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PART 1 On Patents of Invention CHAPTER 1 On Patent Applications Rule 1. To obtain a patent of invention it shall be necessary to file an application as referred to in Article 21 of Law No. 11 of 20 March 1986, subject to the provisions of the following Rules. Rule 2. Place of filing 1. Patent applications and all other requisite accompanying documents pursuant to Article 21 of the Law may be filed: (a) Directly at the Industrial Property Registry. (b) At the Provincial Delegations of the Ministry of Industry. (c) At those Autonomous Regional Communities recognized as competent. 2. Applications may be addressed to the Industrial Property Registry by registered post, with a return receipt, in an unsealed envelope. Rule 3. Method of filing The Property Registry shall be authorized to issue instructions for patent applications to be filed on standardized forms. Rule 4. Application requirements 1. The patent application form shall be directed to the Director of the Industrial Property Registry and shall be signed by the applicant or by their representative. The application shall contain the following items of information: (a) A request for a patent of invention. (b) The name and surname(s) or company name, nationality, and address of the applicant. Legal persons shall be identified by their corporate name or a name in accordance with the legal regulations governing them. Natural persons shall state their national identity card number. (c) The title of the invention, free of fanciful language, setting out the technical designation for the invention as clearly and succinctly as possible, and in accordance with the claims. (d) A designation of the inventor or inventors; if the applicant is not the inventor or sole inventor, a statement attesting to how rights on the invention have been acquired shall be submitted. (e) A list of accompanying documents submitted with the application. 2. Where appropriate, the application shall also contain the following items of information. (a) The name and business address of the industrial property agent, if any. In this case, a power of attorney signed by the applicant shall be submitted. (b) If the application is for a divisional patent or a patent of addition to the principal patent, the application number and filing date of the original or principal patent application. (c) If a foreign priority is claimed, a statement to that effect and the number of the patent application on which the priority claim is based, home country, and the priority date claimed. (d) If the invention has been shown at an official or officially recognized exhibition, a statement to that effect. (e) If exemption from payment of fees is requested pursuant to Article 162 of the Law, a statement to that effect. Rule 5. Content of the description 1. The description shall be drafted as clearly and succinctly as possible, without needless repetition, and in a manner congruent with the claims. 2. The description shall contain the following items of information: (a) The title of the invention as it appears on the application form. (b) Mention of the technical field to which the invention relates. (c) An indication of the prior art before the priority date, known to the applicant, which may be useful in understanding the invention and drawing up the report on the state of the art citing, to the extent possible, the documents reflecting the prior art. (d) A disclosure of the invention as characterized in the claims in such terms that the technical problem and its solution can be understood, stating, if applicable, the advantages of the invention in reference to the prior art. (e) A brief description of the drawings, if any. (f) A detailed description of at least one way of carrying out the invention, which may, as appropriate, be illustrated with examples and references to the drawings, if any. (g) An indication of the way in which the invention is capable of being applied in industry, when this is not obvious from the description or nature of the invention. 3. The description shall be presented in the manner and order specified in paragraph 2 unless, because of the nature of the invention, a different manner or order would afford a better understanding and more concise presentation. 4. For inventions relating to microbiological processes, the description shall comply with the requirements laid down in Article 25 paragraphs 1 and 2(a) and 2(b) of the Law. Additionally, the applicant shall state in the description the name of the Authorized Institution at which a sample culture of the microorganism has been deposited and shall also state the Authorized Institution's identification number or code for the microorganism. Rule 6. Conditions for public access to microorganism cultures 1. Pursuant to Article 25 paragraph 2(c) of the Law, the microorganism culture deposited shall be available to any party upon request from the date of publication of the patent application and, before that date, to any party entitled to consult the case record of the application, pursuant to Article 44 paragraph 2 of the Law. 2. Access shall be by remittance of a sample of the requested microorganism, provided the party requesting access to the culture undertakes a commitment as follows vis-à-vis the applicant or patent holder: (a) Not to transmit the culture constituting the subject matter of the patent or any derivative culture thereof to any third party before the patent application has been refused or withdrawn or is deemed to be withdrawn or the patent has expired. (b) Not to use the culture constituting the subject matter of the patent or any derivative culture thereof other than for experimental purposes until such time as the patent application has been refused or withdrawn, or is deemed to be withdrawn, or until the date of publication of the notice of grant of the patent. 