( b ) Compulsory communication to the Commission

Article 16

1. As soon as an application for a patent or a utility model relating to a specifically  nuclear subject is filed with a Member State, that State shall ask the applicant to  agree that the contents of the application be communicated to the Commission  forthwith.

If the applicant agrees, this communication shall be made within three months of the  date of filing the application. If the applicant does not agree, the Member State shall,  within the same period, notify the Commission of the existence of the application.

The Commission may require a Member State to communicate the contents of an  application of whose existence it has been notified.

The Commission shall make any such request within two months of the date of  notification. Any extension of this period shall entail a corresponding extension of  the period referred to in the sixth subparagraph of this paragraph.

On receiving such a request from the Commission, the Member State shall again ask  the applicant to agree to communication of the contents of the application. If the  applicant agrees, communication shall be made forthwith.

If the applicant does not agree, the Member State shall nevertheless be required to  make this communication to the Commission within 18 months of the date on which  the application was filed.

2. Member States shall inform the Commission, within 18 months of the filing date,  of the existence of any as yet unpublished application for a patent or utility model  which seems to them, prima facie, to deal with a subject which, although not  specifically nuclear, is directly connected with and essential to the development of  nuclear energy in the Community.

If the Commission so requests, the contents of the application shall be communicated  to it within two months.

3. In order that publication may take place as soon as possible, Member States shall  reduce to a minimum the time taken to process applications for patents or utility  models relating to subjects referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 concerning which a  request has been made by the Commission.

4.The Commission shall treat the abovementioned communications as confidential.They may only be made for documentation purposes. The Commission may,  however, make use of the inventions communicated to it, either with the consent of  the applicant or in accordance with Articles 17 to 23.

5. The provisions of this Article shall not apply when an agreement concluded with a  third State or an international organization precludes communication.

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