Patents Act, 1992
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Authentic text of European patents and patent applications. |
121.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the text of a European patent or application for such a patent in the language of the proceedings, that is to say the language in which proceedings relating to the patent or the application are to be conducted before the European Patent Office, shall be the authentic text for the purposes of any proceedings under this Act before the Controller or the Court. | |
(2) Where the language of the proceedings referred to in subsection (1) is French or German, a translation in English of the specification of the patent under section 119 , or of the claims of the application under section 120 , shall be treated as the authentic text for the purpose of any proceedings under this Act, other than proceedings for the revocation of the patent, if the patent or application, as translated, confers protection which is narrower than that conferred by it in French or German. | ||
(3) If any such translation referred to in subsection (2) results in a European patent or application conferring a narrower protection than that conferred by the language of the proceedings referred to in subsection (1), the proprietor of or applicant for the patent may file a corrected translation with the Office and, if he pays the prescribed fee within the prescribed period, the Office shall publish it; provided that the proprietor of the patent or the applicant shall not be entitled to bring proceedings in respect of an act which infringed the patent or application as correctly translated, but not as originally translated, unless before the doing of the act the corrected translation has been published by the Office or the proprietor or applicant has sent the corrected translation by post or delivered it to the person alleged to have done that act. | ||
(4) Where a correction of a translation is published under subsection (3) and before it is so published a person begins in good faith to do an act which would not constitute an infringement of the patent or application, as originally translated, but would (apart from section 77 ) constitute an infringement of it under the amended translation, or makes in good faith effective and serious preparations to do such an act, he shall have the same protection as if an order had been made under section 37 (7). |