Effect of registration, etc., on rights in patents

(1) Any person who claims to have acquired the property in a patent or application for a patent by virtue of any transaction to which this section applies shall be entitled as against any other person who claims to have acquired that property by virtue of an earlier transaction to which this section applies if, at the time of the later transaction– (a) the earlier transaction was not registered; (b) in the case of any application, notice of the earlier transaction had not been given to the Registrar; and (c) in any case, the person claiming under the later transaction did not know of the earlier (2) Sub-section (1) of this section, shall apply equally to the case where any person claims to have acquired any right in or under a patent or application for a patent by virtue of a transaction to which this section applies, and that right is incompatible with any such right acquired by virtue of an earlier transaction to which this section applies. (3) This section applies to the following transactions– (a) the assignment of a patent or application for a patent or a right in it; 26 (b) the mortgage of a patent or application or the granting of security over it; (c) the grant, assignment of a licence or sub- licence, or mortgage of a licence or sub- licence, under a patent or application; (d) the death of the owner or one of the owners of any such patent or application or of any person having a right in a patent or application and the vesting, of any such right, by an assent of the personal representative of the applicant or owner of a patent; and (e) any order or directions of a Court or other competent authority– (i) transferring a patent or application or any right in or under it to any person; or (ii) that an application should proceed in the name of any person, and in either case the event by virtue of which the Court or authority had power to make any such order or give any such directions. (4) Where an application for the registration of a transaction has been made, but the transaction has not been registered, registration of the application shall, for the purposes of sub- section (1)(a) of this section, be treated as registration of the (5) For purposes of this section, “transaction” includes an instrument and an event. 27 Property in Patent Application and Patents