(4)Proceedings for a declaration may be brought by virtue of this section at any time after the date of the publication of the complete specification in pursuance of an application for a patent, and reference in this section to the patentee shall be construed accordingly.
\n
PART VI.
\n
Register of Patents.
\n
Register of patents.
\n
63.—(1) There shall continue to be kept at the Office a register of patents, in which there shall be entered particulars of patents in force, of assignments and transmissions of patents and of licences under patents, and notice of all matters which are required by or under this Act to be entered in the register and of such other matters affecting the validity or proprietorship of patents as the Controller thinks fit.
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(2)Subject to the provisions of this Act and to any rules made by the Minister, the register of patents shall, at all convenient times, be open to inspection by the public; and certified copies, sealed with the seal of the Controller, of any entry in the register shall be given to any person requiring them on payment of the prescribed fee.
\n
(3)The register of patents shall be prima facie evidence of any matters required or authorised by or under this Act to be entered therein.
\n
(4)No notice of any trust, whether expressed, implied or constructive, shall be entered in the register of patents, and the Controller shall not be affected by any such notice.
\n
Registration of assignments, etc.
\n
64.—(1) Where a person becomes entitled by assignment or transmission, operation of law or any other mode of transfer to a patent or to a share in a patent, or becomes entitled as mortgagee, licensee or otherwise to any other interest in a patent, he shall apply to the Controller in the prescribed manner for the registration of his title as proprietor or co-proprietor, or, as the case may be, of notice of his interest, in the register of patents.
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(2)Without prejudice to the provisions of the foregoing subsection, an application for the registration of the title of any person becoming entitled by assignment to a patent or a share in a patent, or becoming entitled by virtue of a mortgage, licence or other instrument to any other interest in a patent, may be made in the prescribed manner by the assignor, mortgagor, licensor or other party to that instrument, as the case may be.
\n
(3)Where application is made under this section for the registration of the title of any person, the Controller shall, upon proof of title to his satisfaction— (a) where that person is entitled to a patent or a share in a patent, register him in the register of patents as proprietor or co-proprietor of the patent, and enter in that register particulars of the instrument or event by which he derives title; or (b) where that person is entitled to any other interest in the patent, enter in that register notice of his interest, with particulars of the instrument (if any) creating it.
\n
(4)Subject to the provisions of this Act relating to co-ownership of patents, and subject also to any rights vested in any other person of which notice is entered in the register of patents, the person or persons registered as grantee or proprietor of a patent shall have power to assign, grant licences under, or otherwise deal with the patent, and to give effectual receipts for any consideration for any such assignment, licence or dealing:
\n
Provided that any equities in respect of the patent may be enforced in like manner as in respect of any other personal property.
\n
(5)Rules made by the Minister under this Act may require the supply to the Controller for filing at the Office of copies of such deeds, licences and other documents as may be prescribed.
\n
(6)Except for the purposes of an application to rectify the register under the following provisions of this Act, a document in respect of which no entry has been made in the register of patents under subsection (3) of this section shall not be admitted in any court as evidence of the title of any person to a patent or share of or interest in a patent unless the court otherwise directs.
\n
Power of Court to amend register.
\n
65.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Court may on the application in the prescribed manner of any person aggrieved by the non-insertion in or omission from the register of any entry or by any entry made in the register without sufficient cause, or by any entry wrongly remaining in the register, or by an error or defect in any entry in the register, make such order for making, expunging, or varying such entry as it may think fit.
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(2)The Court may in any proceeding under this section decide any question that it may be necessary or expedient to decide in connection with the rectification of the register.
\n
(3)The prescribed notice of any application under this section shall be given to the Controller, who shall have the right to appear and be heard thereon, and shall appear if so directed by the Court. Unless otherwise directed by the Court, the Controller in lieu of appearing and being heard may submit to the Court a statement in writing signed by him, giving particulars of the proceedings before him in relation to the matter in issue or of the grounds of any decision given by him affecting the same or of the practice of the Office in like cases, or of such other matters relevant to the issues, and within his knowledge as Controller, as he shall think fit, and such statement shall be deemed to form part of the evidence in the proceeding.
\n
(4)In the case of fraud in the registration or transmission of a patent, the Controller may himself apply to the Court under the provisions of this section.
\n
(5)Any order of the Court rectifying the register shall direct that notice of the rectification be served on the Controller in the prescribed manner, who shall upon the receipt of such notice rectify the register accordingly.
\n
(6)Any application under this section (other than an application by the Controller) may, at the option of the applicant, be made in the first instance to the Controller, and in such case the Controller shall have all the powers of the Court under this section, but his decision shall be subject to appeal.
\n
Power to correct clerical errors, etc.
\n
66.—(1) The Controller may, in accordance with the provisions of this section, correct any clerical error in any patent, any application for a patent, or any document filed in pursuance of such an application, or, without prejudice to subsection (6) of the last foregoing section, any error in the register of patents.
\n
(2)A correction may be made in pursuance of this section either upon a request in writing made by any person interested and accompanied by the prescribed fee, or without such a request.
\n
(3)Where the Controller proposes to make any such correction as aforesaid otherwise than in pursuance of a request made under this section, he shall give notice of the proposal to the patentee or the applicant for the patent, as the case may be, and to any other person who appears to him to be concerned, and shall give them an opportunity to be heard before making the correction Certificate of Controller and sealed copies of documents in Office to be evidence.
