Where the patent belongs to two or more persons, the renunciation request shall, on pain
of unacceptability, be accompanied by the written consent of all the owners of the patent.
Where licenses or other encumbrances have been entered in the National Register of
Patents, the request shall, on pain of unacceptability, be accompanied by the written consent
of the owners of the rights concerned.
On acceptance by the entity responsible for industrial property, the renunciation shall be
entered in the National Register of Patents and shall come into effect on the date of such
entry. It shall likewise be published in the official bulletin of the entity responsible for
industrial property.
Renunciation shall be subject to payment of a fee the amount of which shall be fixed by
decree.
Section 2
Invalidity
55. The patent shall be declared null and void by judicial decision:
— where its subject matter is not patentable under Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 of this Law;
— where the invention cannot be described clearly and completely enough for a person
skilled in the art to be able to carry it out;
— where its subject matter extends beyond the contents of the application as filed or, if
the patent has been granted on the basis of a divisional application, where its subject matter
extends beyond the content of the initial application as filed.
56. Where the grounds for invalidity affect the patent only partly, the invalidity
pronounced shall relate only to the claims so affected.
57. The invalidity action shall be brought before the court by any interested party.
The Public Prosecution Service may be party to any action where the invalidation of a
patent is at issue. It may also act ex officio to invalidate a patent.
58. The decision invalidating a patent shall have absolute effect; the invalidated patent
or invalidated parts of the patent shall be deemed never to have had effect.
59. Invalidation decisions that have become res judicata shall be notified to the entity
responsible for industrial property by one of the parties concerned. They shall be entered in
the National Register of Patents.
Section 3
Forfeiture
60. The owner of a patent or of a patent application who has not paid an annual fee that
has fallen due under the provisions of Article 52 of this Law shall forfeit all his rights.
Forfeiture shall be recorded by decision of the legal representative of the entity
responsible for industrial property at the request of the patentee or a third party. The request
shall be filed in writing. It shall be ruled upon by a decision with a statement of reasons. The
decision shall be notified to the requester within a period of three months from the date of
forfeiture of the patent.
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