- TITLE - GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Article 1 -Basic Definitions
- Article 2 - Legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic on Selection Achievements
- Article 3 - Conditions of Patentability of Selection Achievements
- Article 4 - Objects and Subjects of Selection Achievements
- Article 5 - State Authority Responsible for Protection of SelectionAchievements Patent
- TITLE II - GENERAL RULES OF EXAMINATION, TESTING AND REGISTRATION OF SELECTION ACHIEVEMENTS
- Article 6 - Right to File an Application for the Grant of a Patent
- Article 7 -Selection Achievement Denomination
- Article 8 - Priority of the Selection Achievement
- Article 9 - Preliminary Examination of an Application for theGrant of a Patent
- Article 10 - Examination of the Novelty of Selection Achievements
- Article 11 - Testing of Selection Achievements for Compliance thereof with the Conditions of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability
- Article 12 - Registration of Selection Achievements
- Article 13 - On Publication of Selection Achievements
- TITLE III - RIGHTS AFFORDED BY A PATENT TO THE AUTHOR
- TITLE IV - PROTECTION OF THE SELECTION ACHIEVEMENT
- TITLE V - USE OF THE SELECTION ACHIEVEMENT
- TITLE VI - STIMULATION OF SELECTION WORK BY THE STATE
- TITLE VIII - NTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
- TITLE VIII - SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES AND LIABILITYFOR INFRINGEMENT OF THELEGISLATION ON SELECTION ACHIEVEMENTS
AZERBAIJAN
LAW ON SELECTION ACHIEVEMENTS
This Law shall govern the creation, use and legal protection of selection achievements in the Azerbaijani Republic.
TITLE
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Basic Definitions
The following basic definitions shall be used in this Law:
“Selection achievement” means created as a result of a selection work and useful for the society varieties of plants, animal breed, their hybrids, genotypes, crossings and clones;
“Plant material” means seeds, bulbs, tubers, branches or other parts used for purposes of reproduction of the variety;
“Breed” (products, material) means high-producing animals as well as gametes and embryos thereof having State certificate;
“State Register of Selection Achievements” means State Register of legal protection of copyright and patents of plant material and pedigree animals;
“Protected selection achievements” means patented plant material and pedigree animal registered in the State register;
“Applicant” means legal entity or natural person who has filed an application for a grant of a selection achievement patent;
“Patent” means a document certifying an exclusive right of a patent owner to an innovation and protection of selection achievements;
“Author” means a natural person or a group of persons who have created a selection achievement;
“License contract” means a legal contract concerning the use of selection achievements, concluded between patent owners and natural persons or legal entities.
Article 2
Legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic on Selection Achievements
The legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic on selection achievements consists of this Law and regulations made in conformity with it.
Article 3 Conditions of Patentability of Selection Achievements An application for selection achievement patent shall meet the
following conditions: - (a)
- Novelty
A selection achievement shall be deemed new if, at the date of filing of the application, the field plants or pedigree animals have not been sold or otherwise disposed of to others for the purposes of exploitation in the territory of the Azerbaijani Republic during one year, in the territory of any other State during four years, and in the case of grapevines, medicinal plants, forest and fruit trees – during six years.
- (b)
- Distinctness
A selection achievement shall be clearly distinguishable from other well-known selection achievements existing on the filing date of the application;
A selection achievement entered in official catalogues or reference files or in a publication shall be deemed well-known;
A selection achievement with a patent granted shall be deemed well-known from the filing date of an application for a grant of a patent;
Elements and distinctive characteristics of selection achievements shall correspond to their comparison and correct description. - (c)
- Uniformity
A selection achievement shall be a sufficiently uniform subject to some variations of genotype or phenotype due to particular features of propagation.
- (d)
- Stability
The relevant characteristics of a selection achievement shall remain unchanged after repeated propagation or at the end of each cycle of propagation.
Article 4
Objects and Subjects of Selection Achievements
The used plant varieties, animal breeds, their hybrids, genotypes, crossings, clones, seeds, gametes, embryos or other plant material and high-producing animals selected for propagation are the objects of selection achievements.
