- Table of Contents
- CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS
- CHAPTER 2 PATENT APPLICATION
- CHAPTER 3 UNITY OF THE INVENTION
- CHAPTER 4 PRIORITY RIGHT
- CHAPTER 5 UTILITY MODEL APPLICATION
- CHAPTER 6 EXAMINATION OF THE PATENT AND UTILITY MODEL APPLICATION
- CHAPTER 7 EXAMINATION OF INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS
- CHAPTER 8 GRANT OF PROTECTION
- CHAPTER 9 REGISTERS
- CHAPTER 10 INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION AND AVAILABILITY OF THE FILES FOR INSPECTION
- CHAPTER 11 TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
- Annex to the Ordinance of the President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland of March 23, 1993 (item 179)
ORDINANCE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PATENT OFFICE
of March 23, 1993 on the protection of inventions and utility models By virtue of Article 27(2), Article 38(5) and Article 119(3) of the Law of October 19, 1972 on Inventive Activity (O.J. 1993 No 26 item 117), the following provisions shall be observed:
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1.– Any reference in this Ordinance to: i) the Law – means the Law of October 19, 1972 on Inventive Activity (O.J. 1993 No 26, item 117) and any Article referred to in this Ordinance without a detailed reference – means Articles of this Law, ii) the Patent Office – means the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, iii) applicant – means any person, who has filed, in his or her own name, a patent application or utility model application with the Patent Office, iv) additional application – means a patent application or utility model application with a request for granting a patent of addition or a right of protection of addition, v) priority – means the priority to obtain a patent or a right of protection, vi) earlier priority – means the priority to obtain a patent or a right of protection of an application filed abroad or of the display of an invention or a utility model at an exhibition,
vii) state of the art – means everything made available before the date according to which the priority to obtain a patent or a right of protection is determined, viii) Paris Convention – means the Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property of March 20, 1883 in its text binding on the Republic of Poland, ix) Treaty – means the Patent Cooperation Treaty of June 19, 1970 in its text binding on the Republic of Poland, x) Regulations – means the Regulations under the Treaty, xi) international application – means a patent application or a utility model application filed under the Treaty, xii) receiving Office – means the patent office with which the international application has been filed, xiii) designated Office – means the patent office designated by the applicant under Chapter I of the Treaty, xiv) elected Office – means the patent office elected by the applicant under Chapter II of the Treaty, xv) International Bureau – means the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, xvi) national fee – means the fee collected for the international application by the Patent Office acting as the designated or elected Office.
2.– The provisions of this Ordinance shall apply accordingly to international applications in matters which do not fall under the provisions of the Treaty and the Regulations and of paragraphs 38–43 of this Ordinance.
CHAPTER 2
PATENT APPLICATION
3.– 1) For the purpose of the establishment of the filing date, a patent application shall contain at least: i) a request,
ii) a description of the invention, iii) one or more patent claims, iv) drawings, if they are necessary for the understanding of the invention.
2) The patent application shall also contain: i) an abstract, ii) if the applicant seeks for having the earlier priority admitted in his favor, a priority document consisting of the documents specified in section 1 of the Annex to this Ordinance, iii) if the applicant takes advantage of the earlier priority, a declaration of the applicant with the indication which priority dates are claimed for separate patent claims included in the application (the declaration on the priority dates) and drawn up in accordance with the requirement prescribed in section 2 of the Annex to this Ordinance, iv) if the priority document does not denote the applicant, a declaration of the applicant on the grounds for enjoying the earlier priority, with the indications specified in section 3 of the Annex to this Ordinance, v) if the applicant refers to the deposited microorganism for the purpose of the due disclosure of the invention, a certificate confirming that the deposit of the microorganism has been filed with a recognized international collection of microorganisms or with a national collection of microorganisms indicated by the President of the Patent Office in the communication published in the official gazette “Wiadomosci Urzedu Patentowego”, which shall contain at least the indications specified in section 4 of the Annex to this Ordinance, vi) if the applicant has appointed a representative, a document with the power of attorney, containing the indications specified in section 5 of the Annex to this Ordinance.