3. If for any reason, the Authorized Institution cannot provide samples of the deposited microorganism, the provisions of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure of 28 April 1977, and the Implementing Regulations thereto, shall apply. Rule 7. Form and content of claims 1. Claims shall be numbered consecutively and contain: (a) A preamble indicating the designation of the subject matter of the invention and the technical features which are necessary for the definition of the claimed subject matter but which, in combination, are part of the prior art. (b) A characterizing part setting out the technical features for which, in combination with the features stated in subparagraph (a) above, protection is desired. 2. If required for clarity and understanding of the invention, the main claim may be followed by one or more dependent claims referring back to the claim from which they depend, stating the additional features to be protected. The same procedure shall be employed when the main claim is followed by one or more claims concerning particular forms or embodiments of the invention. Rule 8. An application may contain independent claims consistent with the unity of invention referred to in Article 24 of the Law and in accordance with the content of the title of the invention. The application may contain: (a) An independent claim for a product, an independent claim for a process specifically designed for the manufacture of that product, and an independent claim for a use of the product. (b) An independent claim for a process and an independent claim for an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out that process. (c) An independent claim for a product, an independent claim for a process specifically designed for the manufacture of that product, and an independent claim for an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out that process. Rule 9. Drawings 1. The usable surface area on sheets containing drawings shall not exceed 26.2 cm by 17 cm. Sheets shall not contain frames around the usable or used surface area. The minimum margins shall be as follows: Top margin 2.5 cm Left-hand margin 2.5 cm Right-hand margin 1.5 cm Bottom margin 1 cm 2. Drawings shall be executed as follows: (a) Drawings shall be executed in durable, black, sufficiently dense and dark, uniformly thick and well defined lines and strokes, without colouring. (b) Cross-sections shall be indicated by oblique lines which shall not impede the clear reading of the reference signs and leading lines. (c) The scale of the drawings and the distinctness of their graphical execution shall be such that a photographic reproduction with a linear reduction in size to two-thirds would enable all details to be distinguished without difficulty. If, as an exception, the scale is given on a drawing, it shall be represented graphically. (d) All numbers, letters and reference signs appearing on the drawings shall be simple and clear. Brackets, circles, or inverted commas shall not be used in association with number and letters. (e) All lines in the drawings shall ordinarily be drawn with the aid of drafting instruments. (f) Elements in the same figure shall be in proportion to each other, unless a difference in proportion is indispensable to the clarity of the figure. (g) The height of the numbers and letters shall not be less than 0.32 cm. The Latin and where customary, the Greek alphabets shall be used when letters appear on the figures. (h) A single sheet of drawings may contain several figures. Where figures drawn on two or more sheets are intended to form one whole figure, the figures on the several sheets shall be so arranged that the whole figure can be assembled without concealing any part of the partial figures, drawn on the different sheets. (i) The different figures shall preferably be arranged in an upright position on one or several sheets, clearly separated from one another, but without wasted space; when figures are not arranged in an upright position, they shall be arranged horizontally, with the upper part of the figure positioned in the left-hand portion of the sheet. (j) Figures shall be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, independent of the numbering of the sheets. (k) Only reference signs that have been used in the description and in the claims shall be used in the figures and vice versa. Reference signs for the same elements shall be the same throughout the application. (l) The drawings shall not contain any words, other than brief, indispensable indications such as "water", "steam", "open", "closed", "section on AB" and, in the case of electrical circuits and schematic plant diagrams and schematic sequence process diagrams, a few short keywords indispensable to the understanding. Such words shall be placed in such a way that they may be replaced by any appropriate translations without overwriting any lines in the drawings. 