* Translatioin into English by the Office of the Union based on the Russian translation provided by the Azerbaijani authorities. The Law was signed by the President of the Azerbaijani Republic on November 17, 1996, and published in the Official Journal on January 29, 1997.
No. 98 – December 2004 PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
All legal entities and natural persons possessing a selection achievement and undertaking selection work are the subjects of selection achievements.
Article 5
State Authority Responsible for Protection of Selection Achievements Patent
The protection of selection achievements patent in the Azerbaijani Republic shall be effected by a competent State authority to be designated by a respective executive body of the Azerbaijani Republic.
TITLE II
GENERAL RULES OF EXAMINATION, TESTING AND REGISTRATION OF SELECTION ACHIEVEMENTS
Article 6
Right to File an Application for the Grant of a Patent
The right to file an application for the grant of a patent shall belong first of all to the author of a selection achievement or to his successor in title.
Where the selection has been carried out jointly by several persons or the applicants are successors in title of the author, the application shall be filed by several persons and relations between them are governed by a contract between them.
Where a selection achievement have been bred, created or discovered in the line of duty and unless otherwise provided in a contract between the author and the employer, the right to file an application for the grant of a patent shall belong to the employer. In that case the contract shall provide a compensation to the author (authors) for the exploitation of selection achievements.
The author retains the right to be granted a patent if the contract does not include a provision concerning the grant of a patent to the employer as an author or where the employer breaks the terms of the contract.
The right to file an application for the grant of a patent may be extended to a person mentioned in the author’s application. In that case the author’s application shall be filed before the grant of a patent by a competent authority.
Legal entities and natural persons of any other country are entitled to file an application for the grant of a patent in case of existence of an international treaty between the Azerbaijani Republic and this State.
During the whole period of their employment contract and three years after leaving this service the employees of the competent authorities have no right to file an application for the grant of a patent.
A separate application shall be filed for each selection achievement.
The documents of the application shall be submitted in official language of the Azerbaijani Republic or in other language. If the documents are submitted in another language, the application shall be accompanied by their translation into Azerbaijani.
The following documents shall be submitted for the grant of a patent: · the request for a grant of a patent; · technical questionnaire with description of the selection achievement; · proof of payment of the prescribed fee.
The examination of documents submitted shall be carried out in conformity with the approved regulations.
Article 7
Selection Achievement Denomination
A selection achievement shall have a denomination proposed by the applicant and approved by the competent authority.
The denomination shall enable the selection achievement to be identified. It shall be short and different from any selection achievement denomination of the same or of a closely related botanical or zoological species.
Where the application for the grant of a patent for the same selection achievement is filed in the Azerbaijani Republic or in another country, the selection achievement shall remain under the same denomination.
Where the denomination proposed by the author does not satisfy the established requirements it shall be modified in accordance with the proposal of a competent authority.
The denomination of a selection achievement may be changed at the request of the applicant before the grant of a patent.
Article 8
Priority of the Selection Achievement
The priority of the selection achievement shall be determined by the filing date of the application with a competent authority.
Where two or more applications claiming the same selection achievement are filed, the priority shall be given to the first application received.
If after the filing of the selection achievement application a competent authority of the Azerbaijani Republic finds that an application for the same selection achievement had been filed in another country, the priority shall be determined by the application whose sending date is earlier and shall remain in force 12 months.
In such cases the applicant shall be required to indicate the date of priority of the first application. The applicant shall be
required to furnish a copy of the first application, certified by a competent authority of the respective State.
Article 9
Preliminary Examination of an Application for the Grant of a Patent
A preliminary examination of an application for the grant of a patent shall be carried out within one month. Its aim is to verify the compliance of the required documents with the prescribed conditions.
Over a period of preliminary examination the applicant shall have the right to supplement, amend or correct the documents of the application on his own initiative.
If the applicant fails, within the prescribed time limit, to make the necessary amendments or to submit documents missing on the date of receipt of the application, the application shall not be accepted for the purpose of examination with a due notification to the applicant.
