Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976

Patents and registered designs

5(1)Subject to sub-paragraphs (4) to (8) below, this Act does not apply—

(a)to a licence granted by the proprietor or a licensee of a patent or registered design, or by a person who has applied for a patent or for the registration of a design ;

(b)to an assignment of a patent or registered design, or of the right to apply for a patent or for the registration of a design ; or

(c)to an agreement for such a licence or assignment;

being a licence, assignment or agreement such as is described in sub-paragraph (2) or sub-paragraph (3) below.

(2)The licence, assignment or agreement referred to in sub-paragraph (1) above is in relation to Part II of this Act one under which no such restrictions as are described in section 6(1) above are accepted or no such information provisions as are described in section 7(1) above are made except in respect of—

(a)the invention to which the patent or application for a patent relates, or articles made by the use of that invention ; or

(b)articles in respect of which the design is or is proposed to be registered and to which it is applied ;

as the case may be.

(3)The licence, assignment or agreement referred to in sub-paragraph (1) above is in relation to Part III of this Act one under which—

(a)in the case of an order under section 11 above, no restrictions in respect of matters specified in the order for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of that section are accepted except in respect of the invention to which the patent or application for a patent relates ; or

(b)in the case of an order under section 12 above, no information provision with respect to matters specified in the order for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of that section is made except in respect of that invention.

(4)No licence, assignment or agreement is by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) above precluded from being an agreement to which this Act applies if—

(a)it is a patent or design pooling agreement; or

(b)it is a licence, assignment or agreement granted or made in pursuance (directly or indirectly) of a patent or design pooling agreement.

(5)In this paragraph, subject to sub-paragraph (8) below, " patent or design pooling agreement" means an agreement—

(a)to which the parties are or include at least three persons (in this and the following sub-paragraph the " principal parties") each of whom has an interest in one or more patents or registered designs, and

(b)by which each of the principal parties agrees, in respect of patents or registered designs in which he has an interest, or in respect of patents or registered designs in which he has or may during the currency of the agreement acquire an interest, to grant such an interest as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (6) below.

(6)The grant referred to in sub-paragraph (5) above is—

(a)of an interest in one or more such patents or registered designs to one or more of the other principal parties, or to one or more of those parties and to other persons ; or

(b)of an interest in at least one such patent or registered design to a third person for the purpose of enabling that person to grant an interest in it to one or more of the other principal parties, or to one or more of those parties and to other persons ;

and " interest", in relation to a patent or registered design, means an interest as proprietor or licensee of the patent or registered design or an interest consisting of such rights as a person has by virtue of having applied for a patent or for the registration of a design or by virtue of having acquired the right to apply for a patent or for the registration of a design.

(7)For the purposes of sub-paragraphs (4) to (6) above, a licence, assignment or agreement—

(a)shall be taken to be granted or made directly in pursuance of a patent or design pooling agreement if it is granted or made in pursuance of provisions of that agreement such as are mentioned in sub-paragraph (6)(a) ; and

(b)shall be taken to be granted or made indirectly in pursuance of a patent or design pooling agreement if it is granted or made by a third person to whom an interest has been granted in pursuance of provisions of that agreement such as are mentioned in sub-paragraph (6)(b).

(8)In relation to any interest held by or granted to any two or more persons jointly, sub-paragraphs (5) and (6) apply as if those persons were one person by whom the interest is held or to whom it is granted, and accordingly those persons shall be treated for the purposes of those sub-paragraphs as together constituting one party.

(9)In this paragraph, references—

(a)to an assignment mean, in relation to Scotland, an assignation ;

(b)to the registration of designs have effect only in relation to Part II.