812 No. 40 of 2016]
Patents
(2) The exclusion from protection, referred to in subsection
(1), shall not have effect with respect to any pending application
for the grant of a patent or with respect to a patent in force at the
date of the coming into force of the statutory instrument issued by
the Minister in terms of subsection (1).
Persons
entitled to
apply for
grant of
patent
Application
by joint
inventors
Naming of
inventor
Filing of
patent
application
PART IV
PROCESS FOR OBTAINING A PATENT
23. An application for grant of a patent, may be filed by—
(a) a person claiming to be an inventor,
(b) an assignee of the person claiming to be an inventor;
(c) a legal representative of an inventor or assignee;
(d) two or more persons who claim to be the inventors, as
specified in section twenty four; or
(e) a successor in title to an inventor or assignee.
24. (1) An application for a grant of a patent may be made
by two or more persons who have jointly made an invention.
(2) An application referred to in subsection (1) shall be made
notwithstanding that—
(a) the inventors did not physically work together when coming
up with the invention; or
(b) the inventors did not make equal contribution to the creation
of the invention.
25. (1) A person who creates an invention has the right to be
named in an application for the grant of a patent as an inventor
notwithstanding the fact that the inventor has assigned or transferred
the rights to an invention to another person.
(2) Despite subsection (1), the inventor may notify the
Registrar in writing that the inventor wishes not to be named in the
application for the grant of a patent.
26. (1) An application for the grant of a patent shall be filed
at the Agency, in the prescribed form and manner, accompanied by
a prescribed fee.
(2) An application for the grant of a patent for an invention
created jointly by two or more inventors may be filed by one or
more than one inventor.
(3) Where one or more of the inventors, who jointly created
an invention cannot be found or reached for purposes of filing the
Registrar may, on being satisfied, allow an application to be made
with the inclusion of the name or names of the missing inventor or
inventors.