Article 10
Examination of the Novelty of Selection Achievements
In accordance with the instructions concerning the selection novelty a competent authority shall examine the application received.
Within six months following the date of the publication of the particulars of the application any interested person may send to a competent authority a notice contesting novelty of the filed selection achievement.
The competent authority shall notify the applicant of the receipt of a grounded contest. In the case of disagreement with the contest the applicant may, within three months from the date of receipt of the said notice, send to the competent authority a grounded opposition. On the basis of additional documents the competent authority takes a decision and notifies the interested person accordingly.
Where the selection achievement does not comply with conditions (criterion of novelty) it is withdrawn from testing.
Article 11
Testing of Selection Achievements for Compliance thereof with the Conditions of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability
The testing of a selection achievement for compliance with the conditions of distinctness, uniformity and stability shall be carried out in accordance with established methodology.
The applicant shall be bound to furnish for the purposes of testing the required seeds/pedigree material within the fixed time limit. A pedigree testing shall be carried out jointly with the Pedigree Animal Inspection of the Azerbaijani Republic.
In the case of disagreement with the examination and the results of the testing the applicant may, within three months from the date of receipt of the decision, lodge an appeal with the Board of Appeals of the competent authority. The Board of Appeals shall act in accordance with the approved regulations.
If the examination and testing results are approved, the competent authority will take a decision to grant a patent.
Article 12
Registration of Selection Achievements. A decision of the competent authority to grant a patent for a selection achievement shall constitute a ground for its registration in the State Register.
Article 13 On Publication of Selection Achievements The registered selection achievements shall be published by
the competent authority.
TITLE III
RIGHTS AFFORDED BY A PATENT TO THE AUTHOR
Article 14
Author
A natural person who has created a selection achievement shall be recognized as the author thereof. Where the selection achievement had been created by several persons those persons shall be recognized as joint authors.
Person (persons) who have given the author technical, technological, organizational or material assistance but not participated in the creation itself of the selection achievement may not be recognized as the author thereof.
A competent authority shall grant a certificate of authorship of the selection achievement.
The certificate of authorship attests the entitlement of the author to remuneration from the patent owner for the use of the selection achievement.
Right of the author is inviolable and may not be transferred to other person.
Right of the author may be transferred to successor in title in conformity with the legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic.
Article 15
Patent Owner
In response to the application concerning selection achievement included in the State Register the competent authority shall grant the patent within one month. Where several persons have been mentioned in the application they shall be granted one patent for all.
No. 98 – December 2004 PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
The grant of patents and certificates shall be carried out by a competent authority in accordance with approved regulations.
LAW ON SELECTION ACHIEVEMENTS
This Law shall govern the creation, use and legal protection of selection achievements in the Azerbaijani Republic.
TITLE
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Basic Definitions
The following basic definitions shall be used in this Law:
“Selection achievement” means created as a result of a selection work and useful for the society varieties of plants, animal breed, their hybrids, genotypes, crossings and clones;
“Plant material” means seeds, bulbs, tubers, branches or other parts used for purposes of reproduction of the variety;
“Breed” (products, material) means high-producing animals as well as gametes and embryos thereof having State certificate;
“State Register of Selection Achievements” means State Register of legal protection of copyright and patents of plant material and pedigree animals;
“Protected selection achievements” means patented plant material and pedigree animal registered in the State register;
“Applicant” means legal entity or natural person who has filed an application for a grant of a selection achievement patent;
“Patent” means a document certifying an exclusive right of a patent owner to an innovation and protection of selection achievements;
“Author” means a natural person or a group of persons who have created a selection achievement;
“License contract” means a legal contract concerning the use of selection achievements, concluded between patent owners and natural persons or legal entities.
Article 2
Legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic on Selection Achievements
The legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic on selection achievements consists of this Law and regulations made in conformity with it.
Article 3 Conditions of Patentability of Selection Achievements An application for selection achievement patent shall meet the
following conditions: - (a)
- Novelty
A selection achievement shall be deemed new if, at the date of filing of the application, the field plants or pedigree animals have not been sold or otherwise disposed of to others for the purposes of exploitation in the territory of the Azerbaijani Republic during one year, in the territory of any other State during four years, and in the case of grapevines, medicinal plants, forest and fruit trees – during six years.
