Laws
Adopted on 10 June 2008
Law on Inventions, Utility Models and Industrial designs
Chapter 6: Special Reqirments to Applications on Invention and Utility Models
Article 52. Special Requirements to Application(1) The application shall include:
a) application on granting of patent;
b) description of invention or utility model;
c) the claim of an invention or utility model including one or more items;
d) drawings and other documentation, if they are necessary for understanding the substance of invention or utility model;
e) summary (abstract) of invention or utility model.
(2) Not later than before the publication of the application, the applicant may file a divisional application in respect of subject-matter of the invention which does not extend beyond the content of the earlier application. The divisional application shall be deemed to have been filed on the date of filing of the earlier application and shall have the right of priority as the earlier application.
(3) The applicant may submit a request to the State Authorized Body on conversion of the application on invention into an application on utility model before the decision on granting patent by the State Authorized Body is made.
(4) On the base of applicant’s request the State Authorized Body converts the application on invention into an application on utility model, if it meets the requirements of Article 15 (1) of this Law.
(5) The application on utility model may be converted into application on invention before the decision on granting patent by the State Authorized Body is made.
(6) The priority and the date of earlier application remain stable during the conversions, mentioned in paragraph (3) and (5) of this Article.
Article 53. Contents of Requirements to Application
(1) The request for the grant of patent shall contain data on the applicant (surname, forename and dwelling address, or official name of firm and seat), the title of the invention defining its subject and other data established by the State Authorized Body.
(2) The description of the invention shall include the technical problem, for the solution of which the invention is intended, the technical result which may be reached using the invention, information on the state of the art or of other technical solutions which have become available to the public before the priority date of the invention and technical matter, as well as the reasons causing barriers to obtaining the required technical results, as well as the description of technical solution of the technical problem. The description of the invention shall disclose the invention clearly and completely for it to be sufficiently carried out by a person skilled in the art.
(3) If an invention relates to biological material, which is not available to the public and can not be described in a manner to be sufficiently carried out by a person skilled in the art, the description of the invention shall be supplemented by a certificate on the deposit of biological material issued under Article 7 of the Regulations of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure or issued by the Authorized Body of the Government of the Republic of Armenia for deposit of microorganisms.
(4) The claims shall define the subject matter of the invention through the totality of its technical character for which protection is sought. The claim, which is submitted in one or more points must be clear and concise and be totally based on the description.
(5) The drawings and other documentation serves to understanding the substance of the invention.
(6) The abstract of the invention is the short description of the content of the invention and shall serve solely for patent search. The abstract includes the name of the invention, the technical field, which relates to the invention and (or) its exploitation field, and if it is not clear from the name of the invention then the substance of the invention indicating obtained technical results. The abstract may not be used for any other purpose, in particular for the purpose of interpreting the scope of the protection sought.
(7) A patent application may relate to one or several inventions, provided that they are so linked as to form a single inventive concept.
Article 54. Examination of Requirements for the Grant of a Patent
(1) In the process of examination for the grant of a patent, the State Authorized Body shall examine:
(a) whether the subject of the claimed invention meets the requirements of patentability under Article 10 of this Law;
(b) whether the claimed invention meets (obviously), at first sight, the requirements of patentability under Articles 11, 13 and 14, the state of the art being defined only based on the materials in the examiner’s disposal.
(2) In the process of examination for the grant of a patent on utility model, the State Authorized Body shall examine:
(a) whether the subject of the claimed utility model meets the requirements of patentability under Article 10(1) and (2);
(b) whether the claimed utility model meets the requirements of patentability under Articles 14, 15.
(3) If the State Authorized Body establishes that the claims of the invention application meet all the requirements of paragraph (1) of this Article, or that the claims of the utility model application meet the requirements of paragraph (2) of this Article, it shall make a decision on publication of the application in the Official Bulletin and of granting the patent.
(4) If the State Authorized Body establishes that the claims of the invention do not meet the requirements of paragraph (1) of this Article, or that the claims of the utility model do not meet the requirements of paragraph (2) of this Article, it shall make a decision on refusal of the application.
(5) If the State Authorized Body establishes that the claims of the invention or the claims of the utility model do not meet the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article respectively, only in part, it shall make a decision on refusal of the application only with respect to that part.
Article 55. Publication of an Application
(1) The State Authorized Body shall publish the application after the expiry of a period of 18 months from the date of filing the application, and if priority is claimed, from the date of priority.
(2) The applicant may request that the application be published before the expiry of the 18 months period referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, but no earlier than after the expiry of three months from the date of the filing or, if priority has been claimed, from the date of priority.
(3) The State Authorized Body shall publish the application together with the information on the grant of the patent. The State Authorized Body shall establish the content of published information.
