Statutory Instruments
2005 No. 2471 (C.105)
PATENTS
The Patents Act 2004 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2005
Made
5th September 2005
Coming into force
1st October 2005
The Secretary of State makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 17 of the Patents Act 2004( 1 ):
Citation, commencement and interpretation of this Order
1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Patents Act 2004 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2005 and shall come into force on 1st October 2005.
(2) In this Order—
“the 1977 Act” means the Patents Act 1977( 2 );
“the 2004 Act” means the Patents Act 2004;
“the appointed day” means the day appointed by article 2.
Commencement of the 2004 Act
2. 1st October 2005 is the day appointed for the coming into force of the following provisions of the 2004 Act—
(a) section 8;
(b) section 9;
(c) section 13;
(d) section 15;
(e) section 16(1) (for the purposes of the provisions of Schedule 2 mentioned below);
(f) section 16(2) (for the purpose of the entry in Schedule 3 relating to the repeal made by paragraph 18 of Schedule 2);
(g) paragraphs 6, 9, 15, 18 and 26(2) of Schedule 2.
Transitional provisions
3. —(1) Where the prescribed period in respect of a patent expires on or after the appointed day, section 25(3) of the 1977 Act as amended by section 8(1) of the 2004 Act shall have effect in respect of that patent.
(2) Where, in respect of a patent—
(a) the renewal fee is not paid by the end of the prescribed period, and
(b) that period expires before the appointed day, but
(c) the period of six months immediately following the end of the prescribed period does not expire before the appointed day,
the provisions mentioned in paragraph (3) shall have effect in respect of that patent.
(3) Those provisions are—
(a) section 25(4) of the 1977 Act as amended by section 8(2) of the 2004 Act;
(b) section 28(3) of the 1977 Act as amended by section 8(3) of the 2004 Act.
(4) In this article, “prescribed period” means the period prescribed by rule 39 of the Patents Rules 1995( 3 ) as it stands immediately before the appointed day.
4. Section 15 of the 2004 Act shall apply in respect of proceedings commenced on or after the appointed day.
Alun Michael
Minister for Industry and the Regions
Department of Trade and Industry
5th September 2005
( 1 )
( 2 )
1977 c. 37 . Sections 16, 24, 25, 28, 32, 36, 46, 62, 72, 74, 107 and 123 are amended by the provisions of the 2004 Act which are brought into force by article 2 of this Order. Previous amendments to those provisions were as follows: section 28 was amended by paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 and Schedule 8 to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48) ; section 32 was substituted by paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Patents, Designs and Marks Act 1986 (c. 39) , and then amended by Schedule 6 to the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (c. 23) ; section 46 was amended by paragraph 12 of Schedule 5 to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; sections 72 and 74 were amended by paragraphs 10 and 18 of Schedule 5 and Schedule 8 to that Act; section 107 was amended by paragraph 20 of Schedule 6 to the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987; and section 123 was amended by paragraph 29 of Schedule 5, paragraph 22 of Schedule 7, and Schedule 8 to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. In addition, sections 120 and 123 of the 1977 Act were amended by the provisions of the 2004 Act which were brought into force on 22nd September 2004 by SI 2004/2177 (C. 94) . And sections 8, 11, 12, 22, 23, 38, 40, 41, 43, 53, 60, 61, 63, 70, 75, 89, 89B, 91, 95, 103, 105, 106, 121, 130 and 131 were amended, and sections 86 and 87 repealed, by the provisions of the 2004 Act which were brought into force on 1st January 2005 by SI 2004/3205 (C. 140) . Details of previous amendments to those provisions are noted in SI 2004/2177 and 2004/3205 .
( 3 )
SI 1995/2093 ; rule 39 was amended by SI 1999/3197 .