Regulations Under the PCT

Regulations Under the PCT
(as in force from January 1, 2003)

World Intellectual Property Organization
GENEVA 2003

Regulations Under the PCT

Regulations*
Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty
(as in force from January 1, 2003)
TABLE OF CONTENTS**
Part A: Introductory Rules
Rule 1
Abbreviated Expressions
1.1
Meaning of Abbreviated Expressions
Rule 2
Interpretation of Certain Words
2.1
“Applicant”
2.2
“Agent”
2.2bis
“Common Representative”
2.3
“Signature”
Part B: Rules Concerning Chapter I of the Treaty
Rule 3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
Rule 4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4

The Request (Form)
Form of Request
Availability of Forms
Check List
Particulars
The Request (Contents)
Mandatory and Optional Contents; Signature
The Petition
Title of the Invention
Names and Addresses

*
Adopted on June 19, 1970, and amended on April 14, 1978, October 3, 1978,
May 1, 1979, June 16, 1980, September 26, 1980, July 3, 1981, September 10, 1982,
October 4, 1983, February 3, 1984, September 28, 1984, October 1, 1985,
July 12, 1991, October 2, 1991, September 29, 1992, September 29, 1993,
October 3, 1995, October 1, 1997, September 15, 1998, September 29, 1999,
March 17, 2000, October 3, 2000, October 3, 2001 and October 1, 2002.
** Table of Contents added for the convenience of the reader; it does not appear
in the original.

2

Regulations Under the PCT
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13

The Applicant
The Inventor
The Agent
Common Representative
Designation of States
Priority Claim
Reference to Earlier Search
Choice of Certain Kinds of Protection
Identification of Parent Application or Parent
Grant
4.14
Continuation or Continuation-in-Part
4.14bis Choice of International Searching Authority
4.15
Signature
4.16
Transliteration or Translation of Certain Words
4.17
Declarations Relating to National Requirements
Referred to in Rule 51bis.1(a)(i) to (v)
4.18
Additional Matter
Rule 5
The Description
5.1
Manner of the Description
5.2
Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence
Disclosure
Rule 6
The Claims
6.1
Number and Numbering of Claims
6.2
References to Other Parts of the International
Application
6.3
Manner of Claiming
6.4
Dependent Claims
6.5
Utility Models
Rule 7
The Drawings
7.1
Flow Sheets and Diagrams
7.2
Time Limit
Rule 8
The Abstract
8.1
Contents and Form of the Abstract
8.2
Figure
8.3
Guiding Principles in Drafting

3

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 9
9.1
9.2
9.3
Rule 10
10.1
10.2
Rule 11
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
11.8
11.9
11.10
11.11
11.12
11.13
11.14
Rule 12

12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
Rule 13
13.1
4

Expressions, Etc., Not to Be Used
Definition
Noting of Lack of Compliance
Reference to Article 21(6)
Terminology and Signs
Terminology and Signs
Consistency
Physical Requirements of the International
Application
Number of Copies
Fitness for Reproduction
Material to Be Used
Separate Sheets, Etc.
Size of Sheets
Margins
Numbering of Sheets
Numbering of Lines
Writing of Text Matter
Drawings, Formulae, and Tables, in Text Matter
Words in Drawings
Alterations, Etc.
Special Requirements for Drawings
Later Documents
Language of the International Application and
Translation for the Purposes of International
Search and International Publication
Languages Accepted for the Filing of
International Applications
Language of Changes in the International
Application
Translation for the Purposes of International
Search
Translation for the Purposes of International
Publication
Unity of Invention
Requirement

Regulations Under the PCT
13.2
13.3
13.4
13.5
Rule 13bis
13bis.1
13bis.2
13bis.3
13bis.4
13bis.5

13bis.6
13bis.7
Rule 13ter
13ter.1
13ter.2
Rule 14
14.1
Rule 15
15.1
15.2
15.3
15.4
15.5
15.6
Rule 16
16.1
16.2

Circumstances in Which the Requirement of
Unity of Invention Is to Be Considered Fulfilled
Determination of Unity of Invention Not
Affected by Manner of Claiming
Dependent Claims
Utility Models
Inventions Relating to Biological Material
Definition
References (General)
References: Contents; Failure to Include
Reference or Indication
References: Time Limit for Furnishing
Indications
References and Indications for the Purposes of
One or More Designated States; Different
Deposits for Different Designated States;
Deposits with Depositary Institutions Other than
Those Notified
Furnishing of Samples
National Requirements: Notification and
Publication
Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listings
Sequence Listing for International Authorities
Sequence Listing for Designated Office
The Transmittal Fee
The Transmittal Fee
The International Fee
Basic Fee and Designation Fee
Amounts
[Deleted]
Time Limit for Payment; Amount Payable
Fees Under Rule 4.9(c)
Refund
The Search Fee
Right to Ask for a Fee
Refund
5

Regulations Under the PCT
16.3
Partial Refund
Rule 16bis Extension of Time Limits for Payment of Fees
16bis.1 Invitation by the Receiving Office
16bis.2 Late Payment Fee
Rule 17
The Priority Document
17.1
Obligation to Submit Copy of Earlier National
or International Application
17.2
Availability of Copies
Rule 18
The Applicant
18.1
Residence and Nationality
18.2
[Deleted]
18.3
Two or More Applicants
18.4
Information on Requirements Under National
Law as to Applicants
Rule 19
The Competent Receiving Office
19.1
Where to File
19.2
Two or More Applicants
19.3
Publication of Fact of Delegation of Duties of
Receiving Office
19.4
Transmittal to the International Bureau as
Receiving Office
Rule 20
Receipt of the International Application
20.1
Date and Number
20.2
Receipt on Different Days
20.3
Corrected International Application
20.4
Determination Under Article 11(1)
20.5
Positive Determination
20.6
Invitation to Correct
20.7
Negative Determination
20.8
Error by the Receiving Office
20.9
Certified Copy for the Applicant
Rule 21
Preparation of Copies
21.1
Responsibility of the Receiving Office
Rule 22
Transmittal of the Record Copy and Translation
22.1
Procedure
6

Regulations Under the PCT
22.2
22.3
Rule 23
23.1
Rule 24
24.1
24.2
Rule 25
25.1
Rule 26

26.1
26.2
26.3
26.3bis
26.3ter
26.4
26.5
26.6
Rule 26bis
26bis.1
26bis.2
Rule 26ter
26ter.1
26ter.2
Rule 27
27.1

[Deleted]
Time Limit Under Article 12(3)
Transmittal of the Search Copy, Translation and
Sequence Listing
Procedure
Receipt of the Record Copy by the International
Bureau
[Deleted]
Notification of Receipt of the Record Copy
Receipt of the Search Copy by the International
Searching Authority
Notification of Receipt of the Search Copy
Checking by, and Correcting Before, the Receiving
Office of Certain Elements of the International
Application
Time Limit for Check
Time Limit for Correction
Checking of Physical Requirements Under
Article 14(1)(a)(v)
Invitation Under Article 14(1)(b) to Correct
Defects Under Rule 11
Invitation to Correct Defects Under
Article 3(4)(i)
Procedure
Decision of the Receiving Office
Missing Drawings
Correction or Addition of Priority Claim
Correction or Addition of Priority Claim
Invitation to Correct Defects in Priority Claims
Correction or Addition of Declarations Under
Rule 4.17
Correction or Addition of Declarations
Processing of Declarations
Lack of Payment of Fees
Fees
7

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 28
28.1
Rule 29
29.1
29.2
29.3
29.4
Rule 30
30.1
Rule 31
31.1
31.2
Rule 32
32.1
32.2
Rule 33
33.1
33.2
33.3
Rule 34
34.1
Rule 35
35.1
35.2
35.3

8

Defects Noted by the International Bureau
Note on Certain Defects
International Applications or Designations
Considered Withdrawn
Finding by Receiving Office
[Deleted]
Calling Certain Facts to the Attention of the
Receiving Office
Notification of Intent to Make Declaration
Under Article 14(4)
Time Limit Under Article 14(4)
Time Limit
Copies Required Under Article 13
Request for Copies
Preparation of Copies
Extension of Effects of International Application to
Certain Successor States
Request for Extension of International
Application to Successor State
Effects of Extension to Successor State
Relevant Prior Art for the International Search
Relevant Prior Art for the International Search
Fields to Be Covered by the International Search
Orientation of the International Search
Minimum Documentation
Definition
The Competent International Searching Authority
When Only One International Searching
Authority Is Competent
When Several International Searching
Authorities Are Competent
When the International Bureau Is Receiving
Office Under Rule 19.1(a)(iii)

