Singapore legislation
Section 47
Section 47
Determination of right to patent after grant
(1)
After a patent has been granted for an invention, any person having or claiming a proprietary interest in or under the patent may refer to the Registrar the question —
who is or are the true proprietor or proprietors of the patent;
whether the patent should have been granted to the person or persons to whom it was granted; or
whether any right in or under the patent should be transferred or granted to any other person or persons,and the Registrar must determine the question and make such order as the Registrar thinks fit to give effect to the determination.
(2)
Without limiting subsection (1), an order under that subsection may contain provision —
directing that the person by whom the reference is made under that subsection is included (whether or not to the exclusion of any other person) among the persons registered as proprietors of the patent;
directing the registration of a transaction, instrument or event by virtue of which that person has acquired any right in or under the patent;
granting any licence or other right in or under the patent; and
directing the proprietor of the patent or any person having any right in or under the patent to do anything specified in the order as necessary to carry out the other provisions of the order.
(3)
If any person to whom directions have been given (A) under subsection (2)(d) fails to do anything necessary for carrying out any such directions within 14 days after the date of the order containing the directions, the Registrar may, on an application made to the Registrar by any person in whose favour or on whose reference the order containing the directions was made (B), authorise B to do that thing on behalf of A.
(4)
Where the Registrar finds on a reference under this section that the patent was granted to a person not entitled to be granted that patent (either alone or with other persons) and on an application made under section 80 makes an order on that ground for the conditional or unconditional revocation of the patent, the Registrar may order that the person by whom the application was made or that person’s successor in title may, subject to section 84, make a new application for a patent —
in the case of unconditional revocation, for the whole of the matter comprised in the specification of that patent; and
in the case of conditional revocation, for the matter which in the opinion of the Registrar should be excluded from that specification by amendment under section 83,and where such a new application is made, it is treated as having been filed on the date of filing the application for the patent to which the reference relates.
(5)
On any reference under subsection (1) —
no order may be made under this section transferring the patent to which the reference relates on the ground that the patent was granted to a person not so entitled; and
no order may be made under subsection (4) on that ground if the reference was made after the end of the period of 2 years beginning with the date of the grant, unless it is shown that any person registered as a proprietor of the patent knew at the time of the grant or, as the case may be, of the transfer of the patent to the person that the person was not entitled (either alone or with other persons, as the case may be) to the patent.
(6)
An order under this section must not be so made as to affect the mutual rights or obligations of trustees or of the personal representatives of a deceased person, or their rights or obligations as such.
(7)
Where a question is referred to the Registrar under this section, an order must not be made by virtue of subsection (2) or under subsection (4) on the reference unless notice of the reference is given to all persons registered as proprietor of the patent or as having a right in or under the patent, except those who are parties to the reference.
(8)
If it appears to the Registrar on a reference under this section that the question referred to the Registrar would be more conveniently dealt with by the court, the Registrar may decline to deal with it and, without prejudice to the court’s jurisdiction to determine any such question and make a declaration, the court has jurisdiction to do so.
(9)
The court must not determine a question whether a patent was granted to a person not entitled to be granted the patent —
in the exercise of any such declaratory jurisdiction in an action for a declaration; or
in the exercise of jurisdiction pursuant to a reference under this section,if the action or the reference (as the case may be) was commenced or made after the end of the period of 2 years beginning with the date of the grant of the patent, unless it is shown that any person registered as a proprietor of the patent knew at the time of the grant or, as the case may be, of the transfer of the patent to the person that the person was not entitled (either alone or with other persons, as the case may be) to the patent.