### Patents Ordinance 《專利條例》

37O. Missing description or missing drawing not filed or withdrawn
(1) If any missing description or missing drawing as defined by section 37N(6) is not filed within the prescribed time under section 37N(1) or (2), any reference to the description or drawing in the specification contained in the standard patent (O) application under section 37L(2)(b) is to be regarded as being deleted.
(2) If a notice of change of the date of filing is issued under section 37N(4), the applicant of the standard patent (O) application may, within 1 month after the date of the notice, withdraw the missing description or missing drawing that has been filed.
(3) On the withdrawal of the description or drawing—
(a) any reference to the description or drawing in the specification contained in the patent application under section 37L(2)(b) is to be regarded as being deleted;
(b) the description or drawing is to be regarded as not having been filed; and
(c) the original date of filing of the patent application accorded in accordance with section 37M(2) is to remain unchanged.

37P. Examination on formal requirements
(1) If a standard patent (O) application has been accorded a date of filing and is not regarded as being withdrawn under section 37L(6), the Registrar must examine the application to ascertain whether the requirements of section 37L and of any rules made for the purposes of that section (formal requirements

### Patents Ordinance 《專利條例》

37Q. Publication of application
(1) If a standard patent (O) application has been accorded a date of filing, and the Registrar is satisfied that the application complies with the formal requirements under section 37P, the Registrar must—
(a) publish the application as filed, together with any subsequent amendment, as soon as practicable on the expiry of the prescribed time, unless the application is withdrawn or refused before preparations for its publication are completed by the Registrar; and
(b) advertise the fact of the publication by notice in the official journal.
(2) The Registrar may publish the application within the prescribed time referred to in subsection (1)(a), if so requested by the applicant.
(3) In publishing the application, the Registrar may omit from the specification contained in the application any matter—
(a) that, in the Registrar’s opinion, disparages any person in a way likely to damage the person; or
(b) the publication or working of which, in the Registrar’s opinion, would—
(i) be contrary to public order (“ordre public”) or morality; or
(ii) be likely to encourage offensive, immoral or anti-social behaviour.
(4) In subsection (1)(a)—
subsequent amendment (其後修訂), for a standard patent (O) application, includes any amendment to the claims in, and any new claim added to, the application as filed, before preparations for publication of the application are completed by the Registrar.

37R. Observations by third parties on patentability of invention
(1) After a standard patent (O) application for an invention has been published, any person may file with the Registrar a written notice of the person’s observations on the patentability of the invention.
(2) The notice must—
(a) set out the observations and the grounds for the observations; and
(b) be filed in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time.
(3) The Registrar must, as soon as practicable after receiving a notice under subsection (1), send a copy of the notice to the applicant.
(4) The Registrar must consider the observations when carrying out a substantive examination of the patent application.
(5) A person does not become a party to any proceedings under this Ordinance only because the person files a notice under subsection (1).

37S. Interpretation of Division 5 of Part 3
In this Division—
examination requirement (審查規定) means a requirement specified in section 37U(3);

unfulfilled requirement (不獲符合的規定), for a standard patent (O) application, means an examination requirement that—
(a) in the Registrar’s opinion, is not complied with by the application; and
(b) is set out in the notice to the applicant under section 37V(2).

### Patents Ordinance 《專利條例》

37T. Request for substantive examination of standard patent (O) application
(1) The applicant of a standard patent (O) application must, in accordance with the rules, request the Registrar to carry out a substantive examination of the application.
(2) The application is to be regarded as being withdrawn if—
(a) no request for substantive examination is made within the prescribed time; or
(b) where a request has been made, the prescribed fee for the examination is not paid within the prescribed time or the grace period provided in the rules.

### Patents Ordinance 《專利條例》

37U. Substantive examination by Registrar
(1) On receiving a request for substantive examination of a standard patent (O) application and the prescribed fee, the Registrar must, by written notice, inform the applicant that the application has entered into the stage of substantive examination.
(2) The Registrar must examine the application to determine whether the application complies with all the requirements specified in subsection (3).
(3) The requirements are—
(a) the invention, which is the subject of the application, is patentable under section 9A;
(b) the specification contained in the application discloses the invention in accordance with section 77;
(c) all the claims contained in the specification comply with the requirements of section 78(1);
(d) the matter disclosed in the specification contained in the application does not extend beyond that disclosed in—
(i) the application as filed; and
(ii) if the application is a specified new application, the earlier standard patent (O) application as filed;
(e) the application is not one of 2 relevant patent applications that—
(i) are filed for the same invention made by the same inventor; and
(ii) have the same material date.
(4) In examining a standard patent (O) application to determine whether the application complies with the requirement specified in subsection (3)(a), the Registrar must have regard to—
(a) if a claim for priority of a previous application has been made in respect of the application under section 37E, whether the applicant is entitled to the priority claimed; and
(b) if a missing description or missing drawing as defined by section 37N(6) has been filed, whether the date of filing of the application remains unchanged.
(5) The Registrar must carry out the examination in accordance with the rules.
(6) In subsection (3)—

relevant patent application (有關專利申請) means—
(a) a patent application which is pending; or
(b) a patent application because of which a patent, being one that is in force, was granted;

specified new application (指明新申請) means—
(a) a new standard patent (O) application made in accordance with an order under section 37J(2);
(b) a new standard patent (O) application referred to in section 37Z; or
(c) a new standard patent (O) application made in accordance with an order under section 55(4).