\n
67.—(1) A certificate purporting to be under the hand of the Controller as to any entry, matter, or thing which he is authorised by this Act, or any general rules made thereunder, to make or do, shall be prima facie evidence of the entry having been made, and of the contents thereof, or of the matter or thing having been done or left undone.
\n
(2)Printed or written copies or extracts, purporting to be certified by the Controller or an officer of the Controller and sealed with the seal of the Controller, of or from patents, specifications, and other documents or books in the Office, and of or from registers kept there, shall be admitted in evidence in all courts and in all legal proceedings without further proof or production of the originals.
\n
Requests for information as to patent or patent application.
\n
68.—The Controller shall, on request made to him in the prescribed manner by any person and on payment of the prescribed fee, furnish the person making the request with such information relating to any patent or application for a patent as may be specified in the request, being information in respect of any such matters as may be prescribed.
\n
Restriction upon publication of specifications, etc.
\n
69.—An application for a patent, and any specification filed in pursuance thereof, shall not, except with the consent of the applicant, be published by the Controller or be open to public inspection at any time before the date advertised in the Journal in pursuance of subsection (2) of section 18 of this Act:
\n
Provided that the Minister may prescribe a time within which any complete specification filed at the Office in pursuance of an application for a patent shall be laid open to public inspection.
\n
Loss or destruction of patents.
\n
70.—If a patent is lost or destroyed, or its non-production is accounted for to the satisfaction of the Controller, the Controller may at any time seal a duplicate thereof.
\n
PART VII.
\n
Proceedings before the Controller or the Court.
\n
Exercise of discretionary power by Controller.
\n
71.—Where any discretionary power is by or under this Act given to the Controller, he shall not exercise that power adversely to the applicant for a patent or for amendment of a specification or the registered proprietor of a patent without (if so required within the prescribed time by the applicant or registered proprietor) giving the applicant or registered proprietor an opportunity of being heard.
\n
Costs and security for costs.
\n
72.—(1) The Controller may, in any proceedings before him under this Act, by order award to any party such costs as he may consider reasonable, and direct how and by what parties they are to be paid; and any such order may be made a rule of Court.
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(2)If any party by whom notice of any opposition is given under this Act or by whom application is made to the Controller for the revocation of a patent or for the grant of a licence under a patent or for the determination of a dispute as to an invention under section 53 of this Act, or by whom notice of appeal is given from any decision of the Controller under this Act, neither resides nor carries on business in the State, the Controller, or in the case of appeal, the Court, may require him to give security for the costs of the proceedings or appeal, and in default of such security being given may treat the opposition, application or appeal as abandoned.
\n
Evidence before Controller.
\n
73.—(1) In any proceeding under this or any other enactment before the Controller, the evidence shall be given by statutory declaration in the absence of directions to the contrary; but in any case in which the Controller thinks it right so to do, he may take evidence viva voce in lieu of or in addition to evidence by declaration.
\n
(2)Any such statutory declaration may in the case of appeal be used in lieu of evidence by affidavit, but if so used shall have all the incidents and consequences of evidence by affidavit.
\n
(3)The Controller may for the purposes of his functions do all or any of the following things:— (a) summon witnesses to attend before him, (b) examine on oath (which he is hereby authorised to administer), or permit the examination on oath of, the witnesses attending before him, (c) require any such witness to produce to him any document in his power or control.
\n
(4)A summons shall be signed by the Controller.
\n
(5)A witness before the Controller shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if he were a witness before the Court.
\n
(6)If any person— (a) on being duly summoned as a witness before the Controller makes default in attending, or (b) being in attendance as a witness refuses to take an oath legally required by the Controller to be taken, or to produce any document in his power or control legally required by the Controller to be produced by him, or to answer any question to which the Controller may legally require an answer, or (c) does any other thing which would, if the Controller were a court of justice, having power to commit for contempt of court, be contempt of such court, the Controller may certify the offence of that person under his official seal to the Court and the Court may, after such inquiry as it thinks proper to make, punish or take steps for the punishment of that person in like manner as if he had been guilty of contempt of the Court.
\n
Hearing by Court with assessor.
\n
74.—(1) In an action or proceeding for infringement or revocation of a patent, or other proceeding under this Act, the Court may, if it thinks fit, and shall, on the request of all parties to the proceedings, call in the aid of an assessor specially qualified, and try the case wholly or partially with his assistance, in which event the action shall be tried without a jury unless the Court otherwise directs.
\n
(2)The Supreme Court may, if it thinks fit, in any proceeding before them call in the aid of an assessor as aforesaid.
\n
(3)The remuneration, if any, to be paid to an assessor under this section shall be determined by the Court or the Supreme Court, as the case may be, and be paid as part of the expenses of the execution of this Act.
\n
Appeals from decisions of Controller.
\n
75.—(1) Any appeal from the Controller under this Act shall be to the Court and shall be heard by one judge of the Court and the President of the High Court shall from time to time make arrangements for securing that all appeals under this section shall, so far as practicable, be heard by the same judge.
\n
(2)Any such appeal which concerns a patent specification which has not become open to public inspection shall be heard in private.
\n
(3)In any such appeal the Controller shall be entitled to appear or be represented in support of his decision and shall appear if so directed by the Court.
