Anning, Re Decision of Comptroller-General of Patents

Facts

Mr Bernard Edgar Anning filed a UK patent application on 24 November 2000, which received application no. GB 0028762.3 and was published on 29 May 2002. The preliminary examination report under section 17(2) of the Patents Act 1977 was sent in December 2000 and the search report under section 17(5) of the Patents Act 1977 followed in May 2001, the outstanding formalities being dealt with by his then patent attorneys in June and September 2001. Form 10/77 requesting substantive examination was filed on 27 November 2002. The substantive examination report under section 18(3) of the Patents Act 1977 objected that various claims were anticipated or obvious, and set 21 October 2004 as the date for reply. His attorneys faxed him on 18 October 2004 marking the deadline urgent; no instructions came, because Mr Anning wished the application to be put "on hold" until he could better demonstrate how his invention worked. The Patent Office wrote on 13 April 2005 warning that the application would be treated as refused, and the period for putting the application in order under section 20(1) of the Patents Act 1977 expired on 24 May 2005. His request for reinstatement, made on 22 May 2006, was refused by Mr R C Kennell acting for the Comptroller-General, and Mr Anning appealed.