The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Rules have been amended to allow Member States acting as a Receiving Office or as a Designated Office to provide restoration of a priority claim up to two months beyond the 12 month Paris Convention deadline for international patent applications filed on or after 1 April 2007.
Under the amended rules two grounds are available for filing of requests for restoration of priority i.e. that the international application was not filed within the 12 month convention period either in spite of “due care” required by the circumstances having been taken, or that the failure to file in time was “unintentional”.
IPONZ has advised that it will only allow restorations of priority on the condition of “due care” having been exercised. That is IPONZ will not allow the priority to be restored under the ground of “unintentional” failure to file. In applying the “due care” requirement, the provisions of section 93A of the Patents Act 1953 will apply.