3. Flow process sheets and diagrams shall be considered drawings. Rule 10. Abstract of the invention The abstract referred to in Article 27 of the Law shall have a maximum length of 150 words; shall indicate the title of the invention; and shall contain a concise summary of the content of the description, of the claims and of any drawings, or the most characteristic drawings, which should be presented separately from the text of the abstract; additionally, it may contain the chemical formula which, of any appearing in the patent application, best characterizes the invention. The abstract shall allow ready understanding of the technical problem posed, the solution set forth and the principal use or uses of the invention. Rule 11. General provisions governing the presentation of application documents 1. The translations referred to in Rules 13 and 14 paragraph 2 shall be considered to be application documents. 2. The patent application documents shall be filed in triplicate and shall be presented so as to admit direct reproduction of an unlimited number of copies by photographic, electrical, offset, and microfilming processes. Sheets shall not be cracked, creased, or folded and shall be used on only one side. 3. The patent application documents shall be on pliable, strong, white, smooth, matte, durable paper, size A4 (29.7 cm x 21 cm). Each sheet shall use an upright orientation, subject to the provisions in Rule 9 paragraph 2(i) and paragraph 10 of the present Rule. 4. Each of the documents making up the patent application (application, description, claims, drawings, abstract) shall commence on a new sheet. All the sheets shall be connected in such a way that they may easily be separated for examination and joined together again. 5. Without prejudice to the provisions in Rule 9 concerning the drawings, the minimum margins shall be as follows: Top margin 2 cm Left-hand margin 2.5 cm Right-hand margin 2 cm Bottom margin 2 cm The recommended maximum for the margins indicated above shall be as follows: Top margin 4 cm Left-hand margin 4 cm Right-hand margin 3 cm Bottom margin 3 cm 6. The margins of the documents making up the patent application must be completely blank at the time of filing. 7. All the sheets in the patent application shall be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals. The numbers shall be placed at the top and centre of each sheet, but not in the top margin. 8. The lines on each sheet of the description and claims shall be numbered, in principle every five lines, the numbers being placed at the left-hand side to the right of the margin. 9. The application requesting the patent, the description, the claims and the abstract shall be typed or printed. Only graphic symbols and characters and chemical or mathematical formulae may be written in by hand or drawn, if necessary. Typed text shall use a line spacing of 1½. All text shall be in characters, the capital letters of which will not be less than 0.21 cm high, black in colour and indelible. 10. The application requesting the patent, the description, the claims and the abstract shall not contain drawings. The description, the claims and the abstract may contain chemical or mathematical formulae. The description and the abstract may contain tables. The claims may contain tables only if their subject matter makes the use of tables advisable. Tables and mathematical or chemical formulae may be arranged horizontally on the page if a vertical presentation is not appropriate; sheets on which tables or mathematical or chemical formulae appear horizontally shall be prepared with the top portion of the tables or formulae on the left-hand side of the page. 11. Units of weights and measures shall be expressed according to the metric system. If a different system is used, they shall also be expressed according to the metric system. Temperatures shall be expressed in degrees Celsius; if a different system is used, they shall also be expressed in degrees Celsius. For other physical values, the units of international practice shall be used; for mathematical formulae, the symbols in general use; and for chemical formulae, the symbols, atomic weights and molecular formulae in general use. In general, only technical terms, signs and symbols generally accepted in the field in question should be used. 12. The terminology and signs used shall be consistent throughout the patent application. 13. The sheets shall be reasonably free from erasures and shall not contain alterations, crossing-out or interlineations. Exceptions to this rule may be authorized, provided the authenticity of the content is beyond question and the requirements for good reproduction are not jeopardized. Rule 12. Prohibited matter The patent application shall not contain: (a) Matter or drawings contrary to public order and morality. (b) Injurious statements relating to the products or processes of third parties or the merits or validity of third-party patents or patent applications. Mere comparison with the state of the art shall not be considered injurious per se. (c) Matter obviously irrelevant or unnecessary to the application. Rule 13. Priority 1. The declaration of priority referred to in Article 29 of the Law shall state the date of the earlier application, the state in or for which it was filed and the file number assigned. 