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 36

Rule

Rule

Rule
Rule

Rule
Rule
Rule

Rule

36.1
37
37.1
37.2
38
38.1
38.2
39
39.1
40
40.1
40.2
40.3
41
41.1
42
42.1
43
43.1
43.2
43.3
43.4
43.5
43.6
43.7
43.8
43.9
43.10
44
44.1
44.2
44.3

Minimum Requirements for International
Searching Authorities
Definition of Minimum Requirements
Missing or Defective Title
Lack of Title
Establishment of Title
Missing or Defective Abstract
Lack of Abstract
Establishment of Abstract
Subject Matter Under Article 17(2)(a)(i)
Definition
Lack of Unity of Invention (International Search)
Invitation to Pay
Additional Fees
Time Limit
Earlier Search Other than International Search
Obligation to Use Results; Refund of Fee
Time Limit for International Search
Time Limit for International Search
The International Search Report
Identifications
Dates
Classification
Language
Citations
Fields Searched
Remarks Concerning Unity of Invention
Authorized Officer
Additional Matter
Form
Transmittal of the International Search Report, Etc.
Copies of Report or Declaration
Title or Abstract
Copies of Cited Documents

9

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 45
45.1
Rule 46
46.1
46.2
46.3
46.4
46.5
Rule 47
47.1
47.2
47.3
47.4
Rule 48
48.1
48.2
48.3
48.4
48.5
48.6
Rule 49
49.1
49.2
49.3
49.4
49.5
49.6
Rule 50
50.1

10

Translation of the International Search Report
Languages
Amendment of Claims Before the International
Bureau
Time Limit
Where to File
Language of Amendments
Statement
Form of Amendments
Communication to Designated Offices
Procedure
Copies
Languages
Express Request Under Article 23(2)
International Publication
Form
Contents
Languages of Publication
Earlier Publication on the Applicant’s Request
Notification of National Publication
Announcing of Certain Facts
Copy, Translation and Fee Under Article 22
Notification
Languages
Statements Under Article 19; Indications Under
Rule 13bis.4
Use of National Form
Contents of and Physical Requirements for the
Translation
Reinstatement of Rights After Failure to
Perform the Acts Referred to in Article 22
Faculty Under Article 22(3)
Exercise of Faculty

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 51
51.1

Review by Designated Offices
Time Limit for Presenting the Request to Send
Copies
51.2
Copy of the Notice
51.3
Time Limit for Paying National Fee and
Furnishing Translation
Rule 51bis Certain National Requirements Allowed Under
Article 27
51bis.1 Certain National Requirements Allowed
51bis.2 Certain Circumstances in Which Documents or
Evidence May Not Be Required
51bis.3 Opportunity to Comply with National
Requirements
Rule 52
Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the
Drawings Before Designated Offices
52.1
Time Limit
Part C: Rules Concerning Chapter II of the Treaty
Rule 53
53.1
53.2
53.3
53.4
53.5
53.6
53.7
53.8
53.9
Rule 54
54.1
54.2
54.3
54.4

The Demand
Form
Contents
The Petition
The Applicant
Agent or Common Representative
Identification of the International Application
Election of States
Signature
Statement Concerning Amendments
The Applicant Entitled to Make a Demand
Residence and Nationality
Right to Make a Demand
International Applications Filed with the
International Bureau as Receiving Office
Applicant Not Entitled to Make a Demand

11

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 55

Languages (International Preliminary
Examination)
55.1
Language of Demand
55.2
Translation of International Application
55.3
Translation of Amendments
Rule 56
Later Elections
56.1
Elections Submitted Later than the Demand
56.2
Identification of the International Application
56.3
Identification of the Demand
56.4
Form of Later Elections
56.5
Language of Later Elections
Rule 57
The Handling Fee
57.1
Requirement to Pay
57.2
Amount
57.3
Time Limit for Payment; Amount Payable
57.4
[Deleted]
57.5
[Deleted]
57.6
Refund
Rule 58
The Preliminary Examination Fee
58.1
Right to Ask for a Fee
58.2
[Deleted]
58.3
Refund
Rule 58bis Extension of Time Limits for Payment of Fees
58bis.1 Invitation by the International Preliminary
Examining Authority
58bis.2 Late Payment Fee
Rule 59
The Competent International Preliminary
Examining Authority
59.1
Demands Under Article 31(2)(a)
59.2
Demands Under Article 31(2)(b)
59.3
Transmittal of Demand to the Competent
International Preliminary Examining Authority
Rule 60
Certain Defects in the Demand or Elections
60.1
Defects in the Demand
60.2
Defects in Later Elections

12

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 61
61.1

Rule

Rule

Rule

Rule

Rule

Notification of the Demand and Elections
Notification to the International Bureau and the
Applicant
61.2
Notification to the Elected Offices
61.3
Information for the Applicant
61.4
Publication in the Gazette
62
Copy of Amendments Under Article 19 for the
International Preliminary Examining Authority
62.1
Amendments Made Before the Demand Is Filed
62.2
Amendments Made After the Demand Is Filed
63
Minimum Requirements for International
Preliminary Examining Authorities
63.1
Definition of Minimum Requirements
64
Prior Art for International Preliminary
Examination
64.1
Prior Art
64.2
Non-Written Disclosures
64.3
Certain Published Documents
65
Inventive Step or Non-Obviousness
65.1
Approach to Prior Art
65.2
Relevant Date
66
Procedure Before the International Preliminary
Examining Authority
66.1
Basis of the International Preliminary
Examination
66.2
First Written Opinion of the International
Preliminary Examining Authority
66.3
Formal Response to the International
Preliminary Examining Authority
66.4
Additional Opportunity for Submitting
Amendments or Arguments
66.4bis Consideration of Amendments and Arguments
66.5
Amendment
66.6
Informal Communications with the Applicant

13

Regulations Under the PCT
66.7
66.8
66.9
Rule 67
67.1
Rule 68
68.1
68.2
68.3
68.4
68.5
Rule 69
69.1
69.2
Rule 70
70.1
70.2
70.3
70.4
70.5
70.6
70.7
70.8
70.9
70.10
70.11
70.12
70.13
70.14
70.15
70.16
70.17
14

Priority Document
Form of Amendments
Language of Amendments
Subject Matter Under Article 34(4)(a)(i)
Definition
Lack of Unity of Invention (International
Preliminary Examination)
No Invitation to Restrict or Pay
Invitation to Restrict or Pay
Additional Fees
Procedure in the Case of Insufficient Restriction
of the Claims
Main Invention
Start of and Time Limit for International
Preliminary Examination
Start of International Preliminary Examination
Time Limit for International Preliminary
Examination
The International Preliminary Examination Report
Definition
Basis of the Report
Identifications
Dates
Classification
Statement Under Article 35(2)
Citations Under Article 35(2)
Explanations Under Article 35(2)
Non-Written Disclosures
Certain Published Documents
Mention of Amendments
Mention of Certain Defects and Other Matters
Remarks Concerning Unity of Invention
Authorized Officer
Form
Annexes to the Report
Languages of the Report and the Annexes

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 71
71.1
71.2
Rule 72
72.1
72.2
72.3
Rule 73
73.1
73.2
Rule 74

74.1
Rule 75
Rule 76
76.1
76.2
76.3
76.4
76.5
76.6
Rule 77
77.1
Rule 78
78.1
78.2
78.3

Transmittal of the International Preliminary
Examination Report
Recipients
Copies of Cited Documents
Translation of the International Preliminary
Examination Report
Languages
Copy of Translation for the Applicant
Observations on the Translation
Communication of the International Preliminary
Examination Report
Preparation of Copies
Time Limit for Communication
Translations of Annexes of the International
Preliminary Examination Report and Transmittal
Thereof
Contents of Translation and Time Limit for
Transmittal Thereof
[Deleted]
Copy, Translation and Fee Under Article 39(1);
Translation of Priority Document
[Deleted]
[Deleted]
[Deleted]
Time Limit for Translation of Priority Document
Application of Rules 22.1(g), 49 and 51bis
Transitional Provision
Faculty Under Article 39(1)(b)
Exercise of Faculty
Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the
Drawings, Before Elected Offices
Time Limit Where Election Is Effected Prior to
Expiration of 19 Months from Priority Date
Time Limit Where Election Is Effected After
Expiration of 19 Months from Priority Date
Utility Models
15

Regulations Under the PCT
Part D: Rules Concerning Chapter III of the Treaty
Rule 79
79.1
Rule 80
80.1
80.2
80.3
80.4
80.5
80.6
80.7
Rule 81
81.1
81.2
81.3
Rule 82
82.1
82.2
Rule 82bis
82bis.1
82bis.2
Rule 82ter
82ter.1
Rule 83
83.1
83.1bis
83.2

