More on intellectual property aside from patent, read here: Frequently Asked Questions on the Law on Trademarks
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A|patent application shall be published
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Publication of|patent application may be prohibited or restricted
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Any interested party may inspect the published patent|application
Make known your patent application by publishing the same.
A patent application, which has not yet been published, and all related documents, shall not be made available for inspection by any person without the consent of the applicant. This is because prior to its publication, a patent application enjoys confidentiality.
What should be the contents of a patent application?
The law says:
A patent application shall be in Filipino or English and shall contain the following:
- A request for the grant
- A description of the invention
- Drawings necessary for the understanding of the invention
- One or more claims; and
- An abstract
A request for the grant shall contain a petition for the grant of the patent , the name and other data of the applicant, the inventor and the agent and the title of the invention. Please take note that no patent may be granted unless the application identifies the inventor. If the applicant is not the inventor, he may be required to submit an authority for the appointment of an agent or a representative.
Also, the application shall disclose the name of the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art. Where the application concerns and involves the use of something which cannot be sufficiently disclosed in such a way as to enable the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the art and such material is not available to the public, the application shall be supplemented by a deposit of such material with an international depository institution.
As for the abstract, it shall consist of a concise summary of the disclosure of the invention as contained in the description, claims and drawings. It must be drafted in a way which allows the clear understanding of the technical problem, the gist of the solution of that problem through the invention, and the principal use or uses of the invention.
May a patent application be amended?
The law says:
Yes.
An applicant may amend his patent application during its examination provided that such amendment does not include any new matter outside the scope of the disclosure contained in the application as filed.
Once the patent application has been published, any interested party may inspect the application documents that were filed. But, the applicant shall have all the rights of a patentee as if a patent had already been granted. Among the rights are the filing of a civil action to recover damages.
However, a publication of a patent application may prohibited or restricted if to do so would be prejudicial to the national security and interests of the country. After publication of the patent application, any interested party may inspect the application documents that were filed.
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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