♦ PATENTING IN ALGERIA

♦ NO PATENTABLE INVENTIONS

♦ PROTECTION TERM FOR A PATENT OF INVENTION

♦ CONFERRED RIGHTS

♦ ENTRY IN NATIONAL PHASE OF A PCT APPLICATION

♦ ADITION CERTIFICATE FOR A PATENT

♦ EXAMINATION

♦ TRANSFER OF RIGHTS

♦ CONTRACTUAL LICENCES

♦ MANDATORY LICENCES

♦ NULLITY OF A PATENT

♦ LOSS OF A PATENT

♦ RESTORATION OF A PATENT

♦ ISSUE

- Can be protected by a patent of invention, the inventions that are new, that result from an inventive activity and that are subject to industrial application.

- An invention can apply to a product or a process.

- An invention is new if it is not part of the technique, which is made of everything that was made public by a written or verbal description, a usage or any other mean, in any part of the world, before the day of filing of the application of protection or the date of priority validly claimed for it.

- An invention is not considered as being made accessible to the public by the only fact that, in the twelve months prior to the application of patent or the date of priority, its revelation has resulted from acts committed by the applicant or their predecessor in right, or an abuse committed by a third party towards the applicant or their predecessor in right.

- An invention is considered as arising from an inventive acitivity if it does not result in an obvious way from the technique.

- An invention is considered as subject to industrial application if its object can be manufactured or used in any type of industry.

NO PATENTABLE INVENTIONS

1 ) the principles, theories and discoveries of scientific nature as well as the mathematical methods ;

2 ) the plans, principles or methods aimed to accomplish purely intellectual or playful actions ;

3 ) the methods and systems of teaching, organisation, administration of management ;

4 ) the treatment methods for human or animal body using surgery ir therapy as well as the diagnostic methods ;

5 ) the simple presentations of information ;

6 ) the computer programs ;

7 ) the creations that have an exclusively decorative character.

In addition, the patents of invention can not be obtained for:

1) the vegetable varieties or the animal races, as well as the essentially biological processes for obtaining vegetables or animals ;

2) the inventions of which the implementation in the algerian territory would be against the law and order or the good morals ;

3) the inventions of which the exploitation in the algerian territory would harm the health and the lives of the people and the animals or the preservation of the vegetables or would badly harm the protection of the environment.

PROTECTION TERM FOR A PATENT OF INVENTION

The term of a patent of invention is twenty (20) years starting from the date of filing of the application, provided the registration and maintenance taxes in force have been paid (annuities).

CONFERRED RIGHTS

The right to a patent of invention belongs to the orginator of an invention. If two or more persons have collectively realised an invention, the right to the patent of invention belongs jointly to them as co-inventors or to their successors-in-interest.

The inventor or inventors have the right to be named as such in the patent of invention.

If the applicant or the applicants are not the inventor or the inventors, the application must be accompanied by a declaration by which the applicant or the applicants justify their right to the patent of invention by an act of assignment of the right to priority.

The before-mentioned declaration is not mandatory in the case of an application claiming the priority of a prior filing already made under the name of the applicant.

The patent confers to its holder the following exclusive rights:

1) In the case that the object of a patent is a product, stop third parties acting without the holder's consent to manufacture, use, sell, offer for sale or import this product to these ends ;

2) in the case that the object of the patent is a process, stop third parties acting without the holder' s consent to use the process and the acts hereafter: use, offer for sale, sell or import to these ends, the prodct directly obtained by this process.

The holder of the patent has also the right to give up or transmit, by a succession way, the patent and to conclude licence agreements.

Unless judicial establishment of the usurpation, the one who, was first to file an application for a patent of invention or, was first to valably claimed the oldest priority for this application, is considered as the inventor or, if necessary, the inventor's successor-in-right.

ENTRY IN NATIONAL PHASE OF A PCT APPLICATION

An international application to which a date of international filing has been granted, in accordance to the Treaty of cooperation regarding the patents and which indicate Algeria as a designated State to obtain a patent, is considered as an application for a patent filed at the date of its international filing.

