(3) A request under section 44 of the Act for the conversion of an
application for a patent into an application for a utility certificate or vice
versa shall be signed by the applicant and shall be accompanied by the
prescribed fee.
(4) The registrar shall, within two months after the receipt of the
request under section 44 of the Act, notify the applicant of his or her decision
on it in writing; and where he or she refuses the request, he or she shall state
the reasons for doing so.
37. Unity of invention.
(1) Section 14 of the Act shall be construed as permitting, in
particular, one of the following three possibilities—
(a) in addition to an independent claim for a given product, the
inclusion in the same application of an independent claim for a
process specially adapted for the manufacture of the product, and
the inclusion in the same application of an independent claim for
a use of that product;
(b) in addition to an independent claim for a given process, the
inclusion in the same application of an independent claim for an
apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the
process; or
(c) in addition to an independent claim for a given product, the
inclusion in the same application of an independent claim for a
process specially adapted for the manufacture of the product,
and the inclusion in the same application of an independent claim for an
apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the process.
(2) Subject to section 14 of the Act, it is permissible to include in the
same application—
(a) two or more independent claims of the same category which
cannot readily be covered by a single generic claim;
(b) a reasonable number of dependent claims, claiming specific
forms of the invention claimed in an independent claim.
38. Classification of patents.
The registrar shall apply the International Patent Classification, as adopted
under the Strasbourg Agreement of March 24, 1971, and updated in its
subsequent editions, for all purposes relating to the grant and publication of