filed:
Provided that the Registrar may extend the time limit referred to in this
subregulation for an additional period of three months, if the applicant supplies
evidence that, due to circumstances beyond the applicant control, the applicant
was not able to comply with the prescribed time limit.
(3) Where a symbol of the International Patent Classification has not been
allocated to the earlier application, or had not yet been allocated at the time of
filing the declaration referred to in subregulation (1), the applicant shall state
this fact in the said declaration and shall communicate such symbol as soon as
it has been allocated.
(4) The period for furnishing the certified copy of the earlier application
under section 17 (2) of the Act, shall be three months from the date of filing
the application, and where a copy has already been furnished for another
application, the applicant may respond by making a reference to that other
application.