The patented or their successors-in-right have the right, during the term of the patent, to add changes, improvements or additions to the invention by filling the requirements of the application for the filing.

These changes, improvements or additions are recorded by certificates delivered in the same form as the main patent and bring forth the same effects as the said main patent.

Each application for a certificate of addition requires a payment of the due taxes in accordance with the law in force.

The certificates of addition become void at the same time as the main patent.

As long as a certificate of addition has not been issued, the applicant can acquire the transformation of their application for a certificate of addition towards an application for a patent of invention of which the filing date is the date of the application for the certificate of addition.

The obtained patent following the before-mentioned transformation requires a payment of the maintenance taxes in force starting from the date of the application for the certificate of addition.

EXAMINATION

Following the filing, the INAPI checks if the application fullfils the conditions related to the filing requirements of the filing.

When the application does not fullfil these conditions, the attorney is invited to adjust the file within a period of two (2) months.

This period can be extended in case of justified necessity, upong request from the attorney.

The adjusted application within the said period keeps the date of the inital application.

If the file is not adjusted within the defined period, the application is known as withdrawn.

The INAPI checks also if the object of the application does not enter into the domains of the NON PATENTABLE INVENTIONS.

TRANSFER OF RIGHTS

The rights originating from an application for a patent, or from a patent of invention and/or of possible certificates of additions which are related to them, are fully or pattially.

The acts including either transfer of propriety, or grant of right of exploitation, or cessation of this right, or testimony or withdrawal of testimony to an application of patent or to a patent must be recorded by writing in accordance with the order which governs the act and must be subscribed to the patents register.

These acts are legally binding to the third parties only after this subscription.

CONTRACTUAL LICENCES

The holder of the applicant of the patent of invention can, by contract, give to another person a licence to exploit their invention.

MANDATORY LICENCES

Any person can, at any time after the expiry of the period of four (4) years starting from the date of filing of the application for a patent or of three (3) years starting from the date of issue of the patent of invention, acquire from the comptent service, a licence of exploitation for cause of fault or insufficient exploitation by the holder.

For the assessment of the before-mentioned period, the competent service will implement the period which expires the later.

The mandatory licence can be granted by the competent service, only after checking the reality of the fault or the insufficient exploitation and if there are no circumstances which justify neither the fault nor the insufficient exploitation of the patented invention.

NULLITY OF A PATENT

The full or limited nullity to one or multiple claims of the patent of invention, is pronounced by the competent jurisdiction, upon request of any interested party:

1 ) if the object of the patent of invention does not comply with the prescriptions of articles 3 to 8 of the order 03-07 of 19 July 2003 ;

2 ) if the description does not reveal the invention in a clear enough and complete manner so that one of ordinary skill in the art can execute or if the claims of the patent of invention do not define the requested protection ;

3 ) if the same invention has been subject of a patent of invention in Algeria following a former application or benefiting from a former proirity.

When the decision of nullity becomes definite, the most active party will notify it at its full rights to the comp tent service which proceeds to its subscription and its publication.

LOSS OF A PATENT

The loss of a patent of invention takes place in case of non payment, at the date of anniversary, of the filing of the annuity taxes.

However, a grace period of six (6) months, starting from this date, is given to the holder of the patent or the application of patent to pay the due taxes to which will be added a delay penalty charge.

RESTORATION OF A PATENT

Upon a request from the holder, formulated at the latest six (6) months aftre the expiry of the grace period, the competent service can decide to restore the patent of invention following a payment of the annuity tax, the delay tax and a restoration tax.

ISSUE

The patents of invention of which the applications have been regularly performed are issued without prior examination at the own risk of the applicants and without guarantee, of either the reality, or the novelty or the merit of the invention, or the fidelity or the precision of the description.

A certificate established by the competent service, recording the regularity of the application, is issued to the applicant and makes the patent of invention.

To the before-mentioned certificate is attached a copy of the description, the claims and the plans following the compliance with the original posting has been recognised and established if needed.