812 No. 40 of 2016] Patents (2) The exclusion from protection, referred to in subsection (1), shall not have effect with respect to any pending application for the grant of a patent or with respect to a patent in force at the date of the coming into force of the statutory instrument issued by the Minister in terms of subsection (1). Persons entitled to apply for grant of patent Application by joint inventors Naming of inventor Filing of patent application PART IV PROCESS FOR OBTAINING A PATENT 23. An application for grant of a patent, may be filed by— (a) a person claiming to be an inventor, (b) an assignee of the person claiming to be an inventor; (c) a legal representative of an inventor or assignee; (d) two or more persons who claim to be the inventors, as specified in section twenty four; or (e) a successor in title to an inventor or assignee. 24. (1) An application for a grant of a patent may be made by two or more persons who have jointly made an invention. (2) An application referred to in subsection (1) shall be made notwithstanding that— (a) the inventors did not physically work together when coming up with the invention; or (b) the inventors did not make equal contribution to the creation of the invention. 25. (1) A person who creates an invention has the right to be named in an application for the grant of a patent as an inventor notwithstanding the fact that the inventor has assigned or transferred the rights to an invention to another person. (2) Despite subsection (1), the inventor may notify the Registrar in writing that the inventor wishes not to be named in the application for the grant of a patent. 26. (1) An application for the grant of a patent shall be filed at the Agency, in the prescribed form and manner, accompanied by a prescribed fee. (2) An application for the grant of a patent for an invention created jointly by two or more inventors may be filed by one or more than one inventor. (3) Where one or more of the inventors, who jointly created an invention cannot be found or reached for purposes of filing the Registrar may, on being satisfied, allow an application to be made with the inclusion of the name or names of the missing inventor or inventors.