- (b)
- Distinctness
A selection achievement shall be clearly distinguishable from other well-known selection achievements existing on the filing date of the application;
A selection achievement entered in official catalogues or reference files or in a publication shall be deemed well-known;
A selection achievement with a patent granted shall be deemed well-known from the filing date of an application for a grant of a patent;
Elements and distinctive characteristics of selection achievements shall correspond to their comparison and correct description. - (c)
- Uniformity
A selection achievement shall be a sufficiently uniform subject to some variations of genotype or phenotype due to particular features of propagation.
- (d)
- Stability
The relevant characteristics of a selection achievement shall remain unchanged after repeated propagation or at the end of each cycle of propagation.
Article 4
Objects and Subjects of Selection Achievements
The used plant varieties, animal breeds, their hybrids, genotypes, crossings, clones, seeds, gametes, embryos or other plant material and high-producing animals selected for propagation are the objects of selection achievements.
* Translatioin into English by the Office of the Union based on the Russian translation provided by the Azerbaijani authorities. The Law was signed by the President of the Azerbaijani Republic on November 17, 1996, and published in the Official Journal on January 29, 1997.
No. 98 – December 2004 PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
All legal entities and natural persons possessing a selection achievement and undertaking selection work are the subjects of selection achievements.
Article 5
State Authority Responsible for Protection of Selection Achievements Patent
The protection of selection achievements patent in the Azerbaijani Republic shall be effected by a competent State authority to be designated by a respective executive body of the Azerbaijani Republic.
TITLE II
GENERAL RULES OF EXAMINATION, TESTING AND REGISTRATION OF SELECTION ACHIEVEMENTS
Article 6
Right to File an Application for the Grant of a Patent
The right to file an application for the grant of a patent shall belong first of all to the author of a selection achievement or to his successor in title.
Where the selection has been carried out jointly by several persons or the applicants are successors in title of the author, the application shall be filed by several persons and relations between them are governed by a contract between them.
Where a selection achievement have been bred, created or discovered in the line of duty and unless otherwise provided in a contract between the author and the employer, the right to file an application for the grant of a patent shall belong to the employer. In that case the contract shall provide a compensation to the author (authors) for the exploitation of selection achievements.
The author retains the right to be granted a patent if the contract does not include a provision concerning the grant of a patent to the employer as an author or where the employer breaks the terms of the contract.
The right to file an application for the grant of a patent may be extended to a person mentioned in the author’s application. In that case the author’s application shall be filed before the grant of a patent by a competent authority.
Legal entities and natural persons of any other country are entitled to file an application for the grant of a patent in case of existence of an international treaty between the Azerbaijani Republic and this State.
During the whole period of their employment contract and three years after leaving this service the employees of the competent authorities have no right to file an application for the grant of a patent.
A separate application shall be filed for each selection achievement.
The documents of the application shall be submitted in official language of the Azerbaijani Republic or in other language. If the documents are submitted in another language, the application shall be accompanied by their translation into Azerbaijani.
The following documents shall be submitted for the grant of a patent: · the request for a grant of a patent; · technical questionnaire with description of the selection achievement; · proof of payment of the prescribed fee.
The examination of documents submitted shall be carried out in conformity with the approved regulations.
Article 7
Selection Achievement Denomination
A selection achievement shall have a denomination proposed by the applicant and approved by the competent authority.
The denomination shall enable the selection achievement to be identified. It shall be short and different from any selection achievement denomination of the same or of a closely related botanical or zoological species.
Where the application for the grant of a patent for the same selection achievement is filed in the Azerbaijani Republic or in another country, the selection achievement shall remain under the same denomination.
Where the denomination proposed by the author does not satisfy the established requirements it shall be modified in accordance with the proposal of a competent authority.
The denomination of a selection achievement may be changed at the request of the applicant before the grant of a patent.
