Patents [No. 40 of 2016 803 “letters patent” means an instrument that grants the exclusive rights of an invention to an individual or a corporation; “licensee” means a person who has been permitted by a patentee to exploit the patented article, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in a licence contract; “National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research” means the National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research established by the establishment of National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research Regulations, 1998; S. I No. 73 of 1998 “national phase” means the period before the expiry of thirtyone months from the priority date when the applicant submits an application for the grant of a patent as provided for in section sixty-four; “non-commercial purposes” means any activity carried out for non-profit purposes; “novelty” means the newness of an invention both in form and function or performance; “officer” means an employee of the Agency; “Paris Convention” means the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property signed at Paris on March 20, 1883; “patent” means the letters patent granted for an invention which meets the requirements specified in section fifteen; “patentable” means meeting the requirements specified in of section fifteen (1) and being eligible for protection as a patent as provided in that section, and the word “patentability” shall be construed accordingly; “patented article” means an article in respect of which a patent has been granted, in accordance with section fifteen, and which is in force; “patentee” means a person who is entered in the Register as the holder of a patent, and includes a successor in title; “patent agent” means a person who is registered as a patent agent in accordance with section one hundred and fifteen; “Patent Cooperation Treaty” means the treaty signed at Washington on June 19, 1970; “practitioner” has the meaning assigned to it in the Legal Practitioners Act; Cap. 30