Article 56. Grant of a Patent
(1) The State Authorized Body shall enter the patent in the State register of patents and publish the information on the grant of the patent. The date of publication of the application shall be deemed to be the date of the grant of the patent.
(2) Before the publication of the conclusion on patentability under Article 59 of this Law, the scope of legal protection shall be determined by the contents of claims as published.
Article 57. Term for Submission of Written Evidence
(1) The owner of a patent or holder of exclusive rights issuing from the patent shall no later than the expiry of the ninth year of the patent validity submit to the State Authorized Body written evidence that the patented invention meets the requirements of Articles 9, 11, 13 and 14 of this Law.
(2) The owner of a patent or holder of exclusive rights issuing from the patent shall, when submitting the evidence under paragraph (1) of this Article or within three months from submitting written evidence to the State Authorized Body or from receiving the notification on receipt, pay a state fee for publication of the conclusion on patentability. In case the state fee is not paid in due time, the written evidence shall be deemed not to have been submitted, about which the owner of the patent or holder of exclusive rights shall be notified.
(3) In case the owner of a patent or holder of exclusive rights issuing from the patent fails to comply with the term established under paragraph (1) of this Article, the patent shall lapse on the date of the expiry of the ten-year term of the patent validity.
(4) If the owner of a patent submits the written evidence referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, regarding court claims on infringement of exclusive rights of the holder, the State Authorized Body shall publish one of the conclusions on patentability referred to in Article 59 of this Law.
(5) The provisions of this Article shall not apply to utility models.
Article 58. Forms of Written Evidence
(1) The written evidence under Article 32 of the PC'I' enjoys the status of International Preliminary Examining Authority, or by any other patent office with which the State Authorized Body has a contract.
(2) If the submission of written evidence, according to paragraph (1) of this Article, is not complete for the granting proceedings, the applicant shall inform the State Authorized Body accordingly in the time limit prescribed in Article 57(1) of this Law. On the basis of that information, the State Authorized Body shall interrupt the proceedings. The proceedings shall continue if the applicant submits evidence under this Article within three months after the established term. If the evidence under this Article is not submitted in the established time, the patent shall lapse on the date of the expiry of the ten-year term of the patent validity.
(3) When the written evidence is submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this Article, the owner of a patent or holder of exclusive right issuing from the patent shall submit a list and copies of all other patents, which could be considered as evidence, including the list of refused applications and data thereon. In case the list and copies of the patents to the written evidence are not submitted in due time, the evidence is deemed not to have been submitted and the applicant is notified about it.
(4) If the State Authorized Body establishes that the written evidence under this Article is forged or is not true, it declares the patent to be void.
(5) When the owner of a patent or holder of exclusive right issuing from a patent does not have written evidence he may request, against payment of the state fee, that the State Authorized Body obtains relevant data or opinions to be used as the basis for the publication of one of the conclusions under Article 59 of this Law.
Article 59. Publication of Conclusion on Patentability
(1) On the basis of the submitted written evidence and the documents under Article 58 the State Authorized Body shall publish the conclusion on patentability, stating that:
(a) the invention meets the requirements of Articles 9, 11, 13 and 14 of this Law, and that the claims of a patent granted entirely meet those requirements;
(b) the invention meets the requirements of Articles 9, 11, 13 and 14 of this Law only in part, and thereby correspondingly amending the claims;
(c) the invention fails to meet the requirements of Articles 9, 11, 13 and 14 as of the date of the filing of the application, and thereby declaring the patent to be void.
(2) The State Authorized Body may not publish the conclusion on patentability in the cases stated by paragraph (l) (2) or (3) of this Article if it has not previously notified the patent owner of the intended amendments of claims or the nullity of a patent, and if the patent owner has not been invited to comment, within three months from the receipt of the invitation on the correction or explanation of the claims. In this case, before the publication of the conclusion on patentability the Authorized Body shall verify the existence of bases for publication of such conclusion. If the patent owner fails to comment in due time, it shall be deemed that he shares the opinion of the State Authorized Body regarding the conclusion on patentability.
(3) Patent claims, which are amended pursuant to the conclusion on patentability being verified under paragraph (l) (b) of this Article may not provide legal protection, which is broader than the claims published in accordance with Article 56 of this Law.
(4) If the application was filed with breaking the requirement of unity, then the applicant is suggested to inform within a three-month period which of the inventions shall be considered and make necessary amendments in the application documentation.
(5) In case the applicant leaves the request on breaking the unity without reply within the three-month period, it is the first invention mentioned in the claims that shall be considered. In this case a request is sent to the applicant inviting to make amendments in application documentation within a three-month period.
