No. 4907
Government Gazette 23 March 2012
Act No. 1, 2012
53
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ACT, 2012
National processing
82.
The Office as designated office or elected office may not commence
processing of the national phase of an international application designating or electing
Namibia for the purposes of a national patent before the expiration of the time limit
referred to in section 79 except if the applicant complies with the requirements of that
section and files with the Office an express written request for early commencement of
such processing.
Entering national phase
83.
(1)
The applicant in respect of an international application
designating Namibia for the purposes of a national patent must, regardless of the
provisions of Articles 22 and 39 of the Treaty, before the expiration of 31 months from
the priority date or of such later time limit as may be prescribed
(a)
pay the prescribed national fee to the Office; and
(b)
if the international application was not filed in, or has not been
published under the Treaty as a translation into English, file with the
Office, within the prescribed period, a translation of the international
application, containing the prescribed contents, into English.
(2)
When processing the national phase of an international application, the
Office must apply the provisions of this Act applicable to patent applications as well as
the Treaty, the Regulations made thereunder, and the Administrative Instructions issued
thereunder, subject to the following provisions –
(a)
the applicant must be represented by an agent as contemplated in
Chapter 5, which agent must be appointed within the prescribed time;
(b)
if the international application is a convention application and the
applicant has complied with rule 17.1 of the Regulations made under
the Treaty, the applicant is deemed to have complied with section
29(2);
(c)
the filing date accorded to the international application in terms of the
Treaty is the filing date of the national phase application for purposes
of sections 45 and 46;
(d)
any amendment or correction of any document forming part of
an international application in accordance with the Treaty or the
Regulations made thereunder is deemed to be an amendment or
correction under section 28, section 36(4) or section 40, as the case
may be, and may be set aside as provided for in section 220(3)(b) or
222(1)(c).
(3)
The Registrar may upon application made either before or after the
expiry of the time limit or the further time limit contemplated in subsection (1), extend
the time limit for a further period not exceeding three months.