Article 8
Priority of the Selection Achievement
The priority of the selection achievement shall be determined by the filing date of the application with a competent authority.
Where two or more applications claiming the same selection achievement are filed, the priority shall be given to the first application received.
If after the filing of the selection achievement application a competent authority of the Azerbaijani Republic finds that an application for the same selection achievement had been filed in another country, the priority shall be determined by the application whose sending date is earlier and shall remain in force 12 months.
In such cases the applicant shall be required to indicate the date of priority of the first application. The applicant shall be
required to furnish a copy of the first application, certified by a competent authority of the respective State.
Article 9
Preliminary Examination of an Application for the Grant of a Patent
A preliminary examination of an application for the grant of a patent shall be carried out within one month. Its aim is to verify the compliance of the required documents with the prescribed conditions.
Over a period of preliminary examination the applicant shall have the right to supplement, amend or correct the documents of the application on his own initiative.
If the applicant fails, within the prescribed time limit, to make the necessary amendments or to submit documents missing on the date of receipt of the application, the application shall not be accepted for the purpose of examination with a due notification to the applicant.
Article 10
Examination of the Novelty of Selection Achievements
In accordance with the instructions concerning the selection novelty a competent authority shall examine the application received.
Within six months following the date of the publication of the particulars of the application any interested person may send to a competent authority a notice contesting novelty of the filed selection achievement.
The competent authority shall notify the applicant of the receipt of a grounded contest. In the case of disagreement with the contest the applicant may, within three months from the date of receipt of the said notice, send to the competent authority a grounded opposition. On the basis of additional documents the competent authority takes a decision and notifies the interested person accordingly.
Where the selection achievement does not comply with conditions (criterion of novelty) it is withdrawn from testing.
Article 11
Testing of Selection Achievements for Compliance thereof with the Conditions of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability
The testing of a selection achievement for compliance with the conditions of distinctness, uniformity and stability shall be carried out in accordance with established methodology.
The applicant shall be bound to furnish for the purposes of testing the required seeds/pedigree material within the fixed time limit. A pedigree testing shall be carried out jointly with the Pedigree Animal Inspection of the Azerbaijani Republic.
In the case of disagreement with the examination and the results of the testing the applicant may, within three months from the date of receipt of the decision, lodge an appeal with the Board of Appeals of the competent authority. The Board of Appeals shall act in accordance with the approved regulations.
If the examination and testing results are approved, the competent authority will take a decision to grant a patent.
Article 12
Registration of Selection Achievements. A decision of the competent authority to grant a patent for a selection achievement shall constitute a ground for its registration in the State Register.
Article 13 On Publication of Selection Achievements The registered selection achievements shall be published by
the competent authority.
TITLE III
RIGHTS AFFORDED BY A PATENT TO THE AUTHOR
Article 14
Author
A natural person who has created a selection achievement shall be recognized as the author thereof. Where the selection achievement had been created by several persons those persons shall be recognized as joint authors.
Person (persons) who have given the author technical, technological, organizational or material assistance but not participated in the creation itself of the selection achievement may not be recognized as the author thereof.
A competent authority shall grant a certificate of authorship of the selection achievement.
The certificate of authorship attests the entitlement of the author to remuneration from the patent owner for the use of the selection achievement.
Right of the author is inviolable and may not be transferred to other person.
Right of the author may be transferred to successor in title in conformity with the legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic.
Article 15
Patent Owner
In response to the application concerning selection achievement included in the State Register the competent authority shall grant the patent within one month. Where several persons have been mentioned in the application they shall be granted one patent for all.
No. 98 – December 2004 PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
The grant of patents and certificates shall be carried out by a competent authority in accordance with approved regulations.