3) The documents specified in section 2(ii)–(v) may be furnished subsequently, within four months from the date of filing the application with the Patent Office.
4.– 1) The request shall contain: i) the name and address of the applicant, ii) a petition for the grant of a patent or a patent of addition with the indication of the number of the main
patent or the number of the patent application filed for the obtaining of the main patent, iii) the title of the invention, iv) the name and address of the inventor,
v) if the applicant is not the inventor, the indication of the ground of the right to the patent, vi) a list of the documents attached, vii) the signature of the applicant or, if the applicant acts through a representative – the signature of the representative with the indication of his name. 2) The request shall also contain: i) if the applicant seeks for the recognition of the earlier priority, the declaration of the applicant that he or she wishes to enjoy the earlier priority, with the indication, at least, of the date at, and the country in, which the application has been filed abroad or the name, location and country of an exhibition and the date of the display of the invention at the exhibition, ii) if there are several applicants and they have not appointed a common representative, the designation of a person who is entitled to receive the correspondence. 3) When providing the indications referred to in section 1(i), shall be advisable to: i) mention the name of the applicant in the case where it is a legal person, ii) if the applicant is an economic entity lacking legal personality – mention the full name of the person running business activity, iii) if a State organizational unit lacking legal personality files the application in the name of the State Treasury – mention the name of that State organizational unit.
5.–
1) The description of the invention, hereinafter referred to as “description”, shall present the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art. 2) The description may not contain the elements contrary to the public order or morality or indicate the
features and merits which the invention evidently lacks of, as well as fancy or proper names. 3) Subject to the provisions of section 4 below, the description shall: i) first state the title of the invention, ii) specify the technical field to which the invention relates, iii) indicate the background art which, as far as known to the applicant and regarded as useful for the understanding of the invention, especially of its novelty and non–obviousness, for searching in the state of the art relating to the invention as filed; it is advisable to cite, in this part of the description, bibliographic data of the documents reflecting the state of the art, iv) disclose the invention, as claimed, in such a manner both its nature and solution can be understood to the extent necessary for the invention to be carried out; if the biotechnological invention can not be sufficiently disclosed in the description, an additional reference to the deposited microorganism should be made, indicating at least the name of institution with which the deposit has been made and the file number accorded by this institution or the free availability of the microorganism should be mentioned, v) state advantageous effects, if any, of the invention with reference to the background art, vi) briefly describe the figures in the drawings, if the patent application contains drawings, vii) set forth, in details, at least one example of carrying out the invention, referring to the drawings, if the patent application contains drawings,
viii) indicate explicitly, if it is not obvious from other parts of the description or from the nature of the
invention, the way in which the invention is capable of exploitation. 4) The manner and order of the description, specified in section 3 above, may be changed if, because of the nature of the invention, it would afford a better understanding and presentation thereof.
5) The title of the invention shall, if possible, describe explicitly the subject–matter of the invention in relation to the technical features of the solution specified in the description and patent claims; it may not contain fancy and proper names or expressions relating directly to the merits or new features of the invention.
6) The provisions of sections 2–5 shall apply accordingly to the description in the additional application; however, the part of the description described in section 3(iii) shall present the invention being the subject– matter of the main patent, even if that invention does not form a part of the state of the art, and indicate the number of the main patent.
6.– 1) Patent claims, hereinafter referred to as “claims”, shall define the invention, as claimed, by the indication, in a manner complete and relevant for the matter for which protection is sought, of all necessary technical features of the solution. The claims should not indicate the features which the invention lacks of. They also
should not contain expressions being of such nature that they would evaluate the invention or its individual features. 2) Each claim shall be expressed in one single sentence drafted in clear and concise manner. 3) The claims shall be fully supported by the description. 4) The number of the claims shall be reasonable in consideration of the subject–matter of the invention. If
there are more than one claim, they shall be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals.
