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specified in the regulations under the Treaty, be the fees as specified
in the First Schedule
and the Fifth Schedule.
(3) Where an international application has not been filed in triplicate,
the appropriate office shall, upon payment of fees specified in the First Schedule, prepare
the required additional copies.
(4) On receipt of a request from the applicant and on payment of the fees specified in the
First Schedule, the appropriate office shall prepare a certified copy of the priority document
and promptly transmit the same to the International Bureau and intimate the applicant and
the Patent Office, Delhi branch.
19A. Indian International Searching Authority.—(1) The Patent Office, Delhi branch shall
perform the functions of the Indian International Searching Authority under the treaty in
accordance with an agreement between the Indian Patent Office and
the International
Bureau.
(2) The fees payable to the Searching Authority shall, in addition to the fees specified in the
regulations made under the Treaty, be the fees as specified in the Fifth Schedule.
(3) The Searching Authority referred to in sub-rule (1), shall establish international search
report in respect of international applications, or, as the case may be, declare in accordance
with sub-rule (3) of rule 19B, in cases where India has been indicated as a competent
International Searching Authority.
19B. International search report.—(1) The Searching Authority shall, on
receipt of the
search copy, notify the International Bureau and the applicant about the receipt of search
copy with identification mark 'ISA/IN' along with the international application number and
its serial number and the date of receipt of the search copy.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the proviso to item (i) of sub-rule (2) of rule
24B, the Searching Authority shall, upon receipt of the search copy, refer the international
application, in the order in which the search copy was received, to
an examiner or any other officer appointed under sub-section (2) of Section 73 of the Act
for preparing an international search report, in accordance with the provisions contained in
the Treaty and the regulations under the Treaty, ordinarily within
a period of one month
but not exceeding two months from the date of such reference.
(3) The Searching Authority, if it considers that-
(a) the international application relates to a subject matter which the Searching
Authority is not required to search and accordingly decides not to search; or
(b)the description, claims or drawings fail to comply with the requirements
prescribed under the regulation under the Treaty to such an
extent that a meaningful search could not be carried out,
the Authority shall so declare and notify the applicant and the International Bureau that no
international search report shall be established.
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(4) In a case where any situation referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-rule (3) is
found to exist in connection with certain claims only, the Searching
Authority shall indicate this fact in the International Search Report in
respect of such
claims, and for other claims, it shall establish the International Search Report.
(5) The Searching Authority, if it considers that the international application does not
comply with the requirement of unity of invention, in accordance with the provisions
contained in Rule 13 of the regulations under the Treaty, shall send a notice specifying the
reasons for which the international application is not considered as complying with the
requirement of unity of invention and
inviting the applicant-
(a) to pay the additional fees specified in the Fifth Schedule, indicating the amount
of fees to be paid, within a period of one month from the date of such invitation,
and
(b)to pay, where applicable, the protest fee specified
in the Fifth Schedule,
indicating the amount of fee to be paid, within a period of one month from the date
of such invitation.
(6)The Searching Authority shall establish the International Search Report on those parts of
the international application which relate to the invention first mentioned in the claims
("main invention") and subject to payment of additional fee within the period specified in
sub-rule (5), on those parts of the international application which relate to inventions in
respect of which such additional fees were paid.
(7) Any applicant may pay the additional fees under protest, that is, accompanied by
a
reasoned statement to the effect that the international application complies with the
requirement of unity of invention or that the amount of the required additional fees is
excessive.
(8) The examination of the protest referred to in sub-rule (7) shall be carried out by a
Review Committee constituted by the Controller.
(9) The Review Committee constituted under sub-rule (8) shall examine the extent to
which the protest is justified and shall accordingly order for the total or partial
reimbursement of the additional fee to the applicant.
(10) Where the applicant has not paid the fees for the protest in accordance with clause (b)
of sub-rule (5), the protest shall be considered not to have been made and the Searching
Authority shall so declare.
(11) The protest fee shall be refunded
to the applicant where the Review Committee
referred to in sub-rule (8) finds that the protest was entirely justified.
(12) Where the international application contains the disclosure of one or more nucleotide
or amino acid sequences and the sequences are not furnished
in computer- readable text
format, the Searching Authority shall send a notice to the applicant to submit the sequence
listing in computer-readable text format and pay the late furnishing fee specified in the Fifth
Schedule, within a period of one month from the date of such notice and if the applicant
fails to comply with the notice, the Searching Authority shall search the international