TITLE
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Basic Definitions
The following basic definitions shall be used in this Law:
“Selection achievement” means created as a result of a selection work and useful for the society varieties of plants, animal breed, their hybrids, genotypes, crossings and clones;
“Plant material” means seeds, bulbs, tubers, branches or other parts used for purposes of reproduction of the variety;
“Breed” (products, material) means high-producing animals as well as gametes and embryos thereof having State certificate;
“State Register of Selection Achievements” means State Register of legal protection of copyright and patents of plant material and pedigree animals;
“Protected selection achievements” means patented plant material and pedigree animal registered in the State register;
“Applicant” means legal entity or natural person who has filed an application for a grant of a selection achievement patent;
“Patent” means a document certifying an exclusive right of a patent owner to an innovation and protection of selection achievements;
“Author” means a natural person or a group of persons who have created a selection achievement;
“License contract” means a legal contract concerning the use of selection achievements, concluded between patent owners and natural persons or legal entities.
Article 2
Legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic on Selection Achievements
The legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic on selection achievements consists of this Law and regulations made in conformity with it.
Article 3 Conditions of Patentability of Selection Achievements An application for selection achievement patent shall meet the
following conditions: A selection achievement shall be clearly distinguishable from other well-known selection achievements existing on the filing date of the application;
A selection achievement entered in official catalogues or reference files or in a publication shall be deemed well-known;
A selection achievement with a patent granted shall be deemed well-known from the filing date of an application for a grant of a patent;
Elements and distinctive characteristics of selection achievements shall correspond to their comparison and correct description. The relevant characteristics of a selection achievement shall remain unchanged after repeated propagation or at the end of each cycle of propagation.
Article 4
Objects and Subjects of Selection Achievements
The used plant varieties, animal breeds, their hybrids, genotypes, crossings, clones, seeds, gametes, embryos or other plant material and high-producing animals selected for propagation are the objects of selection achievements.
* Translatioin into English by the Office of the Union based on the Russian translation provided by the Azerbaijani authorities. The Law was signed by the President of the Azerbaijani Republic on November 17, 1996, and published in the Official Journal on January 29, 1997.
No. 98 – December 2004 PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
All legal entities and natural persons possessing a selection achievement and undertaking selection work are the subjects of selection achievements.
Article 5
State Authority Responsible for Protection of Selection Achievements Patent
The protection of selection achievements patent in the Azerbaijani Republic shall be effected by a competent State authority to be designated by a respective executive body of the Azerbaijani Republic.
TITLE II
GENERAL RULES OF EXAMINATION, TESTING AND REGISTRATION OF SELECTION ACHIEVEMENTS
Article 6
Right to File an Application for the Grant of a Patent
The right to file an application for the grant of a patent shall belong first of all to the author of a selection achievement or to his successor in title.
Where the selection has been carried out jointly by several persons or the applicants are successors in title of the author, the application shall be filed by several persons and relations between them are governed by a contract between them.
Where a selection achievement have been bred, created or discovered in the line of duty and unless otherwise provided in a contract between the author and the employer, the right to file an application for the grant of a patent shall belong to the employer. In that case the contract shall provide a compensation to the author (authors) for the exploitation of selection achievements.
The author retains the right to be granted a patent if the contract does not include a provision concerning the grant of a patent to the employer as an author or where the employer breaks the terms of the contract.
The right to file an application for the grant of a patent may be extended to a person mentioned in the author’s application. In that case the author’s application shall be filed before the grant of a patent by a competent authority.
Legal entities and natural persons of any other country are entitled to file an application for the grant of a patent in case of existence of an international treaty between the Azerbaijani Republic and this State.
During the whole period of their employment contract and three years after leaving this service the employees of the competent authorities have no right to file an application for the grant of a patent.
A separate application shall be filed for each selection achievement.
The documents of the application shall be submitted in official language of the Azerbaijani Republic or in other language. If the documents are submitted in another language, the application shall be accompanied by their translation into Azerbaijani.
The following documents shall be submitted for the grant of a patent: The examination of documents submitted shall be carried out in conformity with the approved regulations.
Article 7
Selection Achievement Denomination
A selection achievement shall have a denomination proposed by the applicant and approved by the competent authority.
The denomination shall enable the selection achievement to be identified. It shall be short and different from any selection achievement denomination of the same or of a closely related botanical or zoological species.
Where the application for the grant of a patent for the same selection achievement is filed in the Azerbaijani Republic or in another country, the selection achievement shall remain under the same denomination.