16

Calendar
Expressing Dates
Computation of Time Limits
Periods Expressed in Years
Periods Expressed in Months
Periods Expressed in Days
Local Dates
Expiration on a Non-Working Day
Date of Documents
End of Working Day
Modification of Time Limits Fixed in the Treaty
Proposal
Decision by the Assembly
Voting by Correspondence
Irregularities in the Mail Service
Delay or Loss in Mail
Interruption in the Mail Service
Excuse by the Designated or Elected State of
Delays in Meeting Certain Time Limits
Meaning of “Time Limit” in Article 48(2)
Reinstatement of Rights and Other Provisions to
Which Article 48(2) Applies
Rectification of Errors Made by the Receiving
Office or by the International Bureau
Errors Concerning the International Filing Date
and the Priority Claim
Right to Practice Before International Authorities
Proof of Right
Where the International Bureau Is the Receiving
Office
Information

Regulations Under the PCT
Part E: Rules Concerning Chapter V of the Treaty
Rule 84
84.1
Rule 85
85.1
Rule 86
86.1
86.2
86.3
86.4
86.5
86.6
Rule 87
87.1
87.2
Rule 88
88.1
88.2
88.3
88.4
Rule 89
89.1
89.2
89.3

Expenses of Delegations
Expenses Borne by Governments
Absence of Quorum in the Assembly
Voting by Correspondence
The Gazette
Contents and Form
Languages; Access to the Gazette
Frequency
Sale
Title
Further Details
Copies of Publications
International Searching and Preliminary
Examining Authorities
National Offices
Amendment of the Regulations
Requirement of Unanimity
[Deleted]
Requirement of Absence of Opposition by
Certain States
Procedure
Administrative Instructions
Scope
Source
Publication and Entry into Force

Part F: Rules Concerning Several Chapters of the Treaty
Rule 89bis

Filing, Processing and Transmission of
International Applications and Other Documents in
Electronic Form or by Electronic Means
89bis.1 International Applications
89bis.2 Other Documents
89bis.3 Transmittal Between Offices

17

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 89ter
89ter.1
Rule 90
90.1
90.2
90.3
90.4
90.5
90.6
Rule 90bis
90bis.1
90bis.2
90bis.3
90bis.4
90bis.5
90bis.6
90bis.7
Rule 91
91.1
Rule 92
92.1
92.2
92.3
92.4
Rule 92bis
92bis.1

18

Copies in Electronic Form of Documents Filed on
Paper
Copies in Electronic Form of Documents Filed
on Paper
Agents and Common Representatives
Appointment as Agent
Common Representative
Effects of Acts by or in Relation to Agents and
Common Representatives
Manner of Appointment of Agent or Common
Representative
General Power of Attorney
Revocation and Renunciation
Withdrawals
Withdrawal of the International Application
Withdrawal of Designations
Withdrawal of Priority Claims
Withdrawal of the Demand, or of Elections
Signature
Effect of Withdrawal
Faculty Under Article 37(4)(b)
Obvious Errors in Documents
Rectification
Correspondence
Need for Letter and for Signature
Languages
Mailings by National Offices and
Intergovernmental Organizations
Use of Telegraph, Teleprinter, Facsimile
Machine, Etc.
Recording of Changes in Certain Indications in the
Request or the Demand
Recording of Changes by the International
Bureau

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 93
93.1
93.2
93.3
93.4
Rule 94
94.1
94.2
94.3
Rule 95
95.1
Rule 96
96.1

Keeping of Records and Files
The Receiving Office
The International Bureau
The International Searching and Preliminary
Examining Authorities
Reproductions
Access to Files
Access to the File Held by the International
Bureau
Access to the File Held by the International
Preliminary Examining Authority
Access to the File Held by the Elected Office
Availability of Translations
Furnishing of Copies of Translations
The Schedule of Fees
Schedule of Fees Annexed to Regulations

Schedule of Fees

19

Regulations Under the PCT
PART A
INTRODUCTORY RULES
Rule 1
Abbreviated Expressions
1.1 Meaning of Abbreviated Expressions
(a) In these Regulations, the word “Treaty” means the Patent
Cooperation Treaty.
(b) In these Regulations, the words “Chapter” and “Article” refer to
the specified Chapter or Article of the Treaty.
Rule 2
Interpretation of Certain Words
2.1 “Applicant”
Whenever the word “applicant” is used, it shall be construed as
meaning also the agent or other representative of the applicant, except
where the contrary clearly follows from the wording or the nature of the
provision, or the context in which the word is used, such as, in particular,
where the provision refers to the residence or nationality of the applicant.
2.2 “Agent”
Whenever the word “agent” is used, it shall be construed as meaning
an agent appointed under Rule 90.1, unless the contrary clearly follows
from the wording or the nature of the provision, or the context in which
the word is used.
2.2bis “Common Representative”
Whenever the expression “common representative” is used, it shall
be construed as meaning an applicant appointed as, or considered to be,
the common representative under Rule 90.2.
2.3 “Signature”
Whenever the word “signature” is used, it shall be understood that, if
the national law applied by the receiving Office or the competent
International Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority requires the
20

Regulations Under the PCT
use of a seal instead of a signature, the word, for the purposes of that
Office or Authority, shall mean seal.
PART B
RULES CONCERNING CHAPTER I OF THE TREATY
Rule 3
The Request (Form)
3.1 Form of Request
The request shall be made on a printed form or be presented as a
computer print-out.
3.2 Availability of Forms
Copies of the printed form shall be furnished free of charge to the
applicants by the receiving Office, or, if the receiving Office so desires,
by the International Bureau.
3.3 Check List
(a) The request shall contain a list indicating:
(i) the total number of sheets constituting the international
application and the number of the sheets of each element of the international
application: request, description (separately indicating the number of sheets
of any sequence listing part of the description), claims, drawings, abstract;
(ii) where applicable, that the international application as filed
is accompanied by a power of attorney (i.e., a document appointing an
agent or a common representative), a copy of a general power of attorney,
a priority document, a sequence listing in computer readable form, a
document relating to the payment of fees, or any other document (to be
specified in the check list);
(iii) the number of that figure of the drawings which the applicant
suggests should accompany the abstract when the abstract is published; in
exceptional cases, the applicant may suggest more than one figure.
(b) The list shall be completed by the applicant, failing which the
receiving Office shall make the necessary indications, except that the
21

Regulations Under the PCT
number referred to in paragraph (a)(iii) shall not be indicated by the
receiving Office.
3.4 Particulars
Subject to Rule 3.3, particulars of the printed request form and of a
request presented as a computer print-out shall be prescribed by the
Administrative Instructions.
Rule 4
The Request (Contents)
4.1 Mandatory and Optional Contents; Signature
(a) The request shall contain:
(i) a petition,
(ii) the title of the invention,
(iii) indications concerning the applicant and the agent, if there
is an agent,
(iv) the designation of States,
(v) indications concerning the inventor where the national law
of at least one of the designated States requires that the name of the inventor
be furnished at the time of filing a national application.
(b) The request shall, where applicable, contain:
(i) a priority claim,
(ii) a reference to any earlier international, international-type or
other search,
(iii) choices of certain kinds of protection,
(iv) an indication that the applicant wishes to obtain a regional
patent,
(v) a reference to a parent application or parent patent,
(vi) an indication of the applicant’s choice of competent
International Searching Authority.

22

Regulations Under the PCT
(c) The request may contain:
(i) indications concerning the inventor where the national law
of none of the designated States requires that the name of the inventor be
furnished at the time of filing a national application,
(ii) a request to the receiving Office to prepare and transmit the
priority document to the International Bureau where the application whose
priority is claimed was filed with the national Office or intergovernmental
authority which is the receiving Office,
(iii) declarations as provided in Rule 4.17.
(d) The request shall be signed.
4.2 The Petition
The petition shall be to the following effect and shall preferably be
worded as follows: “The undersigned requests that the present international
application be processed according to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.”
4.3 Title of the Invention
The title of the invention shall be short (preferably from two to seven
words when in English or translated into English) and precise.
4.4 Names and Addresses
(a) Names of natural persons shall be indicated by the person’s family
name and given name(s), the family name being indicated before the given
name(s).
(b) Names of legal entities shall be indicated by their full, official
designations.
(c) Addresses shall be indicated in such a way as to satisfy the
customary requirements for prompt postal delivery at the indicated address
and, in any case, shall consist of all the relevant administrative units up to,
and including, the house number, if any. Where the national law of the
designated State does not require the indication of the house number, failure
to indicate such number shall have no effect in that State. In order to allow
rapid communication with the applicant, it is recommended to indicate
any teleprinter address, telephone and facsimile machine numbers, or
corresponding data for other like means of communication, of the applicant
or, where applicable, the agent or the common representative.
23

