Where a response to a report is received close to the expiry of the period for examination, similar procedures apply as for standard patent applications when responses are received close to the expiry of the period for acceptance (see 2.13.2.3 Lapsing at Further Report).

Where the time for examination expires on a day that the Office is not open for business, the examination process can be completed on the next day that the Office is open for business (in the same way as for the time for acceptance, see 2.15.6 Time for Acceptance).

Where a response to an examination report is received in the Office after the final date for certification (FDC), the case file should not be forwarded to the relevant examination section. However, where an examiner does receive such a file, COG should be notified, who will in turn advise the patentee of the status of the patent.

Non-Receipt of Report

If a report is issued but is not received by the patentee, then there may be grounds for an extension of time under sec 223 to the period for examination. Similar considerations apply as for standard patents (see 2.2.4.2 Delayed or Non-Receipt of the Report by the Applicant or Attorney).

Extending the Period for Examination

In certain circumstances, the period for examination may be extended as follows:

where a "whole of contents" novelty citation is not yet published, by the period set out in reg 13.4(1)(d);
in the case where an appeal has been made to a prescribed court in relation to the patent, 3 months from the date that the appeal is withdrawn or finally dealt with or determined (note that the court may substitute a period greater than 3 months);
where the Commissioner requests a basic specification and/or its translation, 5 months from the date of the request (note that for translations filed before or on 25 September 2019, a certificate of verification for the translation is also required);
where an adverse report raises a novelty or innovative step objection based on information in a sec 28 notice, 3 months from the date of the report in which that objection was first raised.

In these situations, the procedures to be followed are similar to those for standard patent applications (see 2.15.7 Extending the Time for Acceptance). Thus, where examiners consider that the period for examination will be extended, they should first consult Patent Oppositions. If Patent Oppositions are in agreement, examiners must update the FDC in PAMS prior to creating the examination report in DocGen (see 5.5.3.4 Exam Details). A case note should be added to the file, indicating that the FDC has changed as a result of particular circumstances, for example a request by the Commissioner for the patentee to provide a copy of a basic specification.

Warning: The FDC should only be changed when it is appropriate to do so. Examiners should consult Patent Oppositions before changing the FDC in PAMS.

The examination report should indicate that the FDC is a later date (see Example – Request for Basic Specification below).

Example – Request for Basic Specification

A request by the Commissioner for a copy of a basic specification during examination may in some circumstances extend the period for certification by up to 5 months. In general, a patentee has 3 months from the date of the request in which to provide the documents (reg 3.14D(2)). However, where the period ending 5 months from the date of a report that first requests the patentee to provide a basic specification extends beyond the FDC that otherwise applies (generally 6 months from the date of the first report), the FDC will be the later date, i.e. 5 months from the date of the report which first mentions the objection (reg 9A.4(d)). This later date is to be specified in the report as being the final date to remove all grounds of revocation by including an additional comment in the introductory paragraph as follows:

"The provisions of regulation 9A.4(d) provide that the final date to remove all grounds of revocation is now 5 months from the date of this report.”