Opciones para el público que le permiten comentar acerca de las solicitudes de patente pendientes
La Oficina de Patentes del Reino Unido acaba de crear una nueva opción por correo electrónico con objeto de permitir al público formular comentarios sobre las solicitudes de patente pendientes. Esta iniciativa permite a los miembros del público interesados tener la posibilidad de afirmar la evidencia para ayudar a la Oficina de Patentes a decidir si una invención merece o no que se le conceda una patente.
Issued by Prowse & Co on behalf of The Patent Office
For more information please contact Deborah Fields or Kristina Crowe on +44 (0)1372 363 386 or Fax: +44 (0)1372 363 359.
E-mail deborah@prowse.co.uk or kristina@prowse.co.uk.
31 May 2005
Public have their say on patent applications
The Patent Office is providing new guidance and an e-mail option to help the public make comments on pending patent applications. If someone has evidence which will help the Patent Office decide if an invention is worthy of a patent, then they are encouraged to submit it.
So-called "section 21 observations" (named after section 21 of the Patents Act 1977) have always been accepted from members of the public who can help the Patent Office with their assessment of whether an invention is patentable. The Patent Office is now helping more people exploit this opportunity by explaining the simple procedures on its website, and launching an address for e-mail submissions.
Sean Dennehey, Director of Patents said: "This initiative is part of our continued effort to deliver greater quality and certainty in granted patents, and to give our customers new ways of dealing with us electronically. For people in business, concerned about a rival’s patent application, it means that they can give us evidence that will help ensure that patent protection is granted only for inventions which truly deserve it."
There is usually an interval of at least three months between the publication of a patent application and it being granted. This gives the public the chance to comment on the contents of an application. There is no fee to file observations on a patent application, and the person submitting evidence does not become involved in the examination process. Making observations before grant is therefore very simple, and certainly less costly than trying to attack a patent after it has been granted. And the new e-mail address makes it easier than ever to do.
The new guidance explains:
1.- How to identify and monitor cases on which to comment
2.- What comments and evidence are acceptable
3.- When and how to submit them
Editor notes:
1.-The new guidance is available from this web site.
2.-The address for e-mail submissions of section 21 observations has been set up under Directions made under section 124A of the Patents Act 1977. These Directions appear on this web site.
3.-Analogous procedures exist at the European Patent Office (EPO) which permit the public to file observations on applications pending at the EPO. Such observations can be made under Art 115 of the European Patent Convention (EPC). For people wishing to comment on European patent applications they can use the EPO’s Online File Inspection service to see what objections and evidence have already been raised
