Patent decision

BL number

O/475/02

Concerning rights in

GB 2317817

Hearing Officer

Mr R C Kennell

Decision date

21 November 2002

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Dyson Limited

Provisions discussed

PA.1977 sections 29, 73(2); PR 1995 rule 43

Keywords

Surrender

Related Decisions

O/281/02

Summary

In the light of further reasons given by the proprietors following his earlier decision to stay, the hearing officer accepted the offer to surrender. A number of factors taken together made it proper to surrender, including: the giving of satisfactory reasons why it was not appropriate to merely decline to defend the revocation action that was before the court; the possibility that the stay might be preventing that action from proceeding; and the lack of opposition to the surrender. The hearing officer considered that he was not prevented by rule 43 from reviewing his earlier decision, and in this drew support from the decision of the comptroller in Camfil AB v Interfilta (UK) Ltd (O/390/02) subsequent to the hearing. Notwithstanding his reference in the earlier decision to Connaught Laboratories Incs Patent [1999] FSR 284 to show the desirability of bringing the offer to surrender before the court hearing the revocation action, the hearing officer did not think the case took away the comptrollers powers of decision under section 29.

No action would be taken to revoke a corresponding European patent under section 73(2) in accordance with the practice in para.73.09 of the Manual of Patent Practice.

Full decision O/475/02 16Kb