Regulations Under the PCT
(d) For each applicant, inventor, or agent, only one address may be
indicated, except that, if no agent has been appointed to represent the
applicant, or all of them if more than one, the applicant or, if there is more
than one applicant, the common representative, may indicate, in addition
to any other address given in the request, an address to which notifications
shall be sent.
4.5 The Applicant
(a) The request shall indicate the name, address, nationality and
residence of the applicant or, if there are several applicants, of each of
them.
(b) The applicant’s nationality shall be indicated by the name of the
State of which he is a national.
(c) The applicant’s residence shall be indicated by the name of the
State of which he is a resident.
(d) The request may, for different designated States, indicate different
applicants. In such a case, the request shall indicate the applicant or
applicants for each designated State or group of designated States.
(e) Where the applicant is registered with the national Office that is
acting as receiving Office, the request may indicate the number or other
indication under which the applicant is so registered.
4.6 The Inventor
(a) Where Rule 4.1(a)(v) or (c)(i) applies, the request shall indicate
the name and address of the inventor or, if there are several inventors, of
each of them.
(b) If the applicant is the inventor, the request, in lieu of the indication
under paragraph (a), shall contain a statement to that effect.
(c) The request may, for different designated States, indicate different
persons as inventors where, in this respect, the requirements of the national
laws of the designated States are not the same. In such a case, the request
shall contain a separate statement for each designated State or group of
States in which a particular person, or the same person, is to be considered
the inventor, or in which particular persons, or the same persons, are to be
considered the inventors.
24

Regulations Under the PCT
4.7 The Agent
(a) If an agent is appointed, the request shall so indicate, and shall
state the agent’s name and address.
(b) Where the agent is registered with the national Office that is acting
as receiving Office, the request may indicate the number or other indication
under which the agent is so registered.
4.8 Common Representative
If a common representative is appointed, the request shall so indicate.
4.9 Designation of States
(a) Contracting States shall be designated in the request:
(i) in the case of designations for the purpose of obtaining
national patents, by an indication of each State concerned;
(ii) in the case of designations for the purpose of obtaining a
regional patent, by an indication that a regional patent is desired either for
all Contracting States which are party to the regional patent treaty concerned
or only for such Contracting States as are specified.
(b) The request may contain an indication that all designations which
would be permitted under the Treaty, other than those made under
paragraph (a), are also made, provided that:
(i) at least one Contracting State is designated under
paragraph (a), and
(ii) the request also contains a statement that any designation
made under this paragraph is subject to confirmation as provided in
paragraph (c) and that any designation which is not so confirmed before
the expiration of 15 months from the priority date is to be regarded as
withdrawn by the applicant at the expiration of that time limit.
(c) The confirmation of any designation made under paragraph (b)
shall be effected by
(i) filing with the receiving Office a written notice containing
an indication as referred to in paragraph (a)(i) or (ii), and
(ii) paying to the receiving Office the designation fee and the
confirmation fee referred to in Rule 15.5
within the time limit under paragraph (b)(ii).
25

Regulations Under the PCT
4.10 Priority Claim*
(a) Any declaration referred to in Article 8(1) (“priority claim”) may
claim the priority of one or more earlier applications filed either in or for
any country party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property or in or for any Member of the World Trade Organization that is
not party to that Convention. Any priority claim shall, subject to
Rule 26bis.1, be made in the request; it shall consist of a statement to the
effect that the priority of an earlier application is claimed and shall indicate:
(i) the date on which the earlier application was filed, being a
date falling within the period of 12 months preceding the international
filing date;
(ii) the number of the earlier application;
(iii) where the earlier application is a national application, the
country party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property or the Member of the World Trade Organization that is not party
to that Convention in which it was filed;

*
Editor’s Note: Paragraphs (a) and (b) of Rule 4.10 as amended with effect
from January 1, 2000, do not apply in respect of any designated Office which has
informed the International Bureau of incompatibility with the national law applied
by that Office, as provided by paragraph (d) of that Rule. Paragraphs (a) and (b) as in
force until December 31, 1999, continue to apply after that date in respect of any
such designated Office for as long as those paragraphs as amended continue not to be
compatible with the applicable national law. Information received by the International
Bureau concerning any such incompatibility is published in the Gazette. The text of
paragraphs (a) and (b) as in force until December 31, 1999, is reproduced below:
“4.10 Priority Claim
(a) Any declaration referred to in Article 8(1) (“priority claim”) shall, subject
to Rule 26bis.1, be made in the request; it shall consist of a statement to the
effect that the priority of an earlier application is claimed and shall indicate:
(i) the date on which the earlier application was filed, being a date
falling within the period of 12 months preceding the international filing date;
(ii) the number of the earlier application;
(iii) where the earlier application is a national application, the country
party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in which
it was filed;

26

Regulations Under the PCT
(iv) where the earlier application is a regional application, the
authority entrusted with the granting of regional patents under the applicable
regional patent treaty;
(v) where the earlier application is an international application,
the receiving Office with which it was filed.
(b) In addition to any indication required under paragraph (a)(iv)
or (v):
(i) where the earlier application is a regional application or an
international application, the priority claim may indicate one or more
countries party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property for which that earlier application was filed;
(ii) where the earlier application is a regional application and at
least one of the countries party to the regional patent treaty is neither party
to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property nor a
Member of the World Trade Organization, the priority claim shall indicate
at least one country party to that Convention or one Member of that
Organization for which that earlier application was filed.
(c) For the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b), Article 2(vi) shall not
apply.

(iv) where the earlier application is a regional application, the authority
entrusted with the granting of regional patents under the applicable regional
patent treaty;
(v) where the earlier application is an international application, the
receiving Office with which it was filed.
(b) In addition to any indication required under paragraph (a)(iv) or (v):
(i) where the earlier application is a regional application or an
international application, the priority claim may indicate one or more countries
party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property for which
that earlier application was filed;
(ii) where the earlier application is a regional application and the
countries party to the regional patent treaty are not all party to the Paris
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the priority claim shall
indicate at least one country party to that Convention for which that earlier
application was filed.”

27

Regulations Under the PCT
(d) If, on September 29, 1999, paragraphs (a) and (b) as amended
with effect from January 1, 2000, are not compatible with the national law
applied by a designated Office, those paragraphs as in force until
December 31, 1999, shall continue to apply after that date in respect of
that designated Office for as long as the said paragraphs as amended
continue not to be compatible with that law, provided that the said Office
informs the International Bureau accordingly by October 31, 1999. The
information received shall be promptly published by the International
Bureau in the Gazette.
4.11 Reference to Earlier Search
If an international or international-type search has been requested on
an application under Article 15(5) or if the applicant wishes the International
Searching Authority to base the international search report wholly or in
part on the results of a search, other than an international or internationaltype search, made by the national Office or intergovernmental organization
which is the International Searching Authority competent for the
international application, the request shall contain a reference to that fact.
Such reference shall either identify the application (or its translation, as
the case may be) in respect of which the earlier search was made by
indicating country, date and number, or the said search by indicating, where
applicable, date and number of the request for such search.
4.12 Choice of Certain Kinds of Protection
(a) If the applicant wishes his international application to be treated,
in any designated State, as an application not for a patent but for the grant
of any of the other kinds of protection specified in Article 43, he shall so
indicate in the request. For the purposes of this paragraph, Article 2(ii)
shall not apply.
(b) In the case provided for in Article 44, the applicant shall indicate
the two kinds of protection sought, or, if one of two kinds of protection is
primarily sought, he shall indicate which kind is sought primarily and which
kind is sought subsidiarily.
4.13 Identification of Parent Application or Parent Grant
If the applicant wishes his international application to be treated, in
any designated State, as an application for a patent or certificate of addition,
28

Regulations Under the PCT
inventor’s certificate of addition, or utility certificate of addition, he shall
identify the parent application or the parent patent, parent inventor’s
certificate, or parent utility certificate to which the patent or certificate of
addition, inventor’s certificate of addition, or utility certificate of addition,
if granted, relates. For the purposes of this paragraph Article 2(ii) shall not
apply.
4.14 Continuation or Continuation-in-Part
If the applicant wishes his international application to be treated, in
any designated State, as an application for a continuation or a continuationin-part of an earlier application, he shall so indicate in the request and
shall identify the parent application involved.
4.14bis Choice of International Searching Authority
If two or more International Searching Authorities are competent for
the searching of the international application, the applicant shall indicate
his choice of International Searching Authority in the request.
4.15 Signature
(a) Subject to paragraph (b), the request shall be signed by the
applicant or, if there is more than one applicant, by all of them.
(b) Where two or more applicants file an international application
which designates a State whose national law requires that national
applications be filed by the inventor and where an applicant for that
designated State who is an inventor refused to sign the request or could
not be found or reached after diligent effort, the request need not be signed
by that applicant if it is signed by at least one applicant and a statement is
furnished explaining, to the satisfaction of the receiving Office, the lack of
the signature concerned.
4.16 Transliteration or Translation of Certain Words
(a) Where any name or address is written in characters other than
those of the Latin alphabet, the same shall also be indicated in characters
of the Latin alphabet either as a mere transliteration or through translation

