TNAG-2890-FCO40-4162-Reform-and-localisation-of-the-Hong-Kong-Patent-System-1993 — Page 296

Patent Agent Patent Attorney

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Patentee

Patent specification

Petty Patent

Prior art

In the UK, only certain people who have the necessary skill and experience are entitled to charge fees for advising upon and arranging the application for patents. These are Patent Agents, otherwise known as Patent Attorneys, and solicitors. Patent Agents are bound by certain rules in the conduct of their business.

This treaty was made in 1970 and subsequently has been amended and modified. It takes the international aspects provided by the Paris Convention a step further by allowing a person from a member country to lodge a single application designating several member countries in which protection is sought. The application is searched and in some cases examined and then it is open to the applicant to proceed with the applications in the designated countries. The effect is that the inventor is given an indication of whether the patent is likely to be granted. This can be convenient for the inventor as it stretches the period during which the decision to file in the various countries can be made beyond the one year period imposed by the Paris Convention.

Under the 1949 Act, the patentee is the person whose name is entered on the Register. The expression can still be used to describe the person to whom the patent is granted, but the expression is now somewhat outdated as the 1977 Act uses the word "proprietor" instead.

The specification is the essence of a patent application. It contains a description of the invention, and claims. The specification must describe the invention in such a way that it is possible for someone skilled in the relevant art to perform it. Under the United Kingdom and European patent systems, the specification as filed by the applicant is published 18 months from the priority date.

Sometimes called a utility model, this is a type of patent which is granted in some countries. The term of protection is usually shorter than for a patent. The level of inventiveness required may be lower, and petty patents are usually granted more quickly than patents. Petty patents are described further in paragraph 3.29 and are dealt with in detail in chapters 11 to

13.

The publicly available stock of technical knowledge. For an invention to be patentable it should add to that stock of knowledge. The invention should not already be known. The prior art does not include ideas which are merely in someone's

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