(1) Where a patent application has been refused upon failure to comply with a time limit set by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, the decision becomes ineffective without the need for its express setting aside if the applicant requests further processing of the application and completes the omitted act.
(2) The request is to be filed within one month after service of the decision to refuse the patent application. The omitted act is to be completed within this period.
(3) Re-establishment of rights is ruled out in respect of non-observance of the period under subsection (2) and the period for payment of the further processing fee under section 6 (1) sentence 1 of the Patent Costs Act.
(4) The authority competent to decide on the completed act decides on the request.