- General instructions
- The patent application
- The application and accompanying documents
- The description
- Patent claims
- (paragraph 3, section 8 PA and section 18, RCPA)
- Drawings
- (section 4, RCPA) and accompanying documents
- Models etc.
- Authorization of representatives
- Priority claim and its implications
- International novelty search
- (sections 3 and 52 RCPA)
- The processing of patent applications
- Errors subject to immediate rectification
- Unity of invention
- Amendments to an application
- Division and excision
- General accessibility of applications
- Substantive processing of an application
- References to sources
- Laying open of the application to public inspection
- Oppositions
- granting of a patent application
- Time limits
- Entry into force
- Execution of novelty searches
- applications relating to pharmaceuticals
Legislative Texts
ADVERTISEMENT OF INSTRUCTIONS concerning patent applications
Official Icelandic Title: instituted by the Ministry of Industry Special issue
Translation from The Icelandic Law and Ministerial Gazette
EINKALEYFASTOFAN
Lindargötu 9 150 Reykjavík Iceland Contents:
Part/section no. Title
PART I General instructions ................................................................................................... 1 – 3 PART II The patent application PART III The processing of patent applications 65 Legislative Texts
Substantive processing of an application..................................................................... 68 – 82 Information on the results of the examination of an invention’s patentability in another country........................................................................................................ 69 Unclear applications ................................................................................................. 70 Novelty search......................................................................................................... 71 – 73 Novelty search with reference to earlier applications which have not been made available to the public............................................................................................................. 74 – 75 Priority.................................................................................................................... 76 – 77 Examination of description prior to the application being approved for laying open to public inspection ......................................................................................................
78 Appendix I Execution of novelty searches................................................................................. 1 – 4 Appendix II Temporary provisions regarding the processing of patent applications relating to pharmaceuticals...................................................................................................................... 1 – 8
The Patent Office uses the following abbreviations for current law and regulations in the field of patents: PA = Patent Act no. 17/1991 RCPA = Regulation Concerning Patent Applications, etc., no. 574/1991 AICP = Advertisement of Instructions Concerning Patent
Applications, no. 575/1991
The Icelandic Law and Ministerial Gazette B, no. 575/1991
Advertisement of instructions concerning patent applications
PART I
Section 1
The provisions of paragraph 3, section 1 of the Regulation concerning patent applications (RCPA) regarding the range of application of the said Regulation shall also apply to these instructions.
Section 2 Section 3 The provisions of section 45–50 RCPA shall apply regarding the operating practices of the Patent Office as a receiving authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
The Swedish Patent Office shall be the international novelty search institution for international applications received by the Patent Office. If a request is made for novelty search of an international application, a translation in one of the Nordic languages or English shall be submitted.
Legislative Texts
Section 4
Patent applications shall be made on the application form printed for this purpose and shall be submitted in duplicate. Two copies of the description as well as of the drawings, patent claims and abstract shall be submitted. Amendments to these documents shall be submitted in duplicate. Applications submitted by telefax or similar equipment shall be endorsed in the application form with the signature of the applicant or his representative.
Section 4a
If an invention concerns or contains a sequence of 10 or more nucleotides or unbranched sequences with 4 or more aminoacids the application shall be accompanied by a specification of each sequence (fragment).
The specifications shall be submitted as an addition to the description and shall be in accordance with existing standards and shall appear immediately before the claims.
Section 5
The description shall commence on an unnumbered front page with a short and descriptive name of the invention and shall proceed as follows:
1) The general section in which the use of the invention and the state of the art to which the invention is related are made known. A report on the state of the art shall be supported by references to publications which discuss the art concerned and which the applicant is familiar with. In particular the invention’s contribution in light of known technology and the solution required to achieve the desired results shall be made known. The aforesaid discussion shall be consistent with any declarations made in the claims and may in this context refer to them.
If the practical exploitation of the invention in business or industry is not obvious this shall be explained in the description.
2) The special section in which a detailed description is given of the invention and in which examples are provided of at least one way of carrying out the invention, with reference being made to drawings where appropriate. The invention shall be described sufficiently with examples for the claims to be considered adequately founded.
If reference is made to drawings it shall usually be necessary to publish a list of drawings in the introduction of this section of the description.
Section 5a
Micro-organisms which are described in a publication available to the public may be identified by their category names, and if considered necessary for clarity, by reference to the publications in which the systematic analytical process is described.
Micro-organisms which have not been described before shall be identified distinctively in order to avoid confusion with other micro-organisms. Micro-organisms shall generally be described in the style used in recognized specialist publications in this field.
Legislative Texts
In the case of micro-organisms available to the public, information shall be given on how a sample of the micro-organisms may be obtained.
Section 6
If several independent claims are included in the patent claims, the description shall deal with each invention in the independent claims in the manner indicated in section 5. Items in dependent claims (execution) for which protection is requested shall also be dealt with in the description to the extent considered necessary for assessment of the claim. It is sufficient that such discussion appear in the special section of the description.
