### Patents Ordinance 《專利條例》

122. Limitation on withdrawal, amendment, etc. of application
No withdrawal of an application under section 121, no divisional application under section 116 nor any amendment under section 120 shall be allowed after the date on which preparations for publication under section 118(2) of the specification of a short-term patent to be granted in pursuance of the application have been completed.

123. Further processing of, and restoration of rights in respect of, short-term patent applications
(1) Sections 28(1) and (2) and 29(1) and (2) apply, subject to necessary modification, to an application for a short-term patent as if a reference in those sections to an application or an applicant for a standard patent (R) and to Part 2 were a reference to an application or an applicant for a short-term patent and to this Part respectively.
(2) Section 28 as applied by subsection (1) does not apply to a short-term patent application that is regarded as being withdrawn under section 113(5).
(3) Section 29 as applied by subsection (1) does not apply in the case of a failure to comply with a time limit under section 110A, 111, 113, 114, 114A, 114B, 115, 116, 120 or 121.
(4) This section, as in force immediately before the commencement date* of the Patents (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 (17 of 2016), continues to apply to a short-term patent application filed with the Registrar before that date. (Added 17 of 2016 s. 115)
(Amended 17 of 2016 s. 115)

124. Registrar may refuse to grant short-term patent
The Registrar may refuse to grant a short-term patent for an invention if he considers that the invention is not a patentable invention by reason of any of the matters specified in section 9A(5), and the Registrar shall give notice of any such refusal to the applicant.
(Amended 17 of 2016 s. 116)

### Patents Ordinance 《專利條例》

127. Restoration of lapsed short-term patents
Sections 40 and 41 shall apply to short-term patents, with necessary modification, as if reference in those sections to a standard patent and to section 39 were a reference to a short-term patent and to section 126 respectively.

127A. Interpretation of Division 5 of Part 15
In this Division—
examination requirement (審查規定) means a requirement specified in section 127C(2);

unfulfilled requirement (不獲符合的規定), for a short-term patent, means an examination requirement that—
(a) in the Registrar’s opinion, is not complied with by the patent; and
(b) is set out in the notice to the proprietor of the patent under section 127D(2).

### Patents Ordinance 《專利條例》

127B. Request for substantive examination of short-term patents
(1) The proprietor of a short-term patent may—
(a) request the Registrar to carry out a substantive examination of the patent; and
(b) subject to section 103(3), file a request to amend the specification of the patent at the same time.
(2) Any other person may also request the Registrar to carry out a substantive examination of the patent if the person satisfies the Registrar that—
(a) there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the invention, which is the subject of the patent—
(i) is not new;
(ii) lacks an inventive step; or
(iii) is not susceptible of industrial application; or
(b) because of the person’s legitimate business interests, it would be reasonable for the examination to be carried out.
(3) A request for substantive examination of a short-term patent must—
(a) be made in the prescribed manner; and
(b) be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(4) No request for substantive examination of a short-term patent may be made if—
(a) a previous request for substantive examination of the patent has been made, and—
(i) the outcome of the substantive examination is still pending; or
(ii) that request has resulted in the issue of a certificate of substantive examination of the patent or in the revocation of the patent; or
(b) the patent has been found by the court to be wholly valid in any proceedings in which the validity of the patent is contested.
(5) A request for substantive examination of a short-term patent may not be withdrawn.

### Patents Ordinance 《專利條例》

127C. Substantive examination by Registrar
(1) On receiving a request for substantive examination of a short-term patent, the Registrar must examine the patent and consider any requested amendment filed under section 127B(1)(b) to determine whether the patent, together with the amendment (if allowed), complies with all the requirements specified in subsection (2).
(2) The requirements are—
(a) the invention, which is the subject of the patent, is patentable under section 9A;
(b) the specification of the patent discloses the invention in accordance with section 77;
(c) the specification provides for not more than 2 independent claims, as required under section 113(1A)(b)(ii);
(d) all the claims contained in the specification comply with the requirements of section 78(1);
(e) the matter disclosed in the specification of the patent does not extend beyond that disclosed in—
(i) the patent application as filed; and
(ii) if the patent was granted because of a specified new application, the earlier short-term patent application as filed;
(f) the protection conferred by the patent has not been extended by an amendment to its specification;
(g) the patent is not one of 2 patents that—
(i) are granted for the same invention made by the same inventor; and
(ii) have the same material date.
(3) In examining a short-term patent to determine whether the patent complies with the requirement specified in subsection (2)(a), the Registrar must have regard to—
(a) if a claim for priority of a previous application has been made in respect of the patent application under section 111, whether the applicant is entitled to the priority claimed; and
(b) if a missing description or missing drawing as defined by section 114A(6) has been filed, whether the date of filing of the patent application remains unchanged.
(4) The Registrar must carry out the examination in accordance with the rules.
(5) In subsection (2)(e)(ii)—

specified new application (指明新申請) means—
(a) a new short-term patent application made in accordance with an order under section 55(4); or
(b) a new short-term patent application referred to in section 116.