Where the denomination proposed by the author does not satisfy the established requirements it shall be modified in accordance with the proposal of a competent authority.
The denomination of a selection achievement may be changed at the request of the applicant before the grant of a patent.
Article 8
Priority of the Selection Achievement
The priority of the selection achievement shall be determined by the filing date of the application with a competent authority.
Where two or more applications claiming the same selection achievement are filed, the priority shall be given to the first application received.
If after the filing of the selection achievement application a competent authority of the Azerbaijani Republic finds that an application for the same selection achievement had been filed in another country, the priority shall be determined by the application whose sending date is earlier and shall remain in force 12 months.
In such cases the applicant shall be required to indicate the date of priority of the first application. The applicant shall be
required to furnish a copy of the first application, certified by a competent authority of the respective State.
Article 9
Preliminary Examination of an Application for the Grant of a Patent
A preliminary examination of an application for the grant of a patent shall be carried out within one month. Its aim is to verify the compliance of the required documents with the prescribed conditions.
Over a period of preliminary examination the applicant shall have the right to supplement, amend or correct the documents of the application on his own initiative.
If the applicant fails, within the prescribed time limit, to make the necessary amendments or to submit documents missing on the date of receipt of the application, the application shall not be accepted for the purpose of examination with a due notification to the applicant.
Article 10
Examination of the Novelty of Selection Achievements
In accordance with the instructions concerning the selection novelty a competent authority shall examine the application received.
Within six months following the date of the publication of the particulars of the application any interested person may send to a competent authority a notice contesting novelty of the filed selection achievement.
The competent authority shall notify the applicant of the receipt of a grounded contest. In the case of disagreement with the contest the applicant may, within three months from the date of receipt of the said notice, send to the competent authority a grounded opposition. On the basis of additional documents the competent authority takes a decision and notifies the interested person accordingly.
Where the selection achievement does not comply with conditions (criterion of novelty) it is withdrawn from testing.
Article 11
Testing of Selection Achievements for Compliance thereof with the Conditions of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability
The testing of a selection achievement for compliance with the conditions of distinctness, uniformity and stability shall be carried out in accordance with established methodology.
The applicant shall be bound to furnish for the purposes of testing the required seeds/pedigree material within the fixed time limit. A pedigree testing shall be carried out jointly with the Pedigree Animal Inspection of the Azerbaijani Republic.
In the case of disagreement with the examination and the results of the testing the applicant may, within three months from the date of receipt of the decision, lodge an appeal with the Board of Appeals of the competent authority. The Board of Appeals shall act in accordance with the approved regulations.
If the examination and testing results are approved, the competent authority will take a decision to grant a patent.
Article 12
Registration of Selection Achievements. A decision of the competent authority to grant a patent for a selection achievement shall constitute a ground for its registration in the State Register.
Article 13 On Publication of Selection Achievements The registered selection achievements shall be published by
the competent authority.
TITLE III
RIGHTS AFFORDED BY A PATENT TO THE AUTHOR
Article 14
Author
A natural person who has created a selection achievement shall be recognized as the author thereof. Where the selection achievement had been created by several persons those persons shall be recognized as joint authors.
Person (persons) who have given the author technical, technological, organizational or material assistance but not participated in the creation itself of the selection achievement may not be recognized as the author thereof.
A competent authority shall grant a certificate of authorship of the selection achievement.
The certificate of authorship attests the entitlement of the author to remuneration from the patent owner for the use of the selection achievement.
Right of the author is inviolable and may not be transferred to other person.
Right of the author may be transferred to successor in title in conformity with the legislation of the Azerbaijani Republic.
Article 15
Patent Owner
In response to the application concerning selection achievement included in the State Register the competent authority shall grant the patent within one month. Where several persons have been mentioned in the application they shall be granted one patent for all.
No. 98 – December 2004 PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
The grant of patents and certificates shall be carried out by a competent authority in accordance with approved regulations.
· the request for a grant of a patent; · technical questionnaire with description of the selection achievement; · proof of payment of the prescribed fee.