belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation

21 AVRIL 2007. - Act on various provisions relating to the procedure for filing European patent applications and the effects of such applications and European patents in Belgium (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. § 1^er. The patent application made in accordance with the provisions of the European Patent Convention revised by the Act of 29 November 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the "European Patent Convention") may be filed, at the choice of the applicant, either with the Office of the Intellectual Property of the Federal Public Service Economics or with the European Patent Office.
§ 2. The patent application, made in accordance with the provisions of the European Patent Convention, by persons with Belgian nationality or their domicile or siege in Belgium and who may interest the defence of the territory or the security of the State shall be filed with the Office of Intellectual Property. The provisions of the Act of 10 January 1955 relating to the disclosure and implementation of inventions and secrets of factory relevant to the defence of the territory or the security of the State shall apply to it.
§ 3. The European patent application does not provide protection under Article 64 of the European Patent Convention. However, a reasonable allowance, as determined under the circumstances, may be required of any person who has operated the invention in Belgium, subject to the application, from the date on which the claims were made publicly available to the Office of Intellectual Property or were handed over to that person in one of the national languages.
Art. 3. § 1^er. If the text in which the European Patent Office issues or maintains a European patent, following an application in which Belgium has been designated, is not written in one of the national languages, the applicant must provide the Office of Intellectual Property with a translation in one of these languages, within a period of three months from the date of the publication of the statement of the amended patent grant or, where applicable, the decision of the applicant to
§ 2. If the provision of § 1^er is not observed, the European patent is, from the beginning, deemed without effect in Belgium.
§ 3. The Office of Intellectual Property maintains a register of all European patents referred to in § 1^er which have effect on the national territory, makes the text or possibly translation available to the public and receives national taxes for the maintenance in force of the patent for the years following that in which the mention of the grant of the patent was published.
Art. 4. The provisions of Article 3 do not affect the right of national courts to require a full translation of the application or patent granted in the language of judicial proceedings.
Art. 5. § 1^er. To the extent that a Belgian patent has an invention for which a European patent has been granted to the same inventor or to his cause with the same date of filing or, if a priority has been claimed, with the same date of priority, the Belgian patent, provided that it covers the same invention as the European patent, ceases to produce its effects either on the date on which the period for the formation of the opposition to the European patent has been expired without
The termination or subsequent cancellation of the European patent does not affect the provisions of this Article.
§ 2. The Brussels Commercial Court finds that the Belgian patent has ceased to produce its effects in whole or in part under the conditions provided for in § 1^er.
The Registrars of Courts and Tribunals shall, by ordinary letter, transmit to the Office of Intellectual Property a copy of the judicial decisions rendered on the basis of this paragraph no later than one month after the date on which the judgment or judgment was cast in force of a judgment or after the date on which an appeal was filed or an opposition was filed against that decision.
§ 3. When the judgment or judgment is cast as a force of judgment, the finding is entered in the patent registry and made known to the public.
Art. 6. The holder of a European application may apply in the cases referred to in Article 135, § 1^er, letter a, from the European Patent Convention, to initiate the procedure for granting a Belgian invention patent. This application will be rejected if it does not meet, within three months of receipt by the Office of Intellectual Property of the request for processing, the following conditions:
(a) pay the national filing fee;
b) produce the application in one of the national languages if the European patent application is not in one of these languages.
The search report, if prepared by the European Patent Office, may be used in the grant procedure.
Art. 7. The King shall designate the national authorities to which the European Office may apply for administrative and judicial cooperation under Article 131 of the European Patent Convention.
Art. 8. The request for a technical notice referred to in Article 25 of the European Patent Convention may be addressed directly to the European Patent Office.
Art. 9. The publication of the revised translations and translations referred to in section 3 of this Act shall result in the payment of a royalty. This fee is payable upon delivery of the translation or must be paid to the Office of Intellectual Property within the period referred to in Article 3, § 1^erof this Act.
The King fixes the amount and method of payment of this fee.
Art. 10. Section 574 of the Judicial Code, as amended by the Acts of 22 July 1991, 17 July 1997, 10 February 1998, 10 February 1999, 7 May 1999, 24 March 2003, 22 July 2004 and 20 December 2005, is supplemented by the following paragraph:
"15° of the action to show the cumulative protections acquired, for the same invention, by the Belgian patent and by the European patent and formed pursuant to Article 5 of the Law of ... bearing various provisions concerning the procedure for filing European patent applications and the effects of these applications and European patents in Belgium".
Art. 11. In article 633quinquies of the Judicial Code, inserted by the law of 20 December 2005, the words "in the cases provided for in article 574, 11° and 14°" are replaced by the words "in the cases provided for in article 574, 11°, 14° and 15°".
Art. 12. In Article 2, § 2, of the Act of 8 July 1977 approving the following international acts:
1. Convention on the Unification of Certain Elements of Inventory Patent Law, made in Strasbourg on 27 November 1963;
2. Patent Cooperation Treaty and Implementing Regulations, made in Washington on 19 June 1970;
3. Convention on the Grant of European Patents (European Patent Convention) and four Protocols, made in Munich on 5 October 1973;
4. European Patent Convention for the Common Market (Community Patent Agreement) and Implementing Regulations, made in Luxembourg on 15 December 1975,
the words "and the law of 4 August 1955 concerning the security of the State in the field of nuclear energy" are deleted.
Art. 13. In article 3, § 2 of the same law, the words "and the law of 4 August 1955 concerning the security of the State in the field of nuclear energy" are deleted.
Art. 14. In article 7, § 2, of the same law, the words "Trial Courts note" are replaced by the words "The Brussels Commercial Court finds".
Art. 15. This Act applies to all European patent applications filed after its entry into force and to European patents granted on the basis of these applications.
Without prejudice to the decisions of the Governing Council of the European Patent Organisation made under Article 7, § 1^er, second sentence and § 2, of the Revision of the Convention on the Grant of European Patents (European Patent Convention) of 5 October 1973, last revised on 17 December 1991, made in Munich on 29 November 2000, this Act does not apply to European patents already granted at the time of its entry into force, nor to European patent applications pending at that date.
Art. 16. This Act comes into force on the date of entry into force for Belgium of the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, revised by the Act of Munich on 29 November 2000.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 21 April 2007.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
K. DE GUCHT
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
Minister of Economy,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Notes
(1) 2006-2007 session.
Chamber:
Parliamentary documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-2747/1. Report, number. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-2747/2.
Annales parlementaire - Discussion, meeting of February 8, 2007. Vote, meeting of 8 February 2007.
Senate:
Parliamentary documents. - Project not referred to in the Senate 3-2059/1.