Patents Act, No. 57 of 1978

This Act, consisting of 96 sections and divided into 16 chapters, applies to all patents within the country, including those granted before or after the commencement of the Act. The Act establishes the patent office which shall be controlled by a registrar of patents. The Act further provides for a register, designated as a public document, in which shall be entered the particulars of patent applications, particulars of inventions and classifications of patents according to subject-matter. The Act also provides for patent agents and patent attorneys to handle issues related to the Act, and establishes the patent examinations board to assess and qualify them. The Act provides that a patent may be granted for any new invention involving an inventive step and which is capable of being used in trade, industry or agriculture. It goes further to add that a patent will not be granted for any variety of animal or plant or any essentially biological process for the production of animals or plants, not being a micro-biological process or the product of such a process. The Act allows for international applications for patents under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and deems such applications as applications lodged in the terms of this Act. Once a patent is granted, it has a duration of 20 years from the date of application. The Act provides for the procedure for renewal of a lapsed patent.