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United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> Philip Jones et al (Patent) [2009] UKIntelP o02209 (23 January 2009)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2009/o02209.html
Cite as: [2009] UKIntelP o2209, [2009] UKIntelP o02209
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Philip Jones et al [2009] UKIntelP o02209 (23 January 2009)
For the whole decision click here: o02209
Patent decision
- BL number
- O/022/09
- Concerning rights in
- PCT/GB2008/050757
- Hearing Officer
- Dr J E Porter
- Decision date
- 23 January 2009
- Person(s) or Company(s) involved
- Philip Jones et al
- Provisions discussed
- Patent Co-operation Treaty rule 26bis.3
- Keywords
- PCT application, Priority date
- Related Decisions
- None
Summary
The applicants had filed a PCT application just less than 14 months after the filing date of an earlier application. They requested restoration of the right of priority under PCT rule 26bis.3, on the basis that the failure to file the PCT application within the priority period was unintentional. Reasons for the delay including problems that Mr Jones encountered with the PCT filing software, and his mistaken assumption that the software would inform him of important matters such as impending deadlines. He was therefore unaware of the 12 month priority period. On the evidence provided, the hearing officer found that Mr Jones had been acting intentionally in filing the PCT application when he did - albeit that he was acting on the basis of a misunderstanding of the PCT system. Although the hearing officer accepted that Mr Jones may have acted differently if he had been aware of the deadline, he found that speculating about what Mr Jones might have done, or might have intended to do, in different circumstances was not relevant. The request was refused.