\n
(4)In any such appeal the Court may exercise any power which could have been exercised by the Controller in the proceedings from which the appeal is brought.
\n
(5)Rules for the conduct of proceedings under this section may include provision for the appointment of scientific advisers to assist the Court, and for regulating the functions of such advisers. The remuneration of a scientific adviser appointed in accordance with such rules shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
\n
(6)Except by leave of the Court, no appeal from an order or decision of the Controller shall be entertained of which notice to the Court is not given within one month from the date of the order or decision appealed against or within such further period not exceeding three months as the Controller may allow (upon request received before the expiration of the said period of one month).
\n
(7)An appeal to the Supreme Court on a specified question of law shall lie from the decision of the Court on an appeal to it under this Act (other than an appeal under section 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 28 , 30 or 31 of this Act).
\n
Costs of Controller in Court proceedings.
\n
76.—In all proceedings before the Court under this or any other enactment the Controller shall neither be awarded nor ordered to pay costs.
\n
PART VIII.
\n
The Office and the Controller.
\n
Patents Office.
\n
77.—(1) There shall continue to be, for the purposes of this Act and for such other purposes as have been or may, from time to time, be assigned to it by the Oireachtas, an office for the registration of patents, designs and trade marks which shall be known as the Patents Office and references in any enactment to the Industrial and Commercial Property Registration Office established under the Act of 1927 shall be construed as references to the Office.
\n
(2)The Office shall be under the immediate control of the Controller who shall act under the general superintendence and direction of the Minister.
\n
Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.
\n
78.—(1) The office of Controller of Industrial and Commercial Property shall continue in being as a corporation sole with perpetual succession and an official seal (impressions of which shall be judicially noticed and admitted in evidence) and shall be known as the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks and the Controller may sue and be sued in that name and references in any enactment to the Controller of Industrial and Commercial Property appointed under the Act of 1927 shall be construed as references to the Controller.
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(2)(a) The Government shall appoint as occasion arises a fit person to the office of Controller who shall hold office for such time and on such terms as the Government shall appoint. (b) The person holding office immediately before the commencement of this Act as Controller of Industrial and Commercial Property shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been appointed to the office of Controller under this section on the same terms and at the same remuneration as he held the first-mentioned office.
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(3)Every person appointed to be Controller under this Act shall receive such remuneration as the Minister for Finance shall determine.
\n
(4)Subject to his being in good health at the time of appointment and notwithstanding that he is appointed without a certificate from the Civil Service Commissioners, the Controller shall, if appointed permanently, be deemed to be employed in the permanent Civil Service of the State and there may be granted to him on retirement or to his legal personal representative on death such superannuation or other allowance or gratuity as might under the Superannuation Acts for the time being in force have been granted had he been in the permanent Civil Service of the State.
\n
(5)Any act or thing directed to be done by or to the Controller may be done by or to any officer authorised by the Minister.
\n
(6)Whenever the Controller is temporarily unable to attend to his duties, or his office is vacant, the Minister may appoint a fit person to perform the duties of the Controller during such inability or vacancy, and every person so appointed shall during his appointment have all the powers of the Controller under this Act and as otherwise determined by law and shall receive such remuneration, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, as the Minister shall, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance direct.
\n
Appointment of officers of Controller.
\n
79.—(1) The officers of the Controller shall be appointed by the Minister and there shall be such number of officers as the Minister with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, may consider necessary for the purposes of this Act and for such other functions as the Controller may be charged with, and those persons shall hold office upon such terms and be remunerated at such rates and in such manner as the Minister for Finance may sanction.
\n
(2)The salaries or remuneration of the Controller and his officers and such other expenses of carrying this Act into effect as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
\n
(3)Persons holding office immediately before the commencement of this Act as officers of the Controller of Industrial and Commercial Property shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been appointed officers of the Controller under this Act on the same terms and at the same remuneration as they held such first-mentioned offices.
\n
Fees.
\n
80.—(1) There shall be charged by the Controller and paid in respect of matters relating to the grant of patents under this Act or other matters determined by law as coming within the duties of the Controller, such fees as may from time to time be prescribed by the Minister with the sanction of the Minister for Finance.
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(2)All fees charged by the Controller under this section shall be collected and accounted for in such manner as shall be prescribed by the Minister with the sanction of the Minister for Finance.
\n
(3)The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of any fees payable under this section.
\n
Official Journal.
\n
81.—(1) The Controller shall issue periodically a journal (which is referred to in this Act as the Journal) in which he shall publish all matters which he is directed by this Act or otherwise by law to publish, and also such matters and information as appear to him to be useful or important in relation to patented inventions and other matters for which he is responsible under this Act or otherwise by law.
\n
(2)The Controller may issue periodically either in or as a supplement to the Journal or as a separate publication reports of— (a) cases relating to patents, designs, trade marks or copyright decided in the State, and (b) such cases relating to patents, designs, trade marks, or copyright decided outside the State as the Controller may consider to be useful or important.
\n
(3)The Controller may prepare and publish indexes, abridgments of specifications, catalogues and other works relating to inventions, patents, designs, and trade marks.
\n
(4)The Controller shall make provision for the sale of copies of all documents which he is by this section, or otherwise by law, directed or authorised to issue or publish, and also of all complete specifications (together with any accompanying drawings) of patents in force under this Act.
