Act 3
Industrial Property Act
2014
27. Withdrawal of application.
The applicant may withdraw the application at any time before the grant
of a patent or before the notification of rejection of the application or
before the refusal to grant a patent; but the applicant shall, if he or she
does so, forfeit the prescribed fees paid by him or her.
28. Filing date and examination of application as to form.
(1) The registrar shall accord as the filing date the date of receipt
of the application, if, at the time of receipt, the application contains—
(a) an express or implicit indication that the granting of a
patent is sought;
(b) indications allowing the identity of the applicant to be
established;
(c) a part which, on the face of it, appears to be a description
of an invention; and
(d) one or more claims identifying the characteristic elements
of the invention.
(2) Where the registrar finds that the application does not, at the
time of receipt, fulfill the requirements referred to in subsection (1),
he or she shall invite the applicant to file the required correction and
shall accord as the filing date the date of receipt of the required
correction, but if no correction is made, the application shall be
treated as if it had not been filed.
(3) Where the application refers to drawings which are not
included in the application, the registrar shall invite the applicant to
furnish the missing drawings.
(4) If the applicant complies with the invitation under subsection
(3), the registrar shall accord as the filing date the date of receipt of
the missing drawings.
(5) The registrar shall accord as the filing date the date of receipt
of the application and shall treat any reference to the drawings as non
existent.
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