Term of a patent
3.15.
Patents are granted for set terms. Again there is no international norm but under the EPC and the United Kingdom 1977 Act the term is 20 years. The term runs from the date of application for the patent and cannot be extended. When the term expires the patent owner has no further rights and the invention may be freely exploited by others. We have noted the agreement in December 1991 of the Council of Ministers of the European Community to extend by five years the effective period of patent protection for certain pharmaceutical products.
A patent is a type of property
3.16.
As a patent is a property right, the patent itself can be commercially exploited. The owner can sell (or "assign") his rights to someone else, or he can "licence" someone to make use of the invention.
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Territorial application of patent rights
3.17.
Like other intellectual property rights, patents are territorial. This means that a patent normally has effect only in the country or jurisdiction in which it is registered or to which it has been extended. In other words, there is no extra-territoriality. Thus a United States patent applies only in the United States, and a Japanese patent only in Japan. There are now several regional patent offices, an example of which is the European Patent Office (EPO). Under the EPC, the EPO grants the patent, but the patent only has effect under the laws of the countries in which the patent is designated. Further information on the EPC and the EPO is contained in chapter 15. As yet there is no such concept as an 'international patent', that is, one granted by an internationally established body which automatically takes effect in states which recognise such a patent. The European Community Patent Convention (CPC) establishes such an international patent, but that Convention is not yet in force. If the CPC comes into force, a "Community Patent" will be granted as a European Patent and will have uniform and indivisible effect throughout the member states of the CPC.
Method of obtaining a patent
3.18.
An owner of an invention who wishes to apply for a patent in either the United Kingdom Patent Office (UKPO) or the EPO would do so by making an application to the respective office in the manner set out in the United Kingdom 1977 Act and the EPC. An application for a patent should contain, in addition to the usual formalities, a specification comprising a description of the invention, one or more claims, any drawings referred to in the description or claims, and an abstract. Similar disclosure is required on application by the major patent systems worldwide. This ensures that on publication full details of the invention are made available to members of the public.
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