The Government Board of the Republic of Chile has |! |given its approval to the following Bill: Article 1 °.-An invention will be patentable when it is new, has an inventive level and is susceptible to industrial application. It is considered new when it does not exist before in the state of the art. The state of the art shall comprise everything that has been disclosed or made accessible to the public, anywhere in the world, by publication in material form, its oral disclosure, its sale or marketing, its use or any other form, prior to the filing date of the patent application in Chile. It shall also include the content of a patent application pending before the Department of Industrial Property whose filing date was earlier than that of the application being examined. It is considered that an invention has an inventive level if for a person versed in the technical matter, it is not obvious nor would it have been clearly derived from the state of the art. If a patent has been previously applied for abroad, the person concerned will have a one-year period, counted from the date of filing in the country of origin, to present the application in Chile. After this period, the invention shall be considered as public domain and shall not be patentable. Article 2.-They are not considered inventions, and are excluded from patent protection: (a) The simple use or use of natural substances or forces. (b) the systems, methods, principles or economic, financial, commercial, control and audit plans; and those relating to purely mental or intellectual activities or to matters of play. (c) Working arrangements and manufacturing secrets. (d) the new use of articles, objects and elements known and used for certain purposes, and the change of shape, dimensions, proportions and materials of the patented object, unless they substantially alter the qualities of the object or its use; obtain a new industrial result. Article 3.-The inventions contrary to the law are not patentable; to the public order; to the security of the State; to the moral and good customs, and all those presented by those who are not their rightful owner. Article 4 °.-An application, by the Department of Industrial Property, will be required to publish an extract of it in the Official Journal, in the form determined by the regulation. Article 5.-If, within five days following the expiry of the period referred to in Article 6, no objection has been expressed, the Head of the Department may order the practice of a prior expert report in respect of those applications which, in their opinion, merit it, in order to verify whether the requirements laid down in Article 1 are met. This report shall be binding, in the case of patent applications for products or procedures related to activities deemed essential for the development of the country. These activities will be determined every five years, through the supreme decree of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Reconstruction. Article 6.-Any interested party may, before the Department, make an objection to the application within 30 days from the date of publication of the extract referred to in Article 4. Article 7 °.-In the procedures relating to the patents of invention, the applicant shall be transferred from the opposition, within 30 days, in order to assert his rights. If there is controversy over substantial and relevant facts, the cause for trial shall be received by the end of 30 days. Notwithstanding the foregoing, when the procedures relating to patents of invention require expert reporting, the expert may surrender out of the probative term. Article 8 °.-In these proceedings the parties may make use of the means of proof established in the Code of Civil Procedure. Article 9 °.-The notifications shall be made by registered letter and by its inclusion in the state, which for these purposes shall be made in the form provided for in the regulation. The notification by registered letter shall be deemed to have been made on the third working day of his deposit at the post office. Article 10 °.-In the event of a required expert report, the report shall be evacuated within 120 days from the acceptance of the charge. The report will be brought to the attention of the interested parties, who will have 20 days counted from the notification, in order to make the observations they deem appropriate. This period may be extended once, at the request of the person concerned, for up to 20 days. Article 11 °.-The Head of the Department shall have a period of 30 days to deliver judgment, counted from the decision leaving the cause in a state of failure. The judgment shall meet the requirements laid down in Article 170 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Article 12 °.-Patents of invention shall be granted for a non-renewable period of 15 years, counted from the date of the application. This period may be further extended by the processing period of the application, with a maximum limit of one year, if the person concerned so requests. Patents that are applied in Chile for inventions already patented or whose application is being processed abroad, will only be granted for as long as it is lacking for the right to expire in the country in which the first one was obtained or requested. patent, without exceeding the time limit specified in the preceding paragraph. Article 13 °.-The importation and placing on the market of a protected product by a third party shall not deal with the rights conferred by a patent on its holder, when in the country of origin of the product, its legislation protects it. It will be understood that a product is protected when the activity and the country to which it belongs are included in a supreme decree of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Reconstruction, undersigned, in addition by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Article 14 °.-The time limits of the days laid down in this law are fatal and of working days, being considered as indeft on Saturday. Article 15 °.-Only non-voluntary licenses may be granted in the case that the patent holder incurs in monopoly abuse according to the Resolution of Decree Law No. 211 of 1973, which will be the body responsible for determining the existence of the of the situation reported and fail accordingly. The Commission shall consider, inter alia, as facts, acts or conventions of monopoly abuse, the following situations: (a) The price of the product in the country is more than 30% higher than the price of the product in other countries. In this case, the effects of taxes, duties, freight and insurance or other rules that distort the comparison shall not be considered. (b) It is shown that, given the price of the product, it is possible to obtain an operating margin of 40%. c) That the agreements between the owner of a patent and those who have been licensed by him, configure any of the forms prohibited in Decree Law No. 211 of 1973. (d) Any other act contrary to the rules of free competition, in accordance with the decree law stated above. The Commission's judgment must, at the very least, qualify as follows:-the existence of a situation of monopolistic abuse justifying the granting of non-voluntary licences. -In the event that the pronouncement is positive, the amount of compensation to be paid annually by the person who obtains the non-voluntary license, to the owner of the patent. This amount shall be calculated as a percentage of the annual volume of sales of the product which is the subject of a non-voluntary licence, and shall not be less than 5%, and not more than 20%. Once the obligation to grant non-voluntary licenses has been declared, anyone can access them, in the manner determined by the regulation. Such licenses shall be granted by the Head of the Department. Article 16 °.-Declare of public utility and authorize the expropriation of the patents of invention that allow the State to ensure the exercise of the guarantees contained in the numbers 8 ° and 9 ° of article 19 of the Political Constitution. Empower the Ministry of Economy, Development and Reconstruction to carry out the corresponding expropriations. Expropriated the patent, its owner will be the Fisco, who will grant free licenses to anyone who requests it. Article 17 °.-The one who will defraud another using an unpatented object, by uitilizing in such objects the indications corresponding to a patent of invention, or is valid from another similar deception, will be punished with minor prison or relegation in its minimum average grades and fine of 100 to 500 monthly tax units. Article 18 °.-The penalties provided for in the preceding Article shall also apply: 1.-To which, to the detriment of other manufacturers, they shall be placed on the market or imported for sale, a patented invention, except as provided for in Article 13. 2.-To which you will defraud by making use of a patented procedure. 3.-To which they commit damage by imitating a patented invention. Illegally produced or marketed objects will fall into comiso. Article 19 °.-The President of the Republic shall be empowered to adopt by decree issued through the Ministry of Economy, Development and Reconstruction a recast, coordinated and systematized text on industrial property, patents of invention, trademarks, models, technological processes or other similar creations. This faculty includes the review and modification of the existing rules, especially those contained in the decree with force of Law No. 958, of 1931. The rules of this law will also apply, where they are It is possible to use its nature, brands, industrial designs and utility models. Article 20 °. This law shall enter into force from the publication in the Official Journal of the decree referred to in the preceding article. Transitional Article.-Patent of invention may be obtained in respect of medicinal products of all species, medicinal pharmaceutical preparations and their preparations and chemical reactions, provided that the application for such medicinal products has been submitted in their country of origin. After 31 December 1984, the following conditions shall be met: (a) the corresponding marketing authorization in the country of origin has been obtained, to be counted from 90 days prior to the date of entry into force; of this law. b) Communicate in writing to the Department, within 90 days, counted from the date of entry into force of this law, the intention to apply for a patent grant, once the marketing authorization has been obtained in the country of origin. For communications coming directly from a foreign country, the deadline will be extended by 15 days. (c) to apply for the granting of a patent within 180 days following the obtaining of the marketing authorization in his country of origin. After the deadline, the invention shall be considered as public domain and shall not be patentable. The patents granted in accordance with the provisions of this article shall be valid for the period of the privilege in the country of origin, with an limit of 8 years. JOSÉ T. MERINO CASTRO, Admiral, Commander in Chief of the Navy, Member of the Government Board.-FERNANDO MATTHEI AUBEL, General Air Force, Commander in Chief of the Air Force, Member of the Government Board.-RODolfo STange OELCkers, General Director of Carabineros, Member of the Government Board.-JORGE LUCAR FIGUEROA, Lieutenant General, Deputy Chief of the Army, Member of the Government Board. Because I have had to approve the previous law, I sanction it and sign it in sign of promulgation. Take effect as the law of the Republic. Register with the Comptroller General of the Republic, publish in the Official Journal and insert in the Official Collection of the Comptroller's Office. Santiago, 12 February 1990.-AUGUSTO PINOCHET UGARTE, Captain General, President of the Republic.-Martin Costabal Llona, Minister of Finance.-Pedro Larrondo Jara, Rear Admiral, Minister of Economy, Development and Reconstruction. What I transcribe to US. for your knowledge.-Salutes intently to US.-Ximena del Pozo Parada, Lawyer, Undersecretary of Economy, Development and Subrogative Reconstruction.