Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

Seanad amendment No. 7 is designed to reflect Article 11 of the Patent Law Treaty, which requires that an extension of a time limit must be for not less than a specified minimum duration. The purpose of the amendment is to introduce a new subsection (3) into section 118A to reflect that Article 11 of the Patent Law Treaty requires that a certain minimum length of extension be allowed from the date of expiration of the unextended time limit. This will be prescribed in the patent rules. The substance of this section, apart from new subsection (3), is unchanged from that in the Bill as passed by Dáil Éireann. The other changes are consequential and relate to the realignment of the numbering of the other subsections.

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