2. The date and state of the previous application shall be stated at the time of filing the patent application; the file number shall be indicated within four months from the filing date. 3. Within four months of the filing date, a certified copy issued by the Office in the home country where the earlier filing was made shall be placed on filing and shall state the date of the earlier filing. If the original application was not drawn up in the Spanish language, a translation into Spanish shall be filed within that same term. 4. If the requirements set out in the preceding paragraphs are not fulfilled, the priority claim shall not be admitted. CHAPTER 2 On the Procedure for Grants Section 1 General procedure for grants Rule 14. Filing date 1. For the purposes laid down in Article 22 of the Law, it will be imperative to file the following documents in order to obtain a filing date for a patent application: (a) A declaration requesting a patent, containing at least the title of the invention; information identifying the applicant, stating the applicant's name and surnames or company name, address and nationality; and the signature of the applicant or their representative, in which case the same identifying information as above shall be provided for the latter. (b) A description of the invention, which may be in summary form even though it may not fulfil the established formal requirements, in which case it shall be completed by the applicant within the unextendible term of two months, provided it does not broaden the scope of protection. (c) A claims sheet consisting of one or more claims. 2. The documents listed in the preceding paragraph shall be filed in Spanish or, in the case provided for in Article 21 paragraph 5 of the Law, in the official language of the corresponding Autonomous Community accompanied by a Spanish translation. 3. The officials responsible for receiving the documentation shall record the date, hour and minute of filing together with the file number or incoming number, as appropriate, and shall verify that the application is submitted with the documentation listed thereon. The applicant shall be issued a filing receipt. Rule 15. Approval for processing 1. Within eight days following receipt at the Office, the Industrial Property Registry shall refuse admission of those applications that do not contain the documents set out in Rule 14 satisfying the requisite characteristics, or those for which the corresponding fee has not been paid within the above-mentioned term. 2. For applications refused admission, the documents submitted shall be returned to the applicant and any fee that may have been paid shall be refunded. Rule 16. Secret patents 1. Following approval for processing, the Industrial Property Registry shall, for the purposes laid down in Article 119 of the Law, place all patent applications at the disposal of the Ministry of Defence in case they are of defence interest, and to that end the necessary coordination with the said Ministry shall be established. 2. Within the term of two months from the filing date of the application, the Industrial Property Registry shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 119 paragraph 2, prolong secret processing of the patent to five months when it deems the subject matter of the invention potentially of interest to national defence. 3. The Industrial Property Registry shall notify the applicant and shall send a copy of the filed patent application to the Ministry of Defence. This Ministry shall issue a report setting out reasons for or against secret processing of the patent application; if positive, the Ministry of Defence shall request the Industrial Property Register to declare an approval for processing of the patent application secret before the end of the term of five months from the filing date of the patent application, and to notify the applicant accordingly. 4. The notification of secret processing of the patent application remitted to the applicant shall contain a warning concerning the applicant's rights and obligations as provided by the Law. Rule 17. Examination 1. After a patent application has been admitted for processing, the Industrial Property Registry shall examine: (a) Whether it meets the requirements concerning representation. (b) Whether the request, description and claims are in compliance with the provisions of Rules 4 to 12 in the present Implementing Regulations. (c) Whether the drawings referred to in Rule 9 and the abstract referred to in Rule 10 have been filed and comply with the requisite formalities. (d) Whether the designation of the inventor complies with the provisions of Rule 4 paragraph 1(d) and Rule 19 of these Implementing Regulations. (e) Whether the priority claim or statement of exhibition referred to in Rule 4 paragraphs 2(c) and 2(d) respectively, meet the requirements set out in these Implementing Regulations. (f) In the case of divisional patents or additions to patents, the Industrial Property Registry shall also examine whether the number and filing date of the home or main patent application have been stated and, in the case of divisional patents, whether the subject matter was already contained in the original application without any additions beyond transitional phrases and explanations required for clarity of presentation. 