\n
Reports to be privileged.
\n
82.—Except as prescribed by the Minister, reports of examiners and other officers made under this Act or under any other Act for the administration of which the Controller is responsible shall not be published or be open to public inspection and shall not be liable to production or inspection in any legal proceeding unless the court or officer having power to order discovery in such legal proceeding certifies that such production or inspection is desirable in the interests of justice and ought to be allowed.
\n
Controller may consult Attorney General.
\n
83.—The Controller may, in any case of doubt or difficulty arising in the administration of any of the provisions of this Act or of any other Act for the administration of which he is responsible apply to the Attorney General for directions in the matter.
\n
Annual report.
\n
84.—The Controller shall, before the 1st day of September in every year, cause a report respecting the execution by or under him of this Act and of any other Act for the administration of which he is responsible during the year ending on the previous 31st day of March to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, and therein shall include for the year to which the report relates all general rules made in that year under or for the purposes of the said Acts and an account of all fees, salaries, and allowances, and other money received and paid under the said Acts.
\n
Hours of business and excluded days.
\n
85.—(1) Rules made by the Minister under this Act may specify the hour at which the Office shall be deemed to be closed on any day for purposes of the transaction by the public of business under this Act or such other business as may by law be made a function of the Controller or the Office or of any class of such business, and may specify days as excluded days for any such purposes.
\n
(2)Any business done under this Act on any day after the hour specified as aforesaid or on a day which is an excluded day, in relation to business of that class, shall be deemed to have been done on the next following day not being an excluded day; and where the time for doing anything under this Act expires on an excluded day, that time shall be extended to the next following day not being an excluded day.
\n
PART IX.
\n
Miscellaneous.
\n
Patent agents.
\n
86.—(1) Subject to such exceptions as may be prescribed or as, in any particular case, the Controller may direct, whenever under this Act any act has to be done by or to any person in connection with a patent or any procedure relating to a patent or the obtaining thereof, the act may under and in accordance with rules made under this section be done by or to an agent (in this Act referred to as a patent agent) of such person duly authorised in the prescribed manner.
\n
(2)There shall continue to be kept at the Office a register called the register of patent agents and a person acting for gain shall not, either alone or in partnership with any other person, practise, describe himself or hold himself out as a patent agent, or permit himself to be so described or held out, unless he is registered as a patent agent in the register of patent agents or, as the case maybe, unless he and all his partners are so registered; and a company acting for gain shall not practise, describe itself or hold itself out or permit itself to be described or held out as aforesaid unless every director of the company and, if the company has a manager who is not a director, that manager, is registered as aforesaid:
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Provided that if in any circumstances he thinks it right so to do the Minister may authorise any person whom he considers suitable to act as a patent agent in a particular case or at a particular time:
\n
Provided further that it shall not be an offence under this section if the legal personal representative of a deceased patent agent carries on the business or practice of that deceased patent agent for a period not exceeding three years from the death of the patent agent, or for such further period (if any) as the Court allows, and is himself registered as a patent agent or employs a registered patent agent or a person authorised under this section to act as a patent agent to manage the business or practice on his behalf.
\n
(3)Any person who— (a) resides in the State, (b) has a place of business in the State, (c) possesses the prescribed educational and professional qualifications, and (d) complies with the prescribed conditions, shall be eligible to be registered in the register of patent agents, and a partnership shall be so eligible if every partner of the firm is registered in accordance with the provisions of this section, and a person or firm so eligible shall on application in the prescribed form and manner and on payment of the prescribed fee be so registered.
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(4)Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding, in the case of a first offence, twenty pounds, and in the case of a second or subsequent offence, one hundred pounds.
\n
(5)Notwithstanding subsection (4) of section 10 of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , proceedings for an offence under this section may be begun at any time within twelve months from the date of the offence.
\n
(6)Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting solicitors from taking such part in proceedings under this Act as has heretofore been taken by solicitors in connection with a patent or any procedure relating to a patent or the obtaining thereof.
\n
(7)A patent agent shall not be guilty of an offence under section 58 of the Solicitors Act, 1954 , (which prohibits the preparation for reward of certain instruments by persons not legally qualified) by reason only of the preparation by him of a deed assigning the right to make an application for a patent, a deed assigning from the patent agent a patent granted to him or any other document (not being a deed) for use in proceedings under this Act before the Controller or the Court.
\n
(8)A person (in this subsection referred to as an agent) duly authorised by any person under subsection (1) of this section to act as his agent may (subject to any provision to the contrary in any agreement between the agent and that person), on giving notice to the Controller and that person, cease to act as agent for that person.
\n
(9)There shall continue to be kept at the Office a register called the register of clerks and the Minister may make rules for the management of the register and may by such rules prescribe the qualifications and conditions for eligibility for and the fees to be paid on registration in such register.
\n
(10)Any person registered in the register of patent agents who— (a) ceases to be eligible to be so registered, or (b) applies to be removed from the register, may be removed by the Controller from the register of patent agents, but no person shall be so removed (except on his own application) without being given an opportunity of being heard.