Section 7
Invented names shall not be used.
Trademarks may be used in exceptional circumstances where it is difficult to differentiate a related product with a recognized name. In such cases the fact that the term used is a trademark shall be indicated. If the trademark is registered in Iceland this shall be indicated, where possible, with the symbol ® The design and features of the product shall always be clearly described.
Section 8
The description and drawings shall be kept apart on separate sheets of paper. Tables and chemical or mathematical formulae may appear in the description.
Section 9
Where reference is made to published data the instructions under section 83 shall apply.
Section 10
A patent claim shall include an introduction in which the items detailed in subsections 1 and 2, paragraph 1, section 14 RCPA appear, followed by a characterizing section in which items detailed in subsection 3 of the aforesaid section appear. The characterizing section shall begin with the words characterized by“ or other comparable expression.
Other formats for the patent claims may be permitted in special circumstances, e.g. in the case of use claims.
Section 11
Details shall be given in each patent claim of the technical characteristic features which are necessary to achieve the intended results.
Section 12
A product shall usually be identified by a description of its composition, and an apparatus or machine by a description of the design features of each component. An invention may further be distinguished by describing the function of individual components if it is not easily possible to describe the invention effectively in any other way. Products, particularly in the field of chemistry, may, in the case of serious problems of definition, be distinguished by describing the production process (product-by-process“) and if necessary by stating other characteristic features of the product.
Section 12a
Micro-organisms which have previously been described shall be identified by their category names.
Legislative Texts
Micro-organisms which have not previously been described may be identified in the description by direct or indirect reference, preferably in the form of category names, to the section of the description which deals with their biological features.
Section 13
When a patent application is made for substances or compounds of substances which are considered known as individual substances, and appeal is made to the fact that such a substance or compound of substances is used for the first time in the processes referred to in paragraph 3, section 1 of the Patent Act, the use shall be explained in the patent claims.
Section 14
A process shall be identified by describing its prerequisites (e.g. preparations, equipment, etc.) and its full cycle. (See Appendix II for more detail regarding patent applications relating to pharmaceuticals.)
Section 15
In claims relating to use, specific information shall be provided regarding the particular purpose for which the product, substance, equipment etc. or relevant process is used. If necessary, more specific information shall be provided regarding the product or process.
Section 16
Several independent claims, unrelated to each other, e.g. a claim relating to a product or a claim relating to a process, may be presented in the same application, notwithstanding that the inventions are explained, according to the presentation of the claims, with descriptions which are comparable in technical respects.
Section 17
Several independent claims of the same type (which relate to the same claim class) shall only be presented, if there are obvious problems in providing a precise enough description of the inventions, e.g. with different examples, if they were combined in the same patent claim. An invention of the type “sender-receiver” may also be explained in separate independent patent claims.
Section 18
An independent claim may be presented parallel to another independent claim. This shall apply in cases where an application contains independent claims which are related to each other in the manner referred to under section 48. A parallel and independent patent claim shall include a complete description of the invention in question. A parallel and independent patent claim may be linked to another claim. Dependent claims shall be placed immediately following those independent claims to which, directly or by linkage to other dependent claims, they refer.
Section 19
Dependent claims shall not deal solely with self-evident or simple and obvious solutions regarding design or process technology. An inventory which merely lists examples of obvious items shall not be permitted in the patent claims.
Section 20
In the introduction and characterizing section of a patent claim cross-reference shall be made to drawings (cross-reference symbol in brackets). However, notwithstanding the cross-references, the claim shall contain a clear explanation of the subject-matter for which protection is requested. Generalized comments such as as has been described“ or as shown in the drawing“ shall not be used in patent claims. In exceptional circumstances reference may be made directly to a graph or similar information presented in a drawing.
Trademarks shall usually not appear in patent claims.
Legislative Texts
Section 21
Abstracts shall be produced in such a way as to be of optimum assistance for novelty search in the technical field in question.
The abstract shall contain a short overview of the contents of the description, patent claims and drawings. The abstract shall state the technical field to which the invention relates. An abstract shall be worded in such a way that the following are easily understood: the technical problem the invention relates to, the fundamental features of the solution which the invention entails and in particular the main use of the invention. The abstract shall, where appropriate, contain the chemical formula which, among those contained in the application, best characterizes the invention. The abstract shall not discuss the potential advantages of the invention nor make claims as to its value or potential for scientific use.
The abstract shall be intended to aid individuals in deciding whether they need to study the application itself or the patent itself.
The abstract shall not exceed 150 words.
