Patent decision

BL number

O/061/09

Concerning rights in

GB 0419912.1 and PCT/2004/003785

Hearing Officer

Mrs S Williams

Decision date

2 March 2009

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

William Duff and Joseph Brown

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977 Sections 8, 12 and 13(3)

Keywords

Entitlement, Inventorship

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The claimant, Mr Duff, filed proceedings under section 8, 12 and 13(3) to the effect that he ought to be named as sole patent applicant and sole inventor in respect of patent application number GB 0419912.1 and international patent application number PCT/GB2004/003785. On the basis of written information provided, the comptroller concluded that the relevant parties agreed that claims 9 and 10 could be removed from the patent applications and that Mr Duff should be named as sole patent applicant and sole inventor.

The comptroller concluded there was no finding to make in relation to the section 8 reference given the agreement of the parties to the removal of claims 9 and 10, and the assignment of the application to Mr Duff. With regard to the section 13(3) application, he found that Joseph Brown should not be mentioned as a joint inventor in any subsequent patent granted for the invention and directed that claims 9 and 10 be removed from the application. In relation to the section 12 reference, he issued a declaration to the effect that Mr Duff is entitled to the invention the subject of international patent application number PCT/GB2004/003785 and as such should be named as sole patent applicant. He also found that Mr Duff should be recorded as sole inventor for each jurisdiction designated for the same reasons as outlined in relation to the GB patent application.