\n
(11)(a) Where a person registered in the register of patent agents is found by the Controller, after due inquiry by the Controller (including the hearing by the Controller of representations, if any, by the person), to have been guilty of conduct disgraceful to that person in a professional respect, the Controller may, if he sees fit, decide that the name of that person should be erased from the register of patent agents. (b) On making a decision under this subsection, the Controller shall forthwith send by post to the person to whom the decision relates, at his address as stated in the register of patent agents, a notice in writing stating the decision, the date thereof and the reason therefor. (c) A person to whom a decision of the Controller under this subsection relates may, within the period of fourteen days beginning on the date of the decision, on giving notice to the Controller in the prescribed manner, apply to the Court for cancellation of the decision, and if he so applies— (i) the Court, on the hearing of the application, may either— (I) cancel the decision, or (II) confirm the decision and direct the Controller to erase the name of such person from the register of patent agents, (ii) if at any time the Controller satisfies the Court that such person has delayed unduly in proceeding with the application, the Court shall, unless it sees good reason to the contrary, confirm the decision and direct the Controller to erase the name of such person from the register, (iii) the Court may, subject to section 76 of this Act, direct how the costs of the application are to be borne. (d) Where a person to whom a decision of the Controller under this subsection relates does not, within the period of fourteen days beginning on the date of the decision, apply to the Court for cancellation of the decision, the Controller may apply ex parte to the Court for confirmation of the decision and, if the Controller so applies, the Court, on the hearing of the application, shall, unless it sees good reason to the contrary, confirm the decision and direct the Controller to erase the name of such person from the register of patent agents. (e) The decision of the Court on an application under this subsection shall be final, save that, by leave of the Court, an appeal, by the Controller or the person concerned, from the decision shall lie to the Supreme Court on a specified question of law. (f) On erasing the name of a person from the register of patent agents under this subsection, the Controller shall forthwith send by post to such person, at his address as stated in the register of patent agents, notice in writing of the erasure.
\n
(g) A person whose name has been erased from the register of patent agents under this subsection may at any time be restored to the register by special direction of the Controller but not otherwise, and when a person is so restored to the register, the Controller may attach to the restoration such conditions (including the payment of a fee not exceeding the fee which would be payable by such person if he was then being registered for the first time) as the Controller thinks fit.
\n
(12)The Minister may make rules for the management of the register of patent agents, and may by such rules prescribe any matter or thing referred to in this section as prescribed, and in particular may so prescribe the educational and professional qualifications and the conditions (including conditions relating to nationality or citizenship) for eligibility for registration in that register, and the maximum fees which may be charged by any person registered in the register of patent agents for such services in connection with the obtaining of patents as may be specified in such rules.
\n
(13)Rules under this section may authorise the Controller to refuse to recognise as agent in respect of any business under this Act any person whose name, having been entered in the register of patent agents under this Act, has been removed therefrom.
\n
(14)Rules under this section may authorise the Controller to refuse to recognise as agent in respect of any business under this Act a company or firm of which any director or manager or any partner (as the case may be) is an individual whom the Controller could refuse to recognise as an agent.
\n
Falsification of register, etc.
\n
87.—If any person makes or causes to be made a false entry in any register kept under this Act, or a writing falsely purporting to be a copy of an entry in any such register, or produces or tenders or causes to be produced or tendered in evidence any such writing, knowing the entry or writing to be false, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
\n
Unauthorised claim of patent rights.
\n
88.—If any person falsely represents that any article sold by him is patented, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds; and for the purposes of this provision a person who sells an article having stamped, engraved or impressed thereon or otherwise applied thereto the word “patent” or “patented”, or any other word expressing or implying that the article is patented, shall be deemed to represent that the article is patented.
\n
False suggestion of official connection with the Office.
\n
89.—If any person uses on his place of business, or on any document issued by him, or otherwise, any words suggesting that his place of business is officially connected with, or is, the Office, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.
\n
Inventions relating to instruments or munitions of war.
\n
90.—(1) The inventor of any improvement in instruments or munitions of war may (either for or without valuable consideration) assign to the Minister for Defence on behalf of the State all the benefit of the invention and of any patent obtained or to be obtained for the invention.
\n
(2)The assignment shall effectually vest the benefit of the invention and patent in the Minister for Defence on behalf of the State, and all covenants and agreements therein contained for keeping the invention secret and otherwise shall be valid and effectual (notwithstanding any want of valuable consideration), and may be enforced accordingly by the Minister for Defence.
\n
(3)Where any such assignment as aforesaid has been made, the Minister for Defence may at any time before the publication of the complete specification certify to the Controller that, in the interest of the public service, the particulars of the invention and of the manner in which it is to be performed should be kept secret.
\n
(4)If the Minister for Defence so certifies, the application and specifications, with the drawings (if any) and any amendment of the complete specification, and any copies of such documents and drawings shall, instead of being left in the ordinary manner at the Office, be delivered to the Controller in a packet sealed by authority of the Minister for Defence.
\n
(5)The packet aforesaid shall, until the expiration of the term during which a patent for the invention may be in force, be kept sealed by the Controller and shall not be opened save under the authority of an order of the Minister for Defence or of the Attorney General.
\n
(6)The sealed packet aforesaid shall be delivered at any time during the continuance of the patent to any person authorised by the Minister for Defence to receive it, and shall, if returned to the Controller, be again kept sealed by him.
\n
(7)On the expiration of the term of the patent, the sealed packet shall be delivered to the Minister for Defence.