29

Regulations Under the PCT
into English. The applicant shall decide which words will be merely
transliterated and which words will be so translated.
(b) The name of any country written in characters other than those
of the Latin alphabet shall also be indicated in English.
4.17 Declarations Relating to National Requirements Referred to in
Rule 51bis.1(a)(i) to (v)
The request may, for the purposes of the national law applicable in
one or more designated States, contain one or more of the following
declarations, worded as prescribed by the Administrative Instructions:
(i) a declaration as to the identity of the inventor, as referred to
in Rule 51bis.1(a)(i);
(ii) a declaration as to the applicant’s entitlement, as at the
international filing date, to apply for and be granted a patent, as referred to
in Rule 51bis.1(a)(ii);
(iii) a declaration as to the applicant’s entitlement, as at the
international filing date, to claim priority of the earlier application, as
referred to in Rule 51bis.1(a)(iii);
(iv) a declaration of inventorship, as referred to in
Rule 51bis.1(a)(iv), which shall be signed as prescribed by the
Administrative Instructions;
(v) a declaration as to non-prejudicial disclosures or exceptions
to lack of novelty, as referred to in Rule 51bis.1(a)(v).
4.18 Additional Matter
(a) The request shall contain no matter other than that specified in
Rules 4.1 to 4.17, provided that the Administrative Instructions may permit,
but cannot make mandatory, the inclusion in the request of any additional
matter specified in the Administrative Instructions.
(b) If the request contains matter other than that specified in Rules 4.1
to 4.17 or permitted under paragraph (a) by the Administrative Instructions,
the receiving Office shall ex officio delete the additional matter.

30

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 5
The Description
5.1 Manner of the Description
(a) The description shall first state the title of the invention as
appearing in the request and shall:
(i) specify the technical field to which the invention relates;
(ii) indicate the background art which, as far as known to the
applicant, can be regarded as useful for the understanding, searching and
examination of the invention, and, preferably, cite the documents reflecting
such art;
(iii) disclose the invention, as claimed, in such terms that the
technical problem (even if not expressly stated as such) and its solution
can be understood, and state the advantageous effects, if any, of the
invention with reference to the background art;
(iv) briefly describe the figures in the drawings, if any;
(v) set forth at least the best mode contemplated by the applicant
for carrying out the invention claimed; this shall be done in terms of
examples, where appropriate, and with reference to the drawings, if any;
where the national law of the designated State does not require the
description of the best mode but is satisfied with the description of any
mode (whether it is the best contemplated or not), failure to describe the
best mode contemplated shall have no effect in that State;
(vi) indicate explicitly, when it is not obvious from the description
or nature of the invention, the way in which the invention is capable of
exploitation in industry and the way in which it can be made and used, or,
if it can only be used, the way in which it can be used; the term “industry”
is to be understood in its broadest sense as in the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property.
(b) The manner and order specified in paragraph (a) shall be followed
except when, because of the nature of the invention, a different manner or
a different order would result in a better understanding and a more economic
presentation.

31

Regulations Under the PCT
(c) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), each of the parts
referred to in paragraph (a) shall preferably be preceded by an appropriate
heading as suggested in the Administrative Instructions.
5.2 Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosure
(a) Where the international application contains disclosure of one or
more nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences, the description shall contain
a sequence listing complying with the standard provided for in the Administrative Instructions and presented as a separate part of the description in
accordance with that standard.
(b) Where the sequence listing part of the description contains any
free text as defined in the standard provided for in the Administrative
Instructions, that free text shall also appear in the main part of the description
in the language thereof.
Rule 6
The Claims
6.1 Number and Numbering of Claims
(a) The number of the claims shall be reasonable in consideration of
the nature of the invention claimed.
(b) If there are several claims, they shall be numbered consecutively
in Arabic numerals.
(c) The method of numbering in the case of the amendment of claims
shall be governed by the Administrative Instructions.
6.2 References to Other Parts of the International Application
(a) Claims shall not, except where absolutely necessary, rely, in
respect of the technical features of the invention, on references to the
description or drawings. In particular, they shall not rely on such references
as: “as described in part ... of the description,” or “as illustrated in figure ...
of the drawings.”
(b) Where the international application contains drawings, the
technical features mentioned in the claims shall preferably be followed by
the reference signs relating to such features. When used, the reference
32

Regulations Under the PCT
signs shall preferably be placed between parentheses. If inclusion of
reference signs does not particularly facilitate quicker understanding of a
claim, it should not be made. Reference signs may be removed by a
designated Office for the purposes of publication by such Office.
6.3 Manner of Claiming
(a) The definition of the matter for which protection is sought shall
be in terms of the technical features of the invention.
(b) Whenever appropriate, claims shall contain:
(i) a statement indicating those technical features of the invention
which are necessary for the definition of the claimed subject matter but
which, in combination, are part of the prior art,
(ii) a characterizing portion—preceded by the words
“characterized in that,” “characterized by,” “wherein the improvement
comprises,” or any other words to the same effect—stating concisely the
technical features which, in combination with the features stated under (i),
it is desired to protect.
(c) Where the national law of the designated State does not require
the manner of claiming provided for in paragraph (b), failure to use that
manner of claiming shall have no effect in that State provided the manner
of claiming actually used satisfies the national law of that State.
6.4 Dependent Claims
(a) Any claim which includes all the features of one or more other
claims (claim in dependent form, hereinafter referred to as “dependent
claim”) shall do so by a reference, if possible at the beginning, to the other
claim or claims and shall then state the additional features claimed. Any
dependent claim which refers to more than one other claim (“multiple
dependent claim”) shall refer to such claims in the alternative only. Multiple
dependent claims shall not serve as a basis for any other multiple dependent
claim. Where the national law of the national Office acting as International
Searching Authority does not allow multiple dependent claims to be drafted
in a manner different from that provided for in the preceding two sentences,
failure to use that manner of claiming may result in an indication under
Article 17(2)(b) in the international search report. Failure to use the said

33

Regulations Under the PCT
manner of claiming shall have no effect in a designated State if the manner
of claiming actually used satisfies the national law of that State.
(b) Any dependent claim shall be construed as including all the
limitations contained in the claim to which it refers or, if the dependent
claim is a multiple dependent claim, all the limitations contained in the
particular claim in relation to which it is considered.
(c) All dependent claims referring back to a single previous claim,
and all dependent claims referring back to several previous claims, shall
be grouped together to the extent and in the most practical way possible.
6.5 Utility Models
Any designated State in which the grant of a utility model is sought
on the basis of an international application may, instead of Rules 6.1 to 6.4,
apply in respect of the matters regulated in those Rules the provisions of
its national law concerning utility models once the processing of the
international application has started in that State, provided that the applicant
shall be allowed at least two months from the expiration of the time limit
applicable under Article 22 to adapt his application to the requirements of
the said provisions of the national law.
Rule 7
The Drawings
7.1 Flow Sheets and Diagrams
Flow sheets and diagrams are considered drawings.
7.2 Time Limit
The time limit referred to in Article 7(2)(ii) shall be reasonable under
the circumstances of the case and shall, in no case, be shorter than two
months from the date of the written invitation requiring the filing of
drawings or additional drawings under the said provision.
Rule 8
The Abstract
8.1 Contents and Form of the Abstract
(a) The abstract shall consist of the following:
34

Regulations Under the PCT
(i) a summary of the disclosure as contained in the description,
the claims, and any drawings; the summary shall indicate the technical
field to which the invention pertains and shall be drafted in a way which
allows the clear understanding of the technical problem, the gist of the
solution of that problem through the invention, and the principal use or
uses of the invention;
(ii) where applicable, the chemical formula which, among all
the formulae contained in the international application, best characterizes
the invention.
(b) The abstract shall be as concise as the disclosure permits
(preferably 50 to 150 words if it is in English or when translated into
English).
(c) The abstract shall not contain statements on the alleged merits or
value of the claimed invention or on its speculative application.
(d) Each main technical feature mentioned in the abstract and
illustrated by a drawing in the international application shall be followed
by a reference sign, placed between parentheses.
8.2 Figure
(a) If the applicant fails to make the indication referred to in
Rule 3.3(a)(iii), or if the International Searching Authority finds that a
figure or figures other than that figure or those figures suggested by the
applicant would, among all the figures of all the drawings, better
characterize the invention, it shall, subject to paragraph (b), indicate the
figure or figures which should accompany the abstract when the latter is
published by the International Bureau. In such case, the abstract shall be
accompanied by the figure or figures so indicated by the International
Searching Authority. Otherwise, the abstract shall, subject to paragraph (b),
be accompanied by the figure or figures suggested by the applicant.
(b) If the International Searching Authority finds that none of the
figures of the drawings is useful for the understanding of the abstract, it
shall notify the International Bureau accordingly. In such case, the abstract,
when published by the International Bureau, shall not be accompanied by
any figure of the drawings even where the applicant has made a suggestion
under Rule 3.3(a)(iii).
35

