Can we rely on the Internet as searching facility for patent applications ?
Does the information available at the Internet constitute a bar against granting a patent ?
Is publication in the Internet considered as publication as stipulated in the various Patent Laws ?
There is one major question which will affect the patentability of inventions in so many countries including Egypt.
In order for an invention to be patentable it must be new and no patent may be granted if the invention was known or publicly used by any party, or patented or described in a printed publication any country of the world.
It is quite easy now for any patent searching authority to get access to any other patent searching authority. In other words, the Egyptian Patent Office can get access to the US patent & trade mark office and effect a search in the records of the US Patent Office. In most cases, the Egyptian Patent Office locates some relevant or even identical patents.
Is this kind of searching appropriate from the point of view of patent examination?. In this case there is no need for any local or national patent office and it is quite enough for any national Patent Office to get access to the Internet and resume its searching function through the Internet.
If it is feasible to adopt the Internet as patent searching facility, what is the effect of the result of such search as bar against any pending local application?. In other words, can the respective patent office reject patent application based on the result obtained from the Internet?.
In USA , can the US Patent Office reject patent application based on information and data obtained and available at the Internet?. Can a Japanese data available at the internet be considered as a publication?, taking into consideration that it is published in a language other than English.
Comments of experts from different parts of the world would be recommended to discuss this issue from the various points of view.
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