7.– 1) An independent claim shall contain: i) a non–characterizing portion, indicating a group of the technical features of the invention as claimed, which are necessary for the definition of the claimed subject–matter and which, in combination, are part of the prior art; a non–characterizing portion shall commence with the title of the invention or with the part of the title of the invention, which relates to the invention claimed with the claim in question, and it may, when appropriate, be limited solely to the title of the invention or its relevant part, ii) a characterizing portion preceded by the words “characterized in that”, stating concisely the technical features (characterizing features) of the invention as claimed, which are expected to distinguish it from among other technical solutions having the group of features specified in a non–characterizing portion. 2) The provisions of section 1 shall apply accordingly to the independent claim in an additional application; however, a non–characterizing portion of the independent claim shall indicate a group of technical features necessary for the definition of the claimed subject–matter and being, at the same time, the group of the technical features of the invention protected by the main patent, even if the invention does not form a part of
the state of the art, and shall indicate the number of the main patent preceded by the words “according to the patent No.”. 3) A dependent claim shall contain:
i) brief determination of the subject–matter claimed, forming the shortened title of the invention or shortened relevant part of the title of the invention, placed at the beginning of the claim, ii) a reference to a claim or claims on which it depends; the reference shall indicate the number of the claim or claims to which it refers, iii) a characterizing portion preceded by the words “characterizing in that”, stating characterizing features,
additionally claimed with the dependent claim in question. 4) The claim referred to in section 3, may refer to two or more other claims (multiple dependent claim) in the alternative only. In that case, a part of the dependent claim, referred to in section 3(ii) shall contain a word “or” placed between the numbers of the claims. A multiple dependent claim may not be referred to in other multiple dependent claim, as well as be dependent on more than one independent claim.
5) The dependency of a claim on one claim shall be construed as including, by the dependent claim, along with its own characterizing features, all features of the subject–matter claimed, specified in the claim to which it refers.
6) The dependency of a claim on more than one claim shall be construed as including by the dependent claim, along with its own characterizing features, all features of the subject–matter claimed, specified in the claim to which it refers and in relation to which it is considered. A multiple dependent claim shall be considered separately in relation to each particular claim to which it relates.
7) Claims shall not, except where absolutely necessary, rely on references to the description or drawings. In particular, they shall not rely on such references as: “as described in part ... of the description” or “as illustrated in figure ... of the drawings”.
8) Where the application contains drawings, the separate characterizing features in the claims shall be followed by the reference signs relating to the separate parts of the drawings corresponding with those features. The reference signs shall be placed between parentheses and underlined. If the inclusion of the reference signs does not particularly facilitate better understanding of the claims, it should not be made.
9) Where the applicant seeks for the recognition of the priorities determined according to more than one date (para 14(4)–(6)), the content of the claims and, if the application contains dependent claims, also the system of their dependency, should be such that only one priority date corresponds to each of the claims.
8.– In the application relating to new chemical compounds or microorganisms in which, because of the nature of the invention, the drawing up the claims in the manner prescribed in para 7(1)–(6) is not appropriate, the definition in the claims of the structure of a chemical compound or, in the case of a microorganism – the reference to the deposited microorganism, with the indication of the institution with which the deposit has been made, as well as the file number accorded by this institution, shall be sufficient.
9.–
1) The drawings shall illustrate the subject–matter of the invention in the form of a schematic pattern. The provision of para 5(2) shall apply accordingly. 2) If the nature of the invention is such that it can be illustrated with drawings but they are not necessary for
the understanding of the invention i) the applicant may include the drawings in the application, ii) the Patent Office may require from the applicant to furnish the drawings within the prescribed time limit. 3) Subject to para 10 section 2(iii), sections 3) and 5), structural chemical compounds shall be considered as drawings; any reference, in subsequent provisions, to figures shall mean also separate chemical structural formulae.
