- Article 7 Amendment of the Patent Law
- Article 8 Amendment of the Utility Model Law
- Article 9 Amendment of the Trade Mark Law
- Article 14 Amendment of the Semiconductor Protection Law
- Article 15 Amendment of the Law Against Unfair Competition
- Article 16 Amendment of the Copyright Law
- Article 17 Amendment of the Copyright Administration Law
- Article 18 Amendment of the Designs Law
- Article 19 Amendment of the Type Face Law
- Article 20 Amendment of the Plant Variety Protection Law
- Article 21 Further Amendments of the Patent Costs Law, the Patent Law, the Utility Model Law, the Trade Mark Law, the Semiconductor Protection Law and the Designs Law
- Article 30 Entry into Force
Law of13 December 2001
. The Bundestag [Federal Parliament] has passed the following Law:
Articles 1 to 6 ... Article 7 The Patent Law in the version published on 16 December 1980 (Federal. Law. Gazette ·1981 I p. 1), last amended by Article 5 paragraph 206f the Law of 26 November 2001 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 3138), shall be amended as follows:
1. The wording "Part XII: Transitional Provisions Section 147" shall be added to the Table of Contents.
2.
3. Section 16a shall be amended as follows: a) In subsection (1),second sentence, the words "in accordance with the schedul.e of fees" shall be deleted. b) In subsection (2), ·the word:;; "(Sections 17 (2) to (6), 18 and 19)" shall be replaced by the words "(Section 17(2)".
. 4.· Section 17 shall be amended as follows: a) In subseGtion (1), the words "as prescribedin the schedule of fees" shalL be 'deleted. b) Subsections (3) to(6) shall be repealed.
5. Section 18 shall be repealed. ---------------~-------
-,
2
a) _Subsection-(1) shall be worded as follows:
"(1) If the applicant for a pat~rit or the person recorded as patentee in the Register (Section 30 (1)) declares to the Patent Office in writing that he is prepared to alfow anyone to use the invention in fE?turn for reasonable compensation, the annual fees falling due after receipt of the declaration shall be reduced to one half. The effect of a declaration made in respect of a main patent shall extend to all itspatents of addition. The declaration shall be recorded in the Register and published in the Patent Gazette."
b) In subsection (2), the words "in the Register of Patents" shall be replaced by the words "in the Register".
c)' . Subsection (3), second sentence,-shall be worded as follows:
"Notification shall bE? deemed to have been effected if it is has been dispatched by registered mail to the person recorded iri the Register as ~atentee or to his registered representative or to the person-authorized by him to receive service of docL1ments (Section 25)."
d) _Subsection (4) shall be,worded as follows:
. .
"(4) The compensation shall be assessed by the Patent Division at the written request of a party. Sections 46, 47 and 62, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
. proceedings. The· request may be directed aga\nst more than one party. In assessing the compensation, the Patent Office may order that the costs of assessment proceedings be reimbursed in whole Or: in part by the opponent ofthe .
. request."
e) Subsection (5) shaU be amended as follows:.
. .. .
aa) The second sentence shall be repealed.
-bb) The words "the first to fourth sentences of' shall be deleted from the third sentence.
f) Subsection (7), fourth sentence, shall be worded as follows:
"If the differential amount is not paid within the period provided for in the third sentence, it may be paid before expiry of a further period oUour months along with a late surcharge."
9. Section 25 shall be worded as follows:
(
"Section 25 at-laW or patent attorney has been appointed in the Federal Republic of Germany as the person authorized to receive service of documents...
(3) The place where the 'representative appointed pursuant to subsection (1) has his business premises shall be deemed, within the meaning of Section 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to be the place where the assets are located; ifthere are no business premises, then the place where the representative has his domicile in the Federal
. Republic of Germany shall be relevant and, in the absence ther~of, the place where the Patent Office has its seat.
(4) The legal termination of the appointment of a representative under subsection (1) shall not become effective until the Patent Office or the Patent Court has been notified of both the termination of this appointment and the appointment of another representative."
10. In Section 27 (5), second sentence, the· words "the President of the Patent Office" shalf be replaced by the words "the German Patent and Trade Mark Office".
. 11. Section 28 shall be amended as follows:
/
a) The subsection reference "(1)" shall be deleted.
b) . Subsection (2) shall be repealed.
. 12. Section 29 (3) shall be worded as follows:
. . .
"(3) The Federal Ministry for Justice may, in order to make the documentation of the Patent Office available to the public, prescribe. by statutory orqer that the Office will provide information on the state of the art, without guarantee that the information is complete, without requiring the approval of the Federal Council. In this regard, it shall be authorized to determine the manner in which the information shall be given, the volume of information and the technical fields involved. The Federal Ministry for Justice may delegate such authority to the Patent and Trade Mark Office without requiring the approval of the Federal Council."