\n
(8)Where the Minister for Defence certifies as aforesaid after an application for a patent has been left at the Office, but before the publication of the complete specification, the application and specifications, with the drawings (if any), shall be forthwith placed in a packet sealed by authority of the Controller, and the packet shall be subject to the foregoing provisions respecting a packet sealed by authority of the Minister for Defence.
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(9)No proceeding by petition or otherwise shall lie for revocation of a patent granted for an invention in relation to which such a certificate as aforesaid has been given by the Minister for Defence.
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(10)No copy of any specification or other document or drawings by this section required to be placed in a sealed packet shall in any manner whatever be published or opened to the inspection of the public, but, save as in this section is otherwise directed, the provisions of this Act shall apply in respect of any such invention and patent as aforesaid.
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(11)The Minister for Defence may at any time waive the benefit of this section with respect to any particular invention, and thereupon the specifications, documents, and drawings relating to that invention shall thenceforth be kept and dealt with in the ordinary way.
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(12)Rules may be made under this section by the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Defence, for the purpose of ensuring secrecy with respect to patents to which this section applies, and those rules may modify any of the provisions of this Act in their application to such patents as aforesaid so far as may appear necessary for the purpose aforesaid.
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Assignment of invention or patent to a Minister of State.
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91.—(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the last foregoing section, any inventor or patentee may (either for or without valuable consideration) make to a Minister of State on behalf of the State, and such Minister may take on such behalf, an assignment of the whole of or any share or interest in the benefit of an invention and of any patent obtained or to be obtained for such invention, and where a Minister of State has taken any such assignment, such Minister may (as the case may be) do or join in doing on behalf of the State all or any of the following things, that is to say:— (a) develop and perfect such invention, (b) form or promote an incorporated company or an unincorporated association of persons to develop and perfect such invention, (c) take an assignment of any patent or of a share or interest in any patent theretofore or thereafter obtained for such invention, (d) sell or lease any such patent or grant licences under any such patent on such terms as he shall, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, think proper, (e) form or promote an incorporated company or an unincorporated association of persons to work commercially any such patent, (f) do all such things as may be necessary for the maintenance or preservation of any such patent or be otherwise incidental to the ownership thereof.
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(2)Every Minister of State shall, before the 1st day of April in every year, lay before each House of the Oireachtas a report of every (if any) exercise by him in the next preceding year of the several powers conferred by paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (1) of this section and also, if and so far as he considers it expedient in the public interest, of the several powers conferred by paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (f) of the said subsection.
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(3)All expenses incurred by a Minister of State under this section shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
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Use of patented inventions for the service of the State.
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92.—(1) A patent shall have to all intents the like effect as against the State as it has against a citizen:
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Provided that any Minister of State may, by himself or by such of his agents, contractors, or others as may be authorised in writing by him at any time after the application for a patent, make, use, exercise or vend the invention for the service of the State on such terms as may, either before or after the use thereof, be agreed on with the approval of the Minister for Finance by such Minister and the applicant or proprietor, or, in default of agreement, as may be settled in the manner hereinafter provided, and the terms of any agreement or licence concluded between the applicant or proprietor and any person other than a Minister of State shall be inoperative to prevent or regulate the making, use, exercise or vending of the invention for the service of the State:
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Provided further that, where an invention which is the subject of any patent or application for a patent has, before the priority date of the relevant claim of the complete specification, been duly recorded in a document by, or been tried by or on behalf of any such Minister (such invention not having been communicated directly or indirectly by the applicant or the proprietor), any Minister of State or such of his agents, contractors, or others as may be authorised in writing by him, may make, use, exercise or vend the invention so recorded or tried for the service of the State free of any royalty or other payment to the applicant or proprietor, notwithstanding the existence of the application or patent, and if in the opinion of such Minister the disclosure to the applicant or the proprietor, as the case may be, of the document recording the invention or the evidence of the trial thereof would be detrimental to the public interest, such disclosure may be made confidentially to counsel on behalf of the applicant or proprietor or to any independent expert mutually agreed upon.
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(2)Where any use of an invention is made by or with the authority of a Minister of State under this section, then, unless it appears to such Minister that it would be contrary to the public interest so to do, the Minister shall notify the applicant or proprietor as soon as practicable after the use is begun, and furnish him with such information as to the extent of the use as he may from time to time require.
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(3)In case of any dispute as to or in connection with the making, use, exercise or vending of an invention, under this section, or the terms therefor, or as to the existence or scope of any record or trial as aforesaid, the matter shall be referred to the Court for decision, and the Court shall have the power to refer the whole matter or any question or issue of fact arising thereon to be tried before an arbitrator upon such conditions as it may direct. The Court or arbitrator in settling the terms as aforesaid shall be entitled to take into consideration any benefit or compensation which the applicant or proprietor or any other person interested in the application or patent may have received directly or indirectly from the State or from any Minister or any Government Department in respect of such application or patent.
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(4)In any proceedings under this section to which a Minister of State is a party, such Minister may— (a) if the patentee is a party to the proceedings, apply for revocation of the patent upon any ground upon which a patent may be revoked under section 34 of this Act; (b) in any case, put in issue the validity of the patent without applying for its revocation.
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(5)The right to use an invention for the service of the State under the provisions of this section shall include the power to sell any articles made in pursuance of such right which are no longer required for the service of the State.
