Background The Patent Law Treaty and the Regulatory Reform (Patents) Order 2004
10.The Patent Law Treaty (“PLT”), agreed in 2000, is a treaty which harmonises the procedural requirements which are associated with filing and prosecuting a patent application. The changes to the 1977 Act which are required by this treaty involve the removal or reduction of a number of burdens or constraints on patent applicants. Therefore, the 1977 Act is to be amended by the Regulatory Reform (Patents) Order 2004 (“RRO”) in order to give effect to the PLT. The RRO will also make a number of other deregulatory changes to the 1977 Act. The changes that this Act makes to the 1977 Act are designed to be consistent with the changes to be made by the RRO. A few provisions in the Act relate to or amend provisions inserted into the 1977 Act by the RRO, and these are discussed in detail below.
11.The proposed draft RRO was laid before Parliament for scrutiny by the Regulatory Reform Committees of both Houses on 10th November 2003. The House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee’s report was published on 30th January 2004 (Sixth Report of Session) and the House of Commons Regulatory Reform Committee’s report was published on 17th February 2004 (Second Report of Session). The proposed draft RRO was amended, taking into consideration the questions asked and the report made by the House of Commons Committee, and representations made during the scrutiny period. As a result, some changes were made to the Patents Bill, by Government amendment, in the House of Lords. The RRO, in its amended form, was approved by the House of Commons on 30th June 2004 and by the House of Lords on 13th July 2004.