10.– 1) The abstract of the description, hereinafter referred to as abstract, shall merely serve for use as technical information and as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular technical field, especially by assisting the interested persons in formulating an opinion whether there is a need for consulting the
description, claims and drawings in the application and, when patent has been granted – the patent specification. 2) The abstract shall consist of the following:
i) a summary of the subject–matter and characterizing technical features of the invention, where it is not evident from the definition of the subject–matter, the indication of the intended application of the invention,
ii) where the applicant refers to the deposited microorganism – the indication of the depository institution with which the deposit has been made for the purpose of the due disclosure of the invention, and the file number accorded by that institution,
iii) where appropriate when considering the nature of the invention – the chemical formula which, from among all those contained in the application, best characterizes the invention; in the case of a structural formula, that formula should be drawn up on a separate sheet and attached to the abstract. When
reasonable, the inclusion of more than one structural formula shall be admissible. 3) The abstract shall indicate the number of the figure of the drawings which, among those contained in the application, best illustrates the invention. When reasonable, the indication of more than one figure shall be admissible.
4) The abstract shall be concise and preferably shall not exceed one-third of a sheet of a typewritten copy. The abstract shall not contain statements on the merits or value of the invention or information and speculative application of the invention at the definite place, time or by definite persons. It shall not also contain expressions contrary to public order or morality or fancy names.
5) Each main technical feature of the invention mentioned in the abstract and illustrated by the indicated figure of the drawings shall be followed by reference signs relating to that figure, placed between parentheses and underlined.
6) The Patent Office may correct the abstract in order to bring it into line with the requirements specified in sections 2)–5) or to eliminate obvious mistakes and grammatical errors, in so far as it is not necessary to make substantive changes in the content of the abstract. For the purpose of the publication of the patent application, the title of the invention may lao be corrected to the extent specified in para 5(5).
11.– Terminology and signs shall be consistent throughout the application and in conformity with generally accepted rules and practice.
12.–
1) The description, the claims and the drawings shall be furnished in three copies, the abstract in two copies and other documents of the application – in one copy. 2) The description, the claims, the abstract and the drawings shall be signed by the applicant or his
representative. 3) All the documents making up the application shall meet physical requirements specified in para 7 of the Annex to this Ordinance.
CHAPTER 3
UNITY OF THE INVENTION
13.– 1) The application shall relate to one invention only. 2) However, it shall be permitted that the application relate to more than one invention, provided that such
inventions are so linked in the application as to form a single and clear inventive concept. In particular, one of the following possibilities are permitted in the application:
i) the inclusion, in the application, of an independent claim for a product, of one independent claim for a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and of one independent claim for an apparatus or other technical means specifically designed for carrying out the said process, or
ii) the inclusion, in the application, of one independent claim for a process and of one independent claim
for an apparatus or other technical means specifically designed for carrying out the said process. 3) With observance of the provisions of sections 1) and 2), it shall be permitted to include in the same application two or more independent claims of the same category, i.e. product, process or apparatus, which can not readily be covered by one common claim.
OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
Table of Contents page CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS ................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2 PATENT APPLICATION ................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER 3 UNITY OF THE INVENTION .......................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 4 PRIORITY RIGHT........................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 5 UTILITY MODEL APPLICATION ................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 6 EXAMINATION OF THE PATENT AND UTILITY MODEL APPLICATION..................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 7 EXAMINATION OF INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS ................................ 14 CHAPTER 8 GRANT OF PROTECTION .............................................................................. 15 CHAPTER 9 REGISTERS..................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 10 INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION AND AVAILABILITY OF THE FILES FOR INSPECTION....................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 11 TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS.................................................. 18 Annex to the Ordinance of the President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland of March 23, 1993 (item 179) ..................................................................................................... 19 REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING THE PATENT APPLICATION, UTILITY MODEL APPLICATION AND REGISTERS............................................................ 19 I. Requirements concerning the documents attached to the patent and utility model application .............................................................................. 19 II. Physical requirements concerning the patent or utility model application ..... 20 III. Requirements concerning the Patent Register. ......................................... 22