Section 3
Withdrawal of the Application
32. The patent application may be withdrawn by written declaration at any time before
the grant of the patent. The withdrawal shall be subject to payment of a fee the amount of
which shall be fixed by decree.
The withdrawal declaration may relate to one application only, it shall be made by the
applicant or his agent. A special withdrawal power shall be enclosed with the agent’s
declaration.
Where the patent application has been filed in the names of two or more persons, its
withdrawal may not be effected unless it is requested by all of those persons or by a joint
agent.
Where encumbrances or licenses have been entered in the National Register of Patents
provided for in Article 37 of this Law, the withdrawal declaration shall be entertained only if
it is accompanied by the written consent of the owners of the rights concerned.
Where the application is withdrawn after its publication in the official bulletin of the
entity responsible for industrial property, the withdrawal shall be entered ex officio in the
National Register of Patents.
In all cases of withdrawal of the application, a copy of the application shall be retained
by the entity responsible for industrial property.
Chapter IV
Grant of the Patent
33. The patent shall be issued in the name of the applicant or applicants by decision of
the legal representative of the entity responsible for industrial property provided that, within
the two months following the publication referred to in Article 31 of this Law, no action
under Article 34 of this Law has been brought.
The grant of the patent shall be notified to the owner or his agent. It shall be entered in
the National Register of Patents and published in the official bulletin of the entity responsible
for industrial property.
The date of grant of the patent shall be that of its signature. The patent granted shall
come into effect as of the filing date of the application.
34. The patent grant procedure shall be suspended where a person supplies proof to the
entity responsible for industrial property, within the two months of its publication under
Article 31 of this Law, of having instituted a legal action before the competent court either
challenging the patentability of the application under Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Law or
claiming ownership of the said application.
The patent grant procedure shall resume as soon as the ruling of the competent court has
become res judicata.
However, in the case of an action claiming ownership of the application, the patent
grant procedure may resume at any time with the written consent of the person who brought
the action. That consent shall be irrevocable.
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