Patents [No. 40 of 2016 21. (1) An invention relating to a micro-biological process or product, which involves the use of a micro-organism which is not available to the public and which cannot be described in the application for a grant of a patent in such a manner as to enable the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the art, shall not be patented unless— 811 Patentability of microbiological process or product (a) a culture of the micro-organism has been deposited with the depository institution, in accordance with the Budapest Treaty by the date of filing of the application for the grant of a patent; (b) the applicant has furnished the Agency, in a prescribed manner, with information on the characteristic of the micro-organism; and (c) the applicant has furnished the Agency with the name of the depository institution and the file number of the culture deposited. (2) The information referred to in subsection (l) shall be submitted by the applicant to the Agency within a prescribed period after the date of filing of the application for the grant of a patent or, if priority is claimed, after the priority date. (3) The culture of a micro-organism and any information deposited with the depository institution shall be open to inspection on request by a person having the right to inspect the culture and information. (4) Where a micro-organism, deposited in accordance with subsection (1), is not, for any reason, available at the depository institution where it was deposited, a fresh deposit of the same microorganism shall be made, by the depositor, accompanied with a signed declaration stating that a fresh deposit of the microorganism has been made and is of the same kind as the one contained in the original deposit. (5) An interruption in the availability of a micro-organism shall not be considered to have occurred if a fresh deposit, referred to in subsection (4), is made within a period not exceeding three months from the date the depositor is notified of the interruption by the depository institution. 22. (1) The Minister may, in consultation with the Agency, by statutory instrument, exclude some inventions, which the Agency considers harmful or offensive to the public, from protection, as a patent, for a period not exceeding two years. Temporary exclusion from patent protection