32.
Functions of Patents Office
(1) The Patents Office shall act as a receiving office where an international
application is filed with it and the applicant is a national or a resident of the country.
(2) The Patents Office shall act as a designated office or an elected office in the
case of any international application in which the country is designated or elected.
(3) The functions of the Patents Office under this Part shall be performed in
accordance with the provisions of the Patent Co-operation Treaty, and with the
provisions of this Act and the regulations pertaining thereto and in case of conflict, the
provisions of the Patent Co-operation Treaty, the regulations thereunder and the
Administrative Instructions shall apply.
(4) Further details of the functions to be performed by the Patents Office under
this section may be prescribed by the regulations.
[s. 31]
33.
Unsearched or unexamined international application and lack of novelty
(1) Where, in accordance with article 17(2) of the Patent Co-operation Treaty, an
international search report is not established or relates to only one or some of the claims
of the international application, the Registrar shall reject the international application or
consider withdrawn any claim not covered by the said report, except to the extent that
the applicant satisfies him that the refusal to establish the said report in whole or in part
was not justified.
(2) Where, in accordance with article 17(3) of the Patent Co-operation Treaty, the
international search report relates to only one or some of the claims due to the
applicant's refusal to pay additional fees, these parts of the international application
which consequently have not been searched shall be considered withdrawn unless the
applicant pays the special fee fixed in the regulations or satisfies the Registrar that the
invitation to pay the said additional fees was not justified.
(3) Where an international preliminary examination report with respect to an
international application has been communicated to the Registrar, subsections (3) and
(4) shall apply.
(4) Where, in the case of lack of compliance with the requirements of unity of
invention, the international preliminary examination report indicates that the international
preliminary examination under article 34(3)(a) of the Patent Co-operation Treaty, was
carried out on restricted claims; or under article 34(3)(c) of the Patent Co-operation
Treaty, was carried out on the main invention only, those parts of the international
application indicated as not having been the subject of international preliminary
examination shall be considered withdrawn unless the applicant pays the special fee
fixed in the regulations; or in the case of article 34 (3)(c) of the Patent Co-operation
Treaty, satisfies the Registrar that the invitation of the International Preliminary
Examining Authority was not justified.
(5) Where, in the case of defects under article 34(4) of the Patent Co-operation
Treaty, the International preliminary examination report states, with respect to the entire
international application or one or some of its claims only, the opinion that the said
defects exist, the international application or the claim or claims, as the case may be, for
which no statement under article 35(2), second sentence, of the Patent Co-operation
Treaty is made in the said report, shall be considered withdrawn unless the person
making the application satisfies the Registrar that the said defects do not exist.
(6) If it is apparent from an international search report or an international
preliminary examination report that an invention claimed in an international application
obviously does not fulfil the requirement of novelty prescribed by sections 4 and 5, the
Registrar shall not grant a patent upon the said application unless the person making the