2. The Industrial Property Registry shall examine: (a) Whether the subject matter of the application fulfils all the requirements for patentability laid down in Part Two in the Law, except novelty and inventive step requirements. (b) Whether the subject matter of the application is manifestly lacking in novelty. (c) Whether the patent application fulfils the unity of invention requirement set out in Article 24 of the Law. Rule 18. Office actions 1. If the patent application presents any of the deficiencies referred to in the preceding Rule, the Industrial Property Registry shall notify the applicant of all the objections, so that she/he may remedy the deficiencies or submit any pertinent allegations in defence of the patent application within the term of two months. 2. If the Industrial Property Registry finds that the patent application does not fulfil the requirement for unity of invention provided for in Article 24 of the Law, it shall notify the applicant, so that she/he may submit any pertinent allegations in response to that objection, within the term of two months. If the allegations are dismissed, the Industrial Property Registry shall set an additional one-month term for the applicant to divide the application. 3. Divisional applications shall be filed within the term of three months from the term set for dividing the original application. Such applications shall comply with the provisions laid down in Rules 4 to 13 in these Implementing Regulations. Rule 19. Designation of the inventor The designation of the inventor and, if appropriate, the declaration referred to in Rule 4 paragraph 1(d), may be filed within a term of four months from the filing date of the application. If that deficiency has not been remedied within that term, the application shall be deemed withdrawn following notification to the applicant. Rule 20. Exhibitions In the case provided for in Rule 4 paragraph 2(d), the applicant shall, within the term of four months from the filing date of the application, place on file a certificate issued by the person appointed by the exhibition Directors (as the authority responsible for protecting industrial property at the exhibition) attesting that the invention was indeed exhibited at the exhibition when it was held. The exhibition organizers may ask the Industrial Property Registry to appoint an official from the Industrial Property Registry to ensure protection. The certificate shall also state the opening date of the exhibition and, if appropriate, the date of first disclosure of the invention if those dates were not the same. The certificate shall be accompanied by documents allowing identification of the invention, duly authenticated by the above-mentioned authority. Rule 21. Priority examination 1. For the purpose of admitting a priority claim, an examination shall be performed comparing the priority application with the subsequent filing, verifying that the applicants and subject matter of the invention are the same. 2. If the applicants are not the same, a document attesting to assignment of the priority rights for Spain shall be required. 3. If the subject matter is not the same, the priority claim shall not be admitted, except in the case provided for in Article 29 paragraph 4 of the Law. Rule 22. Upon termination of the term for rectification of deficiencies or for submitting allegations, the Industrial Property Registry shall proceed as stipulated in Rule 23, without issuing any new notification regarding the continued presence of the defects or circumstances referred to in Rule 17, unless allegations amending the claims or dividing the application have been filed, pursuant to the provisions of Article 31 paragraph 1 of the Law. Rule 23. Rejection The Industrial Property Registry shall reject the application in full or in part when any of the following circumstances apply: (a) Defects have not been duly corrected within the term set for that purpose. (b) The subject matter does not comply with the patentability requirements laid down in Part Two of the Law, other than those of novelty and inventive step. (c) The invention manifestly and notoriously lacks novelty. (d) The patent does not satisfy the unity of invention requirement. In that case, the patent shall be granted for those parts of the application referring to the invention or set of inventions initially stated in the claims, within the meaning of Article 24 paragraph 1 of the Law. Rule 24. Publication of the rejection 1. Applicants shall be duly notified of rejections and the corresponding grounds for the decisions. 