Finance Act, 1959

Chapter III.

Patents.

Interpretation (Chapter III of Part V).

46.—(1) In this Chapter—

“income from patents” means—

(a) any royalty or other sum paid in respect of the user of a patent, and

(b) any amount on which tax is payable for any year of assessment by virtue of any of the provisions of this Chapter;

“the commencement of the patent” means, in relation to a patent, the date as from which the patent rights become effective;

“patent rights” means the right to do or authorise the doing of anything which would, but for that right, be an infringement of a patent;

“Irish patent” means a patent granted under the laws of the State;

“the operative date” means the date of the commencement of this Part of this Act.

(2) In this Chapter, any reference to the sale of part of patent rights includes a reference to the grant of a licence in respect of the patent in question, and any reference to the purchase of patent rights includes a reference to the acquisition of a licence in respect of a patent:

Provided that if a licence granted by a person entitled to any patent rights is a licence to exercise those rights to the exclusion of the grantor and all other persons for the whole of the remainder of the term for which the rights subsist, the grantor shall be treated for the purposes of this Chapter as thereby selling the whole of the rights.

(3) Where, under section 130 of the Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) Act, 1927 , or any corresponding provisions of the law of any country outside the State, an invention which is the subject of a patent is made, used, or exercised or vended by or for the service of the State or the government of the country concerned, the provisions of this Chapter shall have effect as if the making, user, exercise or vending of the invention had taken place in pursuance of a licence, and any sums paid in respect thereof shall be treated accordingly.

(4) Any reference in this Chapter to the number of years comprised in a period shall be construed as a reference to the number of consecutive periods of twelve months, beginning with the day with which the period begins, which are comprised in the period, any odd period being treated as a complete twelve months:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as affecting any reference in this Chapter to the number of complete years comprised in any period or which have elapsed since any date.