Regulations Under the PCT
8.3 Guiding Principles in Drafting
The abstract shall be so drafted that it can efficiently serve as a
scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art, especially by
assisting the scientist, engineer or researcher in formulating an opinion on
whether there is a need for consulting the international application itself.
Rule 9
Expressions, Etc., Not to Be Used
9.1 Definition
The international application shall not contain:
(i) expressions or drawings contrary to morality;
(ii) expressions or drawings contrary to public order;
(iii) statements disparaging the products or processes of any
particular person other than the applicant, or the merits or validity of
applications or patents of any such person (mere comparisons with the
prior art shall not be considered disparaging per se);
(iv) any statement or other matter obviously irrelevant or
unnecessary under the circumstances.
9.2 Noting of Lack of Compliance
The receiving Office and the International Searching Authority may
note lack of compliance with the prescriptions of Rule 9.1 and may suggest
to the applicant that he voluntarily correct his international application
accordingly. If the lack of compliance was noted by the receiving Office,
that Office shall inform the competent International Searching Authority
and the International Bureau; if the lack of compliance was noted by the
International Searching Authority, that Authority shall inform the receiving
Office and the International Bureau.
9.3 Reference to Article 21(6)
“Disparaging statements,” referred to in Article 21(6), shall have the
meaning as defined in Rule 9.1(iii).

36

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 10
Terminology and Signs
10.1 Terminology and Signs
(a) Units of weights and measures shall be expressed in terms of the
metric system, or also expressed in such terms if first expressed in terms
of a different system.
(b) Temperatures shall be expressed in degrees Celsius, or also
expressed in degrees Celsius, if first expressed in a different manner.
(c) [Deleted]
(d) For indications of heat, energy, light, sound, and magnetism, as
well as for mathematical formulae and electrical units, the rules of
international practice shall be observed; for chemical formulae, the symbols,
atomic weights, and molecular formulae, in general use, shall be employed.
(e) In general, only such technical terms, signs and symbols should
be used as are generally accepted in the art.
(f) When the international application or its translation is in Chinese,
English or Japanese, the beginning of any decimal fraction shall be marked
by a period, whereas, when the international application or its translation
is in a language other than Chinese, English or Japanese, it shall be marked
by a comma.
10.2 Consistency
The terminology and the signs shall be consistent throughout the
international application.
Rule 11
Physical Requirements of the International Application
11.1 Number of Copies
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), the international
application and each of the documents referred to in the check list
(Rule 3.3(a)(ii)) shall be filed in one copy.

37

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) Any receiving Office may require that the international application
and any of the documents referred to in the check list (Rule 3.3(a)(ii)),
except the receipt for the fees paid or the check for the payment of the
fees, be filed in two or three copies. In that case, the receiving Office shall
be responsible for verifying the identity of the second and the third copies
with the record copy.
11.2 Fitness for Reproduction
(a) All elements of the international application (i.e., the request, the
description, the claims, the drawings, and the abstract) shall be so presented
as to admit of direct reproduction by photography, electrostatic processes,
photo offset, and microfilming, in any number of copies.
(b) All sheets shall be free from creases and cracks; they shall not be
folded.
(c) Only one side of each sheet shall be used.
(d) Subject to Rule 11.10(d) and Rule 11.13(j), each sheet shall be
used in an upright position (i.e., the short sides at the top and bottom).
11.3 Material to Be Used
All elements of the international application shall be on paper which
shall be flexible, strong, white, smooth, non-shiny, and durable.
11.4 Separate Sheets, Etc.
(a) Each element (request, description, claims, drawings, abstract)
of the international application shall commence on a new sheet.
(b) All sheets of the international application shall be so connected
that they can be easily turned when consulted, and easily separated and
joined again if they have been separated for reproduction purposes.
11.5 Size of Sheets
The size of the sheets shall be A4 (29.7 cm x 21 cm). However, any
receiving Office may accept international applications on sheets of other
sizes provided that the record copy, as transmitted to the International
Bureau, and, if the competent International Searching Authority so desires,
the search copy, shall be of A4 size.
38

Regulations Under the PCT
11.6 Margins
(a) The minimum margins of the sheets containing the description,
the claims, and the abstract, shall be as follows:
– top: 2 cm
– left side: 2.5 cm
– right side: 2 cm
– bottom: 2 cm.
(b) The recommended maximum, for the margins provided for in
paragraph (a), is as follows:
– top: 4 cm
– left side: 4 cm
– right side: 3 cm
– bottom: 3 cm.
(c) On sheets containing drawings, the surface usable shall not exceed
26.2 cm x 17.0 cm. The sheets shall not contain frames around the usable
or used surface. The minimum margins shall be as follows:
– top: 2.5 cm
– left side: 2.5 cm
– right side: 1.5 cm
– bottom: 1 cm.
(d) The margins referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c) apply to A4-size
sheets, so that, even if the receiving Office accepts other sizes, the A4-size
record copy and, when so required, the A4-size search copy shall leave
the aforesaid margins.
(e) Subject to paragraph (f) and to Rule 11.8(b), the margins of the
international application, when submitted, must be completely blank.
(f) The top margin may contain in the left-hand corner an indication
of the applicant’s file reference, provided that the reference appears within
1.5 cm from the top of the sheet. The number of characters in the applicant’s
file reference shall not exceed the maximum fixed by the Administrative
Instructions.

39

Regulations Under the PCT
11.7 Numbering of Sheets
(a) All the sheets contained in the international application shall be
numbered in consecutive Arabic numerals.
(b) The numbers shall be centered at the top or bottom of the sheet,
but shall not be placed in the margin.
11.8 Numbering of Lines
(a) It is strongly recommended to number every fifth line of each
sheet of the description, and of each sheet of claims.
(b) The numbers should appear in the right half of the left margin.
11.9 Writing of Text Matter
(a) The request, the description, the claims and the abstract shall be
typed or printed.
(b) Only graphic symbols and characters, chemical or mathematical
formulae, and certain characters in the Chinese or Japanese language may,
when necessary, be written by hand or drawn.
(c) The typing shall be 1½-spaced.
(d) All text matter shall be in characters the capital letters of which
are not less than 0.21 cm high, and shall be in a dark, indelible color,
satisfying the requirements specified in Rule 11.2.
(e) As far as the spacing of the typing and the size of the characters
are concerned, paragraphs (c) and (d) shall not apply to texts in the Chinese
or Japanese language.
11.10 Drawings, Formulae, and Tables, in Text Matter
(a) The request, the description, the claims and the abstract shall not
contain drawings.
(b) The description, the claims and the abstract may contain chemical
or mathematical formulae.
(c) The description and the abstract may contain tables; any claim
may contain tables only if the subject matter of the claim makes the use of
tables desirable.
40

Regulations Under the PCT
(d) Tables and chemical or mathematical formulae may be placed
sideways on the sheet if they cannot be presented satisfactorily in an upright
position thereon; sheets on which tables or chemical or mathematical
formulae are presented sideways shall be so presented that the tops of the
tables or formulae are at the left side of the sheet.
11.11 Words in Drawings
(a) The drawings shall not contain text matter, except a single word
or words, when absolutely indispensable, such as “water,” “steam,” “open,”
“closed,” “section on AB,” and, in the case of electric circuits and block
schematic or flow sheet diagrams, a few short catchwords indispensable
for understanding.
(b) Any words used shall be so placed that, if translated, they may
be pasted over without interfering with any lines of the drawings.
11.12 Alterations, Etc.
Each sheet shall be reasonably free from erasures and shall be free
from alterations, overwritings, and interlineations. Non-compliance with
this Rule may be authorized if the authenticity of the content is not in
question and the requirements for good reproduction are not in jeopardy.
11.13 Special Requirements for Drawings
(a) Drawings shall be executed in durable, black, sufficiently dense
and dark, uniformly thick and well-defined, lines and strokes without
colorings.
(b) Cross-sections shall be indicated by oblique hatching which
should not impede the clear reading of the reference signs and leading
lines.
(c) The scale of the drawings and the distinctness of their graphical
execution shall be such that a photographic reproduction with a linear
reduction in size to two-thirds would enable all details to be distinguished
without difficulty.
(d) When, in exceptional cases, the scale is given on a drawing, it
shall be represented graphically.

