(2) In a country in which applicants have the right to apply at their own option either for a
patent or for an inventor's certificate, an applicant for an inventor’s certificate shall, in
accordance with the provisions of this Article relating to patent applicants, enjoy a right
of priority based on an application for a patent, a utility model, or an inventor's
certificate.
Article 4bis
[Patents: Independence of Patents Obtained for the Same Invention in Different
Countries]
(1) Patents applied for in the various countries of the Union by nationals of countries of
the Union shall be independent of patents obtained for the same invention in other
countries, whether members of the Union or not.
(2) The foregoing provision is to be understood in an unrestricted sense, in particular, in
the sense that patents applied for during the period of priority are independent, both as
regards the grounds for nullity and forfeiture, and as regards their normal duration.
(3) The provision shall apply to all patents existing at the time when it comes into effect.
(4) Similarly, it shall apply, in the case of the accession of new countries, to patents in
existence on either side at the time of accession.
(5) Patents obtained with the benefit of priority shall, in the various countries of the
Union, have a duration equal to that which they would have, had they been applied for or
granted without the benefit of priority.
Article 4ter
[Patents: Mention of the inventor in the Patent]
The inventor shall have the right to be mentioned as such in the patent.
Article 4quater
[Patents: Patentability in Case of Restrictions of Sale by Law]
The grant of a patent shall not be refused and a patent shall not be invalidated on the
ground that the sale of the patented product or of a product obtained by means of a
patented process is subject to restrictions or limitations resulting from the domestic law.
Date of Gazette Notification: 31st December, 2003.