13. Section 30 shall be amended as follows:
a)· Subsection (1), first sentence, shall be worded as follows:
"The Patent Office shall maintain a Register in which shall be recorded the titles of patent applications, the files of which may be inspected by any person, and of granted patents and supplementary certificates of protection (Section 16a) as well as the names and addresses of applicants or of patentees and their representatives and persons authorized to receive·service of documents appointed pursuant to Secti9n 25, . if any, whereby an entry relating to a representative or person authorized to receive service of documents -shall suffice."
. b)
c) Subsection (3) shall be worded as follows:
"(3) The Patent Office shall record in the Registe~ a change in the identity of the person, . in the name or in the address of the applicant or the patentee or his representative or person authorized by him to receive service of documents, if proof thereof is "furnished to it. Until such time as the change .has been recorded, the former applicant, patentee, representative or person authorized to receive service
. shall continue to have the rights and obligations as provided u·nder this Law."
d)
.e) Subsection (5) shall be repealed.
14. a) Subsection (6) shall be repealed.
b) In subsection (7)" second sentence, and subsection (9); second sentence, the words "the President of the Patent Office"shall be replaced by the words "the German Patent and Trade Mark Office" in each instance.
c) The previous subsections (7) to (9) shall become subsections (6) to (8). c) Subsection (4), third sentence, shall be worded as follows:· "The fee paid under Section 43 for the search as prescribed in the Patent Costs Law shall be refunded."
20. Section 44 shall be amended as follows: a) Subsection (3) shall be "repealed. b) In subsection (4), second sentence, the words "Section 43 (2), second, third and
" fifth s~ntences" shall be replaced by the words "Section 43 (2), second to fourth sentences". c) The previous subsections (4) and (5) shall become subsections (3) and (4).
21. In Section 47 (2): the part of the sentence ", if any," shall be deleted." "22. Section 49a shall be amended as follows: a) " Subsection (3), first sentence, shall be worded as follows:
"Section 34 (6) shall apply." " 26. The following" sentence shall be added to the end of Section 62 (1):
"The Patent Division may order that the opposition fee as prescribed in the Patent Costs Law be refunded in whole or in part if and to the extent that this is equitable". "
27. Section 63 shall be amended as follows: aa) In the first sentence, the words "The Federal Minister for "Justice" shall be replaced by the words "The Federal Ministry for Justice". "
bb) In the second sentence, the word "He" shall "be replaced by the word "It" and the words "the President of the Patent Office" shall be replaced by the words "the Patent and Trade Mark Officen
• . c) In the new sl.1bsection (3), seoond sentence, the wOrds "under the Patent Costs . Law" shall ·be inserted after the word "appeal feej ,.
, .
d) In the new subsectiQn (4), the words "subsection (4)" shall be replaced by the words , "subsection (3)".
31. In Section 80 (3) the words "(Section 73 (3))" shall be replaced by the words "under the Patent Costs Law" .
. 32. Section 81 shall be amended as follows:
a)
. b) Subsection (6) shall be repealed.
c) . The previous SUbsection (7) shall become subsection (6). a) The following second sentence shall be inserted i'nto sLibsection (1):
"On request by the applicant or the patentee, legal aid may also be granted for the . annual fees pursuant to-Section 17 (1}."
. b) In subsection(4)~ the words "or the patentee" shall be inserted after the words "applicant for the patent".
c) Subsection (5) sh~II be worded as follows:
"(5) On request, as many annual fees shall be included in the legal aid as are necessary to avoid a limitation opposing a grant of legal aid under Section 115 (3) of the Code of Civil Procedure. The installments paid shall be set off against the annual fees only when the costs of the patent granting procedure, including costs possibiy arising for an appointed representative, are covered by the payment of the installments. To the .extent that the annual fees shall be considered paid by the payment of the installments, SectionS (2) of the Patent Costs Law shall apply
mutatis mutandis." "(2) For deferment of patent annLlal fees or maintenance fees granted up to 31 December 2001 pursuant to thf? version of Section 18 applicable until this date, . the provisions heretofore in force shail remain applicable,
-----------------------------'--~
to Revise the Rules onCosts
in the Field of Intellectua.l Property
Amendment of the Patent Law
(420-1)
6.. Section 19 shall berepealed.
b)
. . .
b) Subsectio~ (4) shall be repealed.
a)
b) Subsection (4) shall "be amended as follows:
a) Subsection (3) shall be repealed.
b) The previous subsections (4) and (5) shall become subsections (3) and (4).
a) The previous wording shall become subsedion (1).
b) The following SUbsections (2) and (3) shall be added after subsection (1):