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(6)The purchaser of any articles sold in the exercise of powers conferred by this section, and any person claiming through him, shall have power to deal with them in the same manner as if they were made pursuant to a patent held on behalf of the State.
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(7)During any period when an order under paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of this section is in force the power exercisable in relation to an invention by a Minister of State, or a person authorised by a Minister of State under subsection (1) of this section, shall include power to make, use, exercise and vend the invention for any purpose which appears to such Minister necessary or expedient— (a) for the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community; (b) for securing a sufficiency of supplies and services essential to the well-being of the community; (c) for promoting the productivity of industry, commerce and agriculture; (d) for fostering and directing exports and reducing imports, or imports of any classes, from all or any countries and for redressing the balance of trade; (e) generally for ensuring that the whole resources of the community are available for use, and are used, in a manner best calculated to serve the interests of the community; (f) for assisting the relief of suffering and the restoration and distribution of essential supplies and services in any foreign countries that are in grave distress as the result of war; or (g) for ensuring the public safety and the preservation of the State; and any reference in this section to the services of the State shall be construed as including a reference to the purposes aforesaid.
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(8)(a) Whenever the Government are of opinion that, in the interests of the community, owing to the existence of exceptional circumstances, it is desirable that the powers conferred by subsection (7) of this section should be available, they may by order declare that the powers aforesaid shall be available. (b) Whenever an order under paragraph (a) of this subsection is in force and the Government are of opinion that the exceptional circumstances referred to in the said paragraph (a) no longer exist, they shall by order revoke the order under the said paragraph (a).
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(9)In this section “service of the State” means a service financed out of moneys charged on or advanced out of the Central Fund or moneys provided by the Oireachtas or by a local authority.
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Government orders as to convention countries.
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93.—(1) The Government may, with a view to the fulfilment of any treaty, convention, arrangement or engagement with the Government of a foreign country concerning the protection of inventions, by order declare that any country specified in the order is a convention country for the purposes of this Act, and that country shall be a convention country for the purposes of this Act while the order remains in force with respect to that country:
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Provided that a declaration may be made as aforesaid for the purposes either of all or of some only of the provisions of this Act, and a country in the case of which a declaration made for the purposes of some only of the provisions of this Act is in force shall be deemed to be a convention country for the purposes of those provisions only.
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(2)Without prejudice to the provisions of section 96 of this Act the Minister may, for the purposes of convention applications, make rules— (a) prescribing particular time limits for doing anything required by this Act to be done in connection with such applications; (b) for regulating the procedures to be observed in connection with making and prosecuting such applications.
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(3)The Government may, by order, revoke or amend an order under this section including an order under this subsection.
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(4)In this section “foreign country” includes any territory for the foreign relations of which any state (being a state which is a party to any international agreement for the mutual protection of inventions to which the State is a party) considers itself responsible.
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Supplementary provisions as to convention applications.
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94.—(1) Where a person has applied for protection for an invention by an application which— (a) in accordance with the terms of a treaty subsisting between any two or more convention countries, is equivalent to an application duly made in any one of those convention countries, or (b) in accordance with the law of any convention country, is equivalent to an application duly made in that convention country, he shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have applied in that convention country.
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(2)For the purpose of this Act, matter shall be deemed to have been disclosed in an application for protection in a convention country if it was claimed or disclosed (otherwise than by way of disclaimer or acknowledgement of prior art) in that application or in documents submitted by the applicant for protection in support of and at the same time as that application; but no account shall be taken of any disclosure effected by any such document unless a copy of the document is filed at the Office with the convention application or within such period as may be prescribed after the filing of that application.
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Special provisions as to vessels, aircraft and land vehicles.
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95.—(1) Where a vessel or aircraft registered in a foreign state or a land vehicle owned by a person ordinarily resident in a foreign state comes into the State temporarily or accidentally only, the rights conferred by a patent for an invention shall not be deemed to be infringed by the use of the invention— (a) in the body of the vessel or in the machinery, tackle, apparatus or other accessories thereof, so far as the invention is used on board the vessel and for its actual needs only; or (b) in the construction or working of the aircraft or land vehicle or of the accessories thereof, as the case may be.
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(2)This section shall not extend to vessels, aircraft or land vehicles of any foreign state of which the laws do not confer corresponding rights with respect to the use of inventions in vessels, aircraft and land vehicles of the State while in that foreign state.
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Power of Minister to make rules.
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96.—The Minister may make such general rules (except in relation to any matter appropriate to be provided for by rules of court) and do such things as he thinks expedient, subject to the provisions of this Act— (a) for prescribing the form of applications for patents and of any specifications, drawings or other documents which may be filed at the Office, and for requiring copies to be furnished of any such documents; (b) for regulating the procedure to be followed in connection with any application or request to the Controller or in connection with any proceeding before the Controller and for authorising the rectification of irregularities of procedure; (c) for regulating the publication and sale of patent specifications, of indexes to and abridgements of patent specifications, and of the Journal and other documents which the Controller is by this Act required or authorised to publish, and for regulating the contents of the said Journal and other documents; (d) for regulating the presentation of copies of publications made under this Act to patentees and to public authorities, bodies, and institutions at home and abroad; (e) for regulating the keeping of the register of patents to be kept pursuant to this Act; (f) for prescribing any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed; (g) for doing anything which is by this Act authorised or required to be done, or is in this Act referred to as being or to be done, by general rules made under this Act; (h) generally for regulating the business of the Office, and all things by this Act placed under the direction or control of the Controller, or of the Minister.
