Section 39: Patents of addition

39. Patents of addition.—(1) Where an application is made for a patent in respect of any improvement in or modification of an invention, hereinafter referred to as the “main invention” and the applicant also applies or has applied for a patent for that invention or is the patentee in respect thereof, the Controller may, if the applicant so requests, grant the patent for the improvement or modification as a patent of addition. (2) Where an invention, being an improvement in or modification of another invention, is the subject of an independent patent and the patentee in respect of that patent is also the patentee in respect of the patent for the main invention, the Controller may, if the patentee so requests, by order revoke the patent for the improvement of the modification and grant to the patentee a patent of addition in respect thereof, bearing the same date as the date of the patent so revoked. (3) A patent shall not be granted as a patent of addition unless the date of filing of the complete specification was the same as or later than the date of filing of the complete specification in respect of the main invention. (4) A patent of addition shall not be sealed before the sealing of the patent for the main invention, and if the period within which, but for this provision, a request for the sealing of a patent of addition could be made expires before the period within which a request for the sealing of the patent for the main invention may be so made, the request for the sealing of the patent of addition may be made at any time within the last­mentioned period.

Effective date: 2000-01-01

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