Filing requirements

Question 1

What is Needed to receive a filing date?

Answer 1

indicate that a patent is sought

identify the applicant or enable contact

contain either:

something that appears to be a description of the invention

a reference to an earlier relevant application of the applicant or their predecessor (including filing date, Application No., country of filing)

Question 2

What happens if one or more of the requirements is met, but not all?

Answer 2

Comptroller will as soon as practicable after the filing of those documents notify the applicant of what else must be filed in order for the application to have a date of filing

Question 3

What happens if an application does meet all the requirements of?

Answer 3

Comptroller will alert applicant of the date of filing and any other outstanding requirements (with their time limits)

Question 4

What are the default rules relating to filing a missing part (with no claim to priority)?

Answer 4

if an application already has a filing date but:

between filing and the preliminary exam or within 2 months of notification by preliminary examiner, the applicant files:

a drawing, or
some text of the description

and the drawing/text was missing from the application at the date of filing

then, unless the applicant withdraws it again before the preliminary exam or specified period:

the missing part will be treated as included
the date of filing will be re-dated to when the missing part was filed

Question 5

How can the filing date be maintained when filing a missing part?

Answer 5

The application won’t be re-dated if:

on or before the initial filing date, a priority document is declared that identifiably contains the missing parts, and

a request is made not to re-date, identifying the missing parts in the priority document; and

the request is made before preliminary exam or within the 2 month period specified by the preliminary examiner

Question 6

How and when can an applicant withdraw filed missing matter?

Answer 6

Withdraw in writing to Comptroller.

Between filing and preliminary exam or within 2 months of notification by preliminary examiner

Question 7

When will a request not to re-date after filing missing parts fail?

Answer 7

f either:

the priority document is missing any of the added material, or

the certified priority document is not filed within the earlier of the normal 16-month period

or 4 months from the date of request to keep the fiilng date