41

Regulations Under the PCT
(e) All numbers, letters and reference lines, appearing on the
drawings, shall be simple and clear. Brackets, circles or inverted commas
shall not be used in association with numbers and letters.
(f) All lines in the drawings shall, ordinarily, be drawn with the aid
of drafting instruments.
(g) Each element of each figure shall be in proper proportion to each
of the other elements in the figure, except where the use of a different
proportion is indispensable for the clarity of the figure.
(h) The height of the numbers and letters shall not be less than
0.32 cm. For the lettering of drawings, the Latin and, where customary,
the Greek alphabets shall be used.
(i) The same sheet of drawings may contain several figures. Where
figures on two or more sheets form in effect a single complete figure, the
figures on the several sheets shall be so arranged that the complete figure
can be assembled without concealing any part of any of the figures
appearing on the various sheets.
(j) The different figures shall be arranged on a sheet or sheets without
wasting space, preferably in an upright position, clearly separated from
one another. Where the figures are not arranged in an upright position,
they shall be presented sideways with the top of the figures at the left side
of the sheet.
(k) The different figures shall be numbered in Arabic numerals
consecutively and independently of the numbering of the sheets.
(l) Reference signs not mentioned in the description shall not appear
in the drawings, and vice versa.
(m) The same features, when denoted by reference signs, shall,
throughout the international application, be denoted by the same signs.
(n) If the drawings contain a large number of reference signs, it is
strongly recommended to attach a separate sheet listing all reference signs
and the features denoted by them.

42

Regulations Under the PCT
11.14 Later Documents
Rules 10, and 11.1 to 11.13, also apply to any document—for example,
corrected pages, amended claims, translations—submitted after the filing
of the international application.
Rule 12
Language of the International Application
and Translation for the Purposes of International Search
and International Publication
12.1 Languages Accepted for the Filing of International Applications
(a) An international application shall be filed in any language which
the receiving Office accepts for that purpose.
(b) Each receiving Office shall, for the filing of international
applications, accept at least one language which is both:
(i) a language accepted by the International Searching Authority,
or, if applicable, by at least one of the International Searching Authorities,
competent for the international searching of international applications filed
with that receiving Office, and
(ii) a language of publication.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the request shall be filed in any
language of publication which the receiving Office accepts for the purposes
of this paragraph.
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), any text matter contained in the
sequence listing part of the description referred to in Rule 5.2(a) shall be
presented in accordance with the standard provided for in the Administrative
Instructions.
12.2 Language of Changes in the International Application
(a) Any amendment of the international application shall, subject to
Rules 46.3, 55.3 and 66.9, be in the language in which the application is
filed.
(b) Any rectification under Rule 91.1 of an obvious error in the
international application shall be in the language in which the application
is filed, provided that:
43

Regulations Under the PCT

(i) where a translation of the international application is required
under Rule 12.3(a), 12.4(a) or 55.2(a), rectifications referred to in
Rule 91.1(e)(ii) and (iii) shall be filed in both the language of the application
and the language of that translation;
(ii) where a translation of the request is required under
Rule 26.3ter(c), rectifications referred to in Rule 91.1(e)(i) need only be
filed in the language of that translation.
(c) Any correction under Rule 26 of a defect in the international
application shall be in the language in which the international application
is filed. Any correction under Rule 26 of a defect in a translation of the
international application furnished under Rule 12.3 or 55.2(a), or in a
translation of the request furnished under Rule 26.3ter(c), shall be in the
language of the translation.
12.3 Translation for the Purposes of International Search
(a) Where the language in which the international application is filed
is not accepted by the International Searching Authority that is to carry
out the international search, the applicant shall, within one month from the
date of receipt of the international application by the receiving Office,
furnish to that Office a translation of the international application into a
language which is all of the following:
(i) a language accepted by that Authority, and
(ii) a language of publication, and
(iii) a language accepted by the receiving Office under
Rule 12.1(a), unless the international application is filed in a language of
publication.
(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to the request nor to any sequence
listing part of the description.
(c) Where, by the time the receiving Office sends to the applicant
the notification under Rule 20.5(c), the applicant has not furnished a
translation required under paragraph (a), the receiving Office shall,
preferably together with that notification, invite the applicant:
(i) to furnish the required translation within the time limit under
paragraph (a);
44

Regulations Under the PCT
(ii) in the event that the required translation is not furnished within
the time limit under paragraph (a), to furnish it and to pay, where applicable,
the late furnishing fee referred to in paragraph (e), within one month from
the date of the invitation or two months from the date of receipt of the
international application by the receiving Office, whichever expires later.
(d) Where the receiving Office has sent to the applicant an invitation
under paragraph (c) and the applicant has not, within the applicable time
limit under paragraph (c)(ii), furnished the required translation and paid
any required late furnishing fee, the international application shall be
considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare. Any
translation and any payment received by the receiving Office before that
Office makes the declaration under the previous sentence and before the
expiration of 15 months from the priority date shall be considered to have
been received before the expiration of that time limit.
(e) The furnishing of a translation after the expiration of the time
limit under paragraph (a) may be subjected by the receiving Office to the
payment to it, for its own benefit, of a late furnishing fee equal to 50% of
the basic fee referred to in item 1(a) of the Schedule of Fees.
12.4 Translation for the Purposes of International Publication
(a) Where the language in which the international application is filed
is not a language of publication and no translation is required under
Rule 12.3(a), the applicant shall, within 14 months from the priority date,
furnish to the receiving Office a translation of the international application
into any language of publication which the receiving Office accepts for
the purposes of this paragraph.
(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to the request nor to any sequence
listing part of the description.
(c) Where the applicant has not, within the time limit referred to in
paragraph (a), furnished a translation required under that paragraph, the
receiving Office shall invite the applicant to furnish the required translation,
and to pay, where applicable, the late furnishing fee required under
paragraph (e), within 16 months from the priority date. Any translation
received by the receiving Office before that Office sends the invitation
under the previous sentence shall be considered to have been received
before the expiration of the time limit under paragraph (a).
45

Regulations Under the PCT
(d) Where the applicant has not, within the time limit under
paragraph (c), furnished the required translation and paid any required
late furnishing fee, the international application shall be considered
withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare. Any translation and
any payment received by the receiving Office before that Office makes
the declaration under the previous sentence and before the expiration of
17 months from the priority date shall be considered to have been received
before the expiration of that time limit.
(e) The furnishing of a translation after the expiration of the time
limit under paragraph (a) may be subjected by the receiving Office to the
payment to it, for its own benefit, of a late furnishing fee equal to 50% of
the basic fee referred to in item 1(a) of the Schedule of Fees.
Rule 13
Unity of Invention
13.1 Requirement
The international application shall relate to one invention only or to a
group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept
(“requirement of unity of invention”).
13.2 Circumstances in Which the Requirement of Unity of Invention Is to
Be Considered Fulfilled
Where a group of inventions is claimed in one and the same
international application, the requirement of unity of invention referred to
in Rule 13.1 shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship
among those inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding
special technical features. The expression “special technical features” shall
mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of the
claimed inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art.
13.3 Determination of Unity of Invention Not Affected by Manner of
Claiming
The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to
form a single general inventive concept shall be made without regard to
whether the inventions are claimed in separate claims or as alternatives
within a single claim.
46

Regulations Under the PCT
13.4 Dependent Claims
Subject to Rule 13.1, it shall be permitted to include in the same
international application a reasonable number of dependent claims, claiming
specific forms of the invention claimed in an independent claim, even
where the features of any dependent claim could be considered as
constituting in themselves an invention.
13.5 Utility Models
Any designated State in which the grant of a utility model is sought
on the basis of an international application may, instead of Rules 13.1
to 13.4, apply in respect of the matters regulated in those Rules the
provisions of its national law concerning utility models once the processing
of the international application has started in that State, provided that the
applicant shall be allowed at least two months from the expiration of the
time limit applicable under Article 22 to adapt his application to the
requirements of the said provisions of the national law.
Rule 13bis
Inventions Relating to Biological Material
13bis.1 Definition
For the purposes of this Rule, “reference to deposited biological
material” means particulars given in an international application with
respect to the deposit of biological material with a depositary institution or
to the biological material so deposited.
13bis.2 References (General)
Any reference to deposited biological material shall be made in
accordance with this Rule and, if so made, shall be considered as satisfying
the requirements of the national law of each designated State.
13bis.3 References: Contents; Failure to Include Reference or Indication
(a) A reference to deposited biological material shall indicate:
(i) the name and the address of the depositary institution with
which the deposit was made;
(ii) the date of deposit of the biological material with that
institution;
47