2. A mention of the rejection containing the necessary information to identify the patent application shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property. Section 2 Report on the state of the art Rule 25. Commencement When the examination carried out by the Industrial Property Registry does not reveal any defects preventing the grant of the patent, or when such defects have been duly rectified, the Industrial Property Registry shall notify the applicant that for the granting procedure to continue, she/he must request a report on the state of the art, if she/he has not already done so, and shall set a maximum term for submission of the request. Rule 26. Publication of the application 1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 32 paragraph 3 of the Law, eighteen months after the filing date of the application or the priority date (if priority has been claimed) and after the official examination has been fulfilled, the Registry shall, pursuant to the provisions of Article 32 of the Law, proceed to publish notice in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property that the patent application is available to the public, provided that the applicant has requested the report on the state of the art referred to in Rule 25. 2. The notice in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property referred to in paragraph 1 above shall contain the necessary information for identification of the patent application, such as: (a) The application number. (b) The title of the invention. (c) Identifying information on the applicant. (d) Full information on any priority or priorities that may have been claimed. 3. At the same time, a brochure of the patent application shall be published containing, in addition to the mentions referred to in paragraph 2 above, the description, claims and, if applicable, drawings. It will also make mention of the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property in which the patent application was published. 4. The patent application shall not be published when the application has been finally rejected or withdrawn, or deemed to be withdrawn, before completion of the technical preparations for publication. Rule 27. Request for the report on the state of the art 1. The request for preparation of the report on the state of the art shall be made in writing within fifteen months of the filing date of the patent application, paying the fee established. If priority has been claimed, the fifteen months shall be calculated from the priority date. 2. If the term established in the preceding paragraph has already elapsed when the notification provided for in Rule 25 is made, the applicant shall have one month from said notification to request preparation of the report on the state of the art. 3. "If the applicant fails to comply with the provisions of this Rule, the application shall be deemed withdrawn" (Article 33 paragraph 3 of the Law). 4. "The report on the state of the art may not be requested with respect to an addition if previously or simultaneously it is not requested for the principal patent and, if such is the case, for any earlier additions" (Article 33 paragraph 4 of the Law). Rule 28. Rejection due to insufficient clarity in the description 1. Once the petition for preparing the report on the state of the art has been received and the examination provided for in Rule 17 performed, the Industrial Property Registry shall examine the clarity of the description and claims to determine the possibility of drawing up the report. 2. Should clarity be lacking in the description or in the Claims, the Industrial Property Registry shall notify the applicant accordingly to enable them, within a two-month term, to file the submissions she/he may deem appropriate. 3. The said term having elapsed, the Industrial Property Registry shall, if the lack of clarity of the description or of the claims continues wholly or in part, refuse the grant of the patent in its entirety, or of the part concerned, notifying the applicant accordingly. 4. The Industrial Property Registry shall publish a mention of such decision in the "Official Bulletin of Industrial Property" in the event of the application having already been published. Rule 29. Preparation of the report on the state of the art 1. The Industrial Property Registry shall draw up the report on the state of the art within a three-month term from the date of compliance with the following conditions: (a) That the applicant has petitioned its preparation. (b) That the application has successfully undergone examination under Rule 17. (c) That the examination under Rule 28 has been passed. 2. The report on the state of the art shall mention those elements of the state of the art that the Industrial Property Registry may have available at the time of preparing the report, capable of being taken into consideration to evaluate the novelty and inventive step of the invention object of the application. 3. All citations shall be made in relation to the corresponding claims. If necessary, the specific part of the document cited shall be identified indicating, for example, the page, line or figure. 4. The report on the state of the art shall, regarding the documents cited, distinguish between those published before the priority date, between the priority date and the filing date, and on the priority date or subsequently. 5. Every document that may refer to an oral disclosure, a use or any other disclosure that may have preceded the filing date of the patent application, shall be cited in the report on the state of the art, stating the date of publication of the document and of the non-written disclosure, if any. 6. The report on the state of the art shall mention the classification of the patent application, in accordance with international classifications. 