UK Patent Act Amendments Effective January 1, 2005

The Patents Act 2004 makes significant changes to the UK's main statute on patents – the Patents Act 1977. The 2004 Act received Royal Assent on 22 July 2004, although none of its provisions came into force on that date.
Instead, the provisions are brought into force by commencement orders, of which there have now been two. Click here for the summary and here for the details.

Commencement Order No.1 brought some minor provisions into force on 22 September 2004. Commencement Order No.2 brings some of the major provisions of the 2004 Act into force on 1 January 2005. Further details on commencement are now available.