Patent decision

BL number

O/128/10

Concerning rights in

GB 0312616.6

Hearing Officer

Dr J E Porter

Decision date

26 April 2010

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Michael Daley

Provisions discussed

Patents Act 1977 section 20A; Patents Rules 2007 rule 107

Keywords

Rectification of irregularities, Reinstatement

Related Decisions

None

Summary

The application was treated as withdrawn in 2005, after the applicant failed to file a request for substantive examination. In 2009, the applicant contacted the Office asking for the application to be revived. He argued that he did not receive one or possibly both of the official letters which contained the warning about the deadline for requesting examination. The applicant also argued that officials had not warned him in conversation of the need to request examination. The Hearing Officer found that, under rule 32(2), it was too late for an application for reinstatement to be made successfully. He did not go on to consider whether the failure to file the examination request was unintentional. On the basis of the information before him, the Hearing Officer also held that, on the balance of probabilities, there was no Office procedural error committed when the official letters containing the warning were issued, nor was one committed during conversations that the applicant had with officials.