7. "Upon completion of the report on the state of the art the Industrial Property Registry shall transmit the result to the patent applicant and shall publish a brochure with the said report, making the corresponding announcement in the "Official Bulletin of Industrial Property" (Article 34.5 of the Law). Rule 30. Observations on the report on the state of the art 1. Anyone may file duly argued, documented observations on the report on the state of the art within a two-month term following the announcement in the "Official Bulletin of Industrial Property" referred to in Rule 29.7. 2. Upon conclusion of the term mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the briefs and documents shall be passed on to the applicant to enable them, within a two-month term, to file the observations she/he may deem pertinent on the report on the state of the art, to make whatever comments she/he believes proper against the observations filed by third parties and, if considered advisable, to amend the claims. Rule 31. Grant of the patent 1. "Independently of the report on the state of the art and of the observations by third parties, upon conclusion of the term for comments by the applicant the Registry shall grant the patent applied for, announcing this grant in the "Official Bulletin of Industrial Property" and making available to the public the documents of the granted patent, along with the report on the state of the art and all observations and comments made with respect to the said report. If the claims were amended, their successive drafts, with indication of the respective amendment date, shall be made available to the public" (Article 37.1 of the Law). 2. Grant of the patent shall give rise to payment of the fee set in primary tariff number 1.6 of the annex to the Law, within a three-month term from publication of the announcement of grant in the "Official Bulletin of Industrial Property"; failure to pay the fee implying that the application has been withdrawn in virtue of Article 160.3 of the Law. 3. The patent shall be granted without prejudice to third parties and without guarantee by the State as to its validity and the utility of the object it covers. 4. The announcement of grant, having to be published in the "Official Bulletin of Industrial Property", shall include the following mentions: Firstly - The number of the granted patent. Secondly - The class or classes in which the patent has been included. Thirdly - The succinct title of the invention object of the granted patent. Fourthly - The name and surnames or corporate name and nationality of applicant, as well as their adress and Industrial Property Agent, if any. Fifthly - The abstract of the invention. Sixthly - The reference to the "Bulletin" in which the patent application was published and amendments, if any, made to its claims. Seventhly - The date of the grant. Eighthly - The possibility of consulting the documents relating to the granted patent, as well as the report on the state of the art and the observations and comments made on the said report. Ninthly - The filing date to which Article 22 of the Law refers and its amendments, if any. Tenthly - Application number. Eleventhly - Where applicable, mention shall likewise be made of the validly claimed priority or priorities. Rule 32. Brochure of the patent 1. A brochure of every patent granted shall be published for sale to the public. 2. The brochure, besides the mentions in Rule 26-3, shall include the full text of the description, with the claims and the drawings, as well as the full text of the report on the state of the art. Mention shall likewise be made of the "Official Bulletin of Industrial Property" in which the grant was announced. CHAPTER 3 General Provisions relating to Procedure Rule 33. Corrections Defects of expression or transcription and errors contained in any document sent to the Industrial Property Registry may be corrected at the applicant's request. Notwithstanding this, if the request for correction refers to the description, the claims or drawings, the correction must be of an obvious nature such that none other but the corrected text could have been proposed by the applicant. Rule 34. Divisional applications 1. Until the date of grant of the patent the applicant may, on their own volition, file divisional applications of the original patent application. 2. In the case of dividing up a patent application, every divisional application shall conform to Article 21 of the Law. 3. The description and the drawings, whether in the original patent application or in any divisional patent application, may only in principle refer to the elements it is sought to protect in the said application. However, whenever it may be necessary to describe in an application the elements for which protection has been requested in another application, reference is to be made to that other application. 