Territorial Application
14.The Act extends to the whole of the United Kingdom. Subject to any modifications made by an Order in Council, the Act extends to the Isle of Man. Patents is not a devolved matter. As regards Scotland, intellectual property is (with the exception of the subject matter of Parts I and II of the Plant Varieties Act 1997) a reserved matter under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 and Head C4 of Part II of Schedule 5 to that Act. Intellectual property (with the same exception) is a reserved matter under section 4(1) and Schedule 3 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, paragraph 27. This means that the Northern Ireland Assembly cannot enact legislation in relation to intellectual property without the consent of the Secretary of State under section 8(b) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. As regards Wales, no functions in relation to patents have been transferred to the National Assembly for Wales under section 22 of the Government of Wales Act 1998. The 1977 Act does not feature in Schedule 1 to the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999.