Regulations Under the PCT
(iii) the accession number given to the deposit by that institution;
and
(iv) any additional matter of which the International Bureau has
been notified pursuant to Rule 13bis.7(a)(i), provided that the requirement
to indicate that matter was published in the Gazette in accordance with
Rule 13bis.7(c) at least two months before the filing of the international
application.
(b) Failure to include a reference to deposited biological material or
failure to include, in a reference to deposited biological material, an
indication in accordance with paragraph (a), shall have no consequence in
any designated State whose national law does not require such reference
or such indication in a national application.
13bis.4 References: Time Limit for Furnishing Indications
(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), if any of the indications referred
to in Rule 13bis.3(a) is not included in a reference to deposited biological
material in the international application as filed but is furnished to the
International Bureau:
(i) within 16 months from the priority date, the indication shall
be considered by any designated Office to have been furnished in time;
(ii) after the expiration of 16 months from the priority date, the
indication shall be considered by any designated Office to have been
furnished on the last day of that time limit if it reaches the International
Bureau before the technical preparations for international publication have
been completed.
(b) If the national law applicable by a designated Office so requires
in respect of national applications, that Office may require that any of the
indications referred to in Rule 13bis.3(a) be furnished earlier than 16 months
from the priority date, provided that the International Bureau has been
notified of such requirement pursuant to Rule 13bis.7(a)(ii) and has
published such requirement in the Gazette in accordance with
Rule 13bis.7(c) at least two months before the filing of the international
application.
(c) Where the applicant makes a request for early publication under
Article 21(2)(b), any designated Office may consider any indication not
48

Regulations Under the PCT
furnished before the technical preparations for international publication
have been completed as not having been furnished in time.
(d) The International Bureau shall notify the applicant of the date on
which it received any indication furnished under paragraph (a), and
(i) if the indication was received before the technical
preparations for international publication have been completed, indicate
that date, and include the relevant data from the indication, in the pamphlet
published under Rule 48;
(ii) if the indication was received after the technical preparations
for international publication have been completed, notify that date and the
relevant data from the indication to the designated Offices.
13bis.5 References and Indications for the Purposes of One or More
Designated States; Different Deposits for Different Designated
States; Deposits with Depositary Institutions Other than Those
Notified
(a) A reference to deposited biological material shall be considered
to be made for the purposes of all designated States, unless it is expressly
made for the purposes of certain of the designated States only; the same
applies to the indications included in the reference.
(b) References to different deposits of the biological material may
be made for different designated States.
(c) Any designated Office may disregard a deposit made with a
depositary institution other than one notified by it under Rule 13bis.7(b).
13bis.6 Furnishing of Samples
Pursuant to Articles 23 and 40, no furnishing of samples of the
deposited biological material to which a reference is made in an international
application shall, except with the authorization of the applicant, take place
before the expiration of the applicable time limits after which national
processing may start under the said Articles. However, where the applicant
performs the acts referred to in Articles 22 or 39 after international
publication but before the expiration of the said time limits, the furnishing
of samples of the deposited biological material may take place, once the
said acts have been performed. Notwithstanding the previous provision,
49

Regulations Under the PCT
the furnishing of samples of the deposited biological material may take
place under the national law applicable by any designated Office as soon
as, under that law, the international publication has the effects of the
compulsory national publication of an unexamined national application.
13bis.7 National Requirements: Notification and Publication
(a) Any national Office may notify the International Bureau of any
requirement of the national law:
(i) that any matter specified in the notification, in addition to
those referred to in Rule 13bis.3(a)(i), (ii) and (iii), is required to be included
in a reference to deposited biological material in a national application;
(ii) that one or more of the indications referred to in
Rule 13bis.3(a) are required to be included in a national application as
filed or are required to be furnished at a time specified in the notification
which is earlier than 16 months from the priority date.
(b) Each national Office shall notify the International Bureau of the
depositary institutions with which the national law permits deposits of
biological materials to be made for the purposes of patent procedure before
that Office or, if the national law does not provide for or permit such
deposits, of that fact.
(c) The International Bureau shall promptly publish in the Gazette
requirements notified to it under paragraph (a) and information notified to
it under paragraph (b).
Rule 13ter
Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listings
13ter.1 Sequence Listing for International Authorities
(a) Where the International Searching Authority finds that the
international application contains disclosure of one or more nucleotide
and/or amino acid sequences but:
(i) the international application does not contain a sequence
listing complying with the standard provided for in the Administrative
Instructions, that Authority may invite the applicant to furnish to it, within
a time limit fixed in the invitation, a sequence listing complying with that
standard;
50

Regulations Under the PCT
(ii) the applicant has not already furnished a sequence listing in
computer readable form complying with the standard provided for in the
Administrative Instructions, that Authority may invite the applicant to
furnish to it, within a time limit fixed in the invitation, a sequence listing in
such a form complying with that standard.
(b) [Deleted]
(c) If the applicant does not comply with an invitation under
paragraph (a) within the time limit fixed in the invitation, the International
Searching Authority shall not be required to search the international
application to the extent that such non-compliance has the result that a
meaningful search cannot be carried out.
(d) Where the International Searching Authority finds that the
description does not comply with Rule 5.2(b), it shall invite the applicant
to file the required correction. Rule 26.4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to
any correction offered by the applicant. The International Searching
Authority shall transmit the correction to the receiving Office and to the
International Bureau.
(e) Paragraphs (a) and (c) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
procedure before the International Preliminary Examining Authority.
(f) Any sequence listing not contained in the international application
as filed shall not, subject to Article 34, form part of the international
application.
13ter.2 Sequence Listing for Designated Office
Once the processing of the international application has started before
a designated Office, Rule 13ter.1(a) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
procedure before that Office. No designated Office shall require the
applicant to furnish to it a sequence listing other than a sequence listing
complying with the standard provided for in the Administrative Instructions.

51

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 14
The Transmittal Fee
14.1 The Transmittal Fee
(a) Any receiving Office may require that the applicant pay a fee to
it, for its own benefit, for receiving the international application,
transmitting copies to the International Bureau and the competent
International Searching Authority, and performing all the other tasks which
it must perform in connection with the international application in its
capacity of receiving Office (“transmittal fee”).
(b) The amount of the transmittal fee, if any, shall be fixed by the
receiving Office.
(c) The transmittal fee shall be paid within one month from the date
of receipt of the international application. The amount payable shall be the
amount applicable on that date of receipt.
Rule 15
The International Fee
15.1 Basic Fee and Designation Fee
Each international application shall be subject to the payment of a
fee for the benefit of the International Bureau (“international fee”) to be
collected by the receiving Office and consisting of,
(i) a “basic fee,” and
(ii) as many “designation fees” as there are national patents and
regional patents sought under Rule 4.9(a), except that, where Article 44
applies in respect of a designation, only one designation fee shall be due
for that designation, and that the Schedule of Fees may indicate a maximum
number of designation fees payable.
15.2 Amounts
(a) The amounts of the basic fee and of the designation fee are as set
out in the Schedule of Fees.

52

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) The basic fee and the designation fee shall be payable in the
currency or one of the currencies prescribed by the receiving Office
(“prescribed currency”), it being understood that, when transferred by the
receiving Office to the International Bureau, they shall be freely convertible
into Swiss currency. The amounts of the basic fee and of the designation
fee shall be established, for each receiving Office which prescribes the
payment of those fees in any currency other than Swiss currency, by the
Director General after consultation with the receiving Office of, or acting
under Rule 19.1(b) for, the State whose official currency is the same as
the prescribed currency. The amounts so established shall be the
equivalents, in round figures, of the amounts in Swiss currency set out in
the Schedule of Fees. They shall be notified by the International Bureau to
each receiving Office prescribing payment in that prescribed currency and
shall be published in the Gazette.
(c) Where the amounts of the fees set out in the Schedule of Fees are
changed, the corresponding amounts in the prescribed currencies shall be
applied from the same date as the amounts set out in the amended Schedule
of Fees.
(d) Where the exchange rate between Swiss currency and any
prescribed currency becomes different from the exchange rate last applied,
the Director General shall establish new amounts in the prescribed currency
according to directives given by the Assembly. The newly established
amounts shall become applicable two months after the date of their
publication in the Gazette, provided that the receiving Office referred to in
the second sentence of paragraph (b) and the Director General may agree
on a date falling during the said two-month period, in which case the said
amounts shall become applicable from that date.
15.3 [Deleted]
15.4 Time Limit for Payment; Amount Payable
(a) The basic fee shall be paid within one month from the date of
receipt of the international application. The amount payable shall be the
amount applicable on that date of receipt.
(b) The designation fee shall be paid within a time limit of:
(i) one year from the priority date, or
53

Regulations Under the PCT
(ii) one month from the date of receipt of the international
application if that one-month period expires later than one year from the
priority date.
(c) Where the designation fee is paid before the expiration of one
month from the date of receipt of the international application, the amount
payable shall be the amount applicable on that date of receipt. Where the
time limit under paragraph (b)(i) applies and the designation fee is paid
before the expiration of that time limit but later than one month from the
date of receipt of the international application, the amount payable shall
be the amount applicable on the date of payment.
15.5 Fees Under Rule 4.