Section 22
If drawings accompany the patent application the applicant shall state in the application form which drawing he wishes to appear with the abstract. If he fails to do this or if the Patent Office deems another drawing to have more explanatory value than the one selected by the applicant, the drawing selected by the Patent Office shall be published with the abstract. If the Patent Office considers it entirely unnecessary to publish a drawing with an abstract, no drawing need be included. Where technical characteristic features are explained in the abstract and also appear in the drawing, a cross-reference shall be provided in brackets after each main feature.
Section 23
Drawings shall be executed on A4 paper. If there are more illustrations than can be fitted on one sheet, further sheets shall be used. To aid reprinting or duplication, e.g. offset printing, one copy shall be on strong, white, matt, opaque paper or other durable material. The area covered by drawings shall not exceed 26.2x17.0 cm. There shall be no frame or boarder around the paper. The minimum margins shall be 2.5 cm top and left, 1.5 cm right, and 1.0 cm at the bottom.
Drawings shall not be folded or fixed together.
Section 24
The drawing shall include those items which are necessary for the understanding of individual parts of the description and these parts shall be identified with the same letters of the alphabet or numbers in both the description and the drawing. No reference signs other than appear in the description shall be used in the drawing and signs shall not be used to a greater extent than is necessary for the clarity of the description. The drawing shall not contain explanatory comments, except for brief explanations such as water“, steam“, section A–B“ or closed“. In charts or graphs which show a production cycle or in diagrams of electrical circuits descriptive symbols shall be used which are immediately comprehensible.
Section 25
The illustrations and text of the drawings shall be executed in durable, clear black lines without color.
All cross-sections shall be hatched. All printed symbols (numerals or letters of the alphabet) on the drawings shall be clear and printed in an easily readable script. Illustrations and printed symbols shall be suitable for offset printing and for reduction in size by 15%. In the case of complex illustrations, detail shall
Legislative Texts
not be such that the drawing becomes unclear. Illustrations shall be separated from each other by a suitable space. Illustrations shall, regardless of the number of pages, be numbered consecutively, or if deemed convenient, with letters of the alphabet or both letters and numerals, preferably in the same order as the illustrations appear in the drawing. Identical items of the same type shall be labeled with the same symbol in all the illustrations.
Section 26
The description, claims and abstract shall be submitted in black print on strong, opaque, white A4 paper suitable for offset printing with 15% reduction. The text shall have line spacing of 11/2, a 2.5–4 cm left margin and 2–4 cm top margin. The text shall be justified with a right margin of 2–3 cm. There shall be a similar space at the bottom of the page. Only one side of the paper shall be printed. The text shall have a uniform appearance and individual characters shall be clear and distinct. Hand-written symbols or formulae shall be in black.
The expression “characterized by” or other comparable expressions shall be printed as shown (with spaced type).
Auglýsing um reglur varðandi einkaleyfisumsóknir
in accordance with Regulation no. 574/1991
Concerning Patent Applications, etc.
The application and accompanying documents............................................................ 4 – 4a
The description........................................................................................................ 5 – 9
Patent claims ........................................................................................................... 10 – 20
The abstract (paragraph 3, section 8 PA and section 18, RCPA) .................................. 21 – 22
Drawings................................................................................................................. 23 – 25
Specific provisions concerning the description claims and abstract (section 4, RCPA)
and accompanying documents................................................................................... 26 – 28
Models etc............................................................................................................... 29
Authorization of representatives................................................................................. 30 – 32
Priority claim and its implications............................................................................... 33 – 36
International novelty search....................................................................................... 37
Translation of documents accompanying the patent application (sections 3 and 52
RCPA).................................................................................................................... 38 – 41
Errors subject to immediate rectification..................................................................... 42 – 45
Unity of an invention................................................................................................ 46 – 50
Inventions based on a single type of claim .................................................................. 47
Inventions based on several types of claim ................................................................. 48
The processing of applications in relation to unity of invention ..................................... 49 – 50
Amendments to an application................................................................................... 51 – 57
Patent claims (section 19 RCPA)............................................................................... 51 – 52
The description........................................................................................................ 53 – 55
Postponement of the effective date............................................................................ 56 – 57
Division and excision................................................................................................ 58 – 65
General ................................................................................................................... 58 – 64
Authorizations regarding division or excision...............................................................
General accessibility of applications ........................................................................... 66 – 67
Classification ........................................................................................................... 79 – 82
References to sources............................................................................................... 83 – 87
Reports ................................................................................................................... 83
Record of documents cited........................................................................................ 84 – 87
Laying open of the application to public inspection...................................................... 88 – 90
Oppositions ............................................................................................................. 91 – 97
Observation by a third party against the granting of a patent application ........................ 98
Time limits .............................................................................................................. 99 – 103
Entry into force........................................................................................................ 104
Abbreviations:
General instructions
(No provisions under this section)
PART II
The patent application
The application and accompanying documents
The description
Patent claims
The abstract
(paragraph 3, section 8 PA and section 18, RCPA)
Drawings
Specific provisions concerning the description, claims and abstract (section 4, RCPA) and accompanying documents