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Power of Minister to delegate his duties under this Act.
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97.—All things required or authorised under this Act to be done by, to, or before the Minister may be done by, to, or before the Secretary of the Department of Industry and Commerce or any person authorised in that behalf by the Minister.
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Service of notices, etc., by post.
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98.—Any notice required or authorised to be given by or under this Act, and any application or other document so required or authorised to be made or filed, may be given, made or filed by post.
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Saving for articles forfeited under laws relating to the customs or excise.
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99.—Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of the State, or of any person deriving title directly or indirectly from the State, to sell or use any articles forfeited under the laws relating to the customs or excise.
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FIRST SCHEDULE.
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Enactments Repealed.
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Section 5
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.
\n
Number and Year Short Title Extent of Repeal No. 16 of 1927.
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Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) Act, 1927 .
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Section 3
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(in so far as it relates to patents); sections 5 to 63 ; sections 124 and 125 (in so far as they relate to patents); section 126 ; sections 127 to 135 (in so far as they relate to patents); section 136 ; sections 137 and 138 (in so far as they relate to patents); sections 139 and 140 ; section 141 (in so far as it relates to patents); section 142 ; section 143 (in so far as it relates to patents); section 144 ; sections 145 to 150 (in so far as they relate to patents); section 151 ; sections 152 and 153 (in so far as they relate to patents).
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No. 13 of 1929.
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Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) (Amendment) Act, 1929 .
\n
Sections 2 to 7.
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No. 13 of 1957.
\n
Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) (Amendment) Act, 1957 .
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Sections 2 to 4; section 7 (in so far as it relates to patents).
\n
No. 21 of 1958.
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Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) (Amendment) Act, 1958 .
\n
Section 4 (in so far as it relates to patents).
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SECOND SCHEDULE.
\n
Transitional Provisions.
\n
Section 5
\n
.
\n
1.Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, any order, regulation, rule, patent, requirement, certificate, notice, decision, direction, authorisation, consent, application, request or thing made, granted, issued, given or done under any enactment repealed by this Act shall, if in force at the commencement of this Act, and so far as it could have been made, granted, issued, given or done under this Act, continue in force and have effect as if made, granted, issued, given or done under the corresponding enactment of this Act.
\n
2.
\n
Section 10
\n
of this Act shall apply in relation to a complete specification filed before the commencement of this Act as it applies to a complete specification filed after the commencement of this Act.
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3.Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) of section 8 of this Act, a complete specification shall not be filed in pursuance of an application which, by virtue of section 16 of the Act of 1927, was deemed to be abandoned at any time before the commencement of this Act.
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4.Where a complete specification (other than a specification relating to an invention referred to in section 55 of the Act of 1927) has been filed before the commencement of this Act but has not been accepted, then, in relation to matters arising before the acceptance or refusal of acceptance of the complete specification, the provisions of this Act shall not apply, but the provisions of the Act of 1927 shall continue to apply notwithstanding the repeal of those provisions of that Act:
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Provided that the provisions of this Act shall apply in any such case in which evidence under section 19 of the said Act of 1927 is not furnished within three months after the date of the commencement of this Act.
\n
5.The provisions of sections 19 , 34 and 35 of this Act relating to the grounds on which the grant of a patent may be opposed or on which a patent may be revoked shall not apply in any case where the complete specification was accepted before the commencement of this Act, but the provisions of the Act of 1927 relating to those matters shall continue to apply in any such case notwithstanding the repeal of those provisions of that Act.
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6.Where a specification filed before the commencement of this Act has become open to public inspection it shall continue to be open to public inspection notwithstanding anything in section 69 of this Act.
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7.Where two or more persons are registered as grantee or proprietor in respect of a patent which was granted or for which application was made before the commencement of this Act, the right of each of those persons to assign the whole or part of his interest in the patent shall not be restricted by reason only of the provisions of section 51 of this Act.
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8.Subsections (1) and (3) of section 26 of this Act shall not apply to any patent granted before the commencement of this Act.
\n
9.
\n
Section 29
\n
of this Act shall have effect, in relation to a patent which has ceased to have effect before the commencement of this Act, as if for the reference to section 26 of this Act there were substituted a reference to section 33 of the Act of 1927.
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10.Where the time allowed under section 25 of the Act of 1927 for the sealing of a patent has expired before the commencement of this Act and the patent has not been sealed, section 30 of this Act shall have effect in relation to the application for the patent as if for the reference to section 23 of this Act there were substituted a reference to section 25 of the Act of 1927.
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11.In relation to any proceedings pending at the commencement of this Act the provisions of sections 32 and 58 of this Act shall not apply but the provisions of sections 38 and 50 of the Act of 1927, shall continue to apply notwithstanding the repeal of those sections of that Act.
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12.Any document referring to any enactment repealed by this Act shall be construed as referring to the corresponding enactment of this Act.
\n
13.The provisions of section 75 of this Act shall not apply to any appeal from a decision of the Controller under any provision of the Act of 1927, which is pending at the commencement of this Act but the provision of the Act of 1927 shall continue to apply to the appeal notwithstanding the repeal of that provision of that Act.
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