4. Divisional applications shall have the same filing date as the original application from which they derive, to the extent their object might already be contained in that application. Rule 35. Change of modality 1. The applicant may at any time request transformation of their patent application into an application for protection of the same object under another Industrial Property modality, until conclusion of the term for submitting observations on the report on the state of the art. 2. The Industrial Property Registry may, as a result of the examination it has to conduct in virtue of Rule 17, propose to the applicant a change of modality for the application, notifying them accordingly to, within a two-month term, accept or reject the proposal, rejection to be understood when she/he does not expressly request the change of modality to term. If the proposal is rejected, the application shall continue to be prosecuted in the original modality. 3. Once the change of modality is approved, whether through having been requested by the applicant or following prior proposal by the Industrial Property Registry, the latter shall so notify the interested party with indication of the documentation she/he has to submit, and indicating that she/he has a two-month term for the purpose. Failure to submit the new documentation to term shall give rise to annulment of the case. 4. "When the resolution deciding change in the type of protection occurs after the patent application has been published, notice of the change must be published in the "Official Bulletin of Industrial property" (Article 42.4 of the Law). Rule 36. Terms 1. For calculating the terms provided for in the Law and in the present Implementing Regulations, the provisions of the Law of Administrative Procedure shall apply. 2. Save for rulings to the contrary, and provided terms affecting interested third parties are not concerned, the Industrial Property Registry shall extend the set terms by one half. 3. Extension of the term shall be applied for prior to its expiration. CHAPTER 4 Working of the Patent and Compulsory Licences Rule 37. Working certificate 1. The official working certificate for the patent, as provided in Article 84 of the Law shall, following petition by the patent owner, be issued by the Peripheric Services of the Ministry of Industry or by the Autonomous Administrations, in accordance with the competences transferred that may correspond to the geographical location of the industrial installation where the invention is being worked. 2. The working certificate shall indicate: (a) The Body which has issued it. (b) The name of the company where work is being performed and its location. (c) The date of application to have working ability verified. (d) The date of verification, which may be the date of issue of the certificate. (e) Express declaration that the verification has been carried out in light of the description and claims of the patent, which said document, submitted by the patent owner, shall be authenticated by the Industrial Property Registry. (f) Express declaration that the patent is being worked. (g) Signature of the officer and of the Director of the Unit testifying to the administrative act. 3. If, from the verification of industrial working, it were to occur that not every single one of the claimed elements is being manufactured on national territory, those elements which are being imported and their essentialness in the content of the claims as a whole shall be indicated. The effectiveness of the commercialization may be ascertained from a check of the corresponding accounting books and documents in mercantile use. If such checks were to reveal the importation of elements of the patent or that working does not satisfy national market demand, this shall be stated in the working certificate. Rule 38. Bonds The amount of the bond provided for in Articles 91.3(b) and 95.3(b) of the Law, shall not, in any case, be less than the mediation fee payable for obtaining a contractual licence, or higher than tenfold the amount of the said fee. Rule 39. Lapse through non-working The procedure for lapse through non-working of a patent, provided for in Article 116.4 of the Law, shall adhere to the following guidelines: (a) The proceeding may be commenced ex-officio or at the request of an interested party. (b) The proceeding, as well as the brief petitioning lapse, if any, shall be notified to the licensee and to the patent owner in order, within a two-month term following the date of notification, to file appropriate submissions. This term may be extended by one month. (c) The content of the licence granted under Article 97 of the Law shall be taken into consideration, particularly respecting the scope of the licence and the time of commencing work, in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 5 of the said Article. (d) Once the term referred to in above (b) has elapsed, the Industrial Property Registry shall adopt a decision. The patent cannot be held to lapse if pending licence applications are in existence under Article 94.1 of the Law or if there are other granted compulsory licences with cancellation of the licence on the non-worked patent. Rule 40. 1. Lapse as provided for in Article 116.1(e) of the Law shall be declared following the proceeding lapse, begun either ex-officio or at the instance of an interested party, after hearing the patent owner and within the time limits indicated in the preceding Rule. 2. Such proceeding shall be notified to the patent owner, to enable them, within a two-month term, to submit documents tending to show the circumstances determining a margin for working or degree of greater or lesser working as required by the Law.

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