Marginal note:Request for priority
28.4 (1) For the purposes of sections 28.1, 28.2 and 78.3, an applicant for a patent in Canada may request priority in respect of the application on the basis of one or more previously regularly filed applications.
Marginal note:Requirements governing request
(2) The request for priority must be made in accordance with the regulations and the applicant must inform the Commissioner of the filing date, country or office of filing and number of each previously regularly filed application on which the request is based.
Marginal note:Withdrawal of request
(3) An applicant may, in accordance with the regulations, withdraw a request for priority, either entirely or with respect to one or more previously regularly filed applications.
Marginal note:Multiple previously regularly filed applications
(4) Where two or more applications have been previously regularly filed as described in paragraph 28.1(1)(a), subparagraph 28.2(1)(d)(i) or paragraph 78.3(1)(a) or (2)(a), either in the same country or in different countries,
(a) paragraph 28.1(1)(b), subparagraph 28.2(1)(d)(iii) or paragraph 78.3(1)(b) or (2)(b), as the case may be, shall be applied using the earliest filing date of the previously regularly filed applications; and
(b) subsection 28.1(2), subparagraph 28.2(1)(d)(ii) or paragraph 78.3(1)(d) or (2)(d), as the case may be, shall be applied using the earliest filing date of the previously regularly filed applications on the basis of which a request for priority is made.
Marginal note:Withdrawal, etc., of previously regularly filed applications
(5) A previously regularly filed application mentioned in section 28.1 or 28.2 or subsection 78.3(1) or (2) shall, for the purposes of that section or subsection, be considered never to have been filed if
(a) it was filed more than twelve months before the filing date of
(i) the pending application, in the case of section 28.1,
(ii) the co-pending application, in the case of section 28.2,
(iii) the later application, in the case of subsection 78.3(1), or
(iv) the earlier application, in the case of subsection 78.3(2);
(b) before the filing date referred to in paragraph (a), another application
(i) is filed by the person who filed the previously regularly filed application or by the agent, legal representative or predecessor in title of that person,
(ii) is filed in or for the country where the previously regularly filed application was filed, and
(iii) discloses the subject-matter defined by the claim in the application mentioned in paragraph (a); and
(c) on the filing date of the other application mentioned in paragraph (b) or, if there is more than one such application, on the earliest of their filing dates, the previously regularly filed application
(i) has been withdrawn, abandoned or refused without having been opened to public inspection and without leaving any rights outstanding, and
(ii) has not served as a basis for a request for priority in any country, including Canada.
- 1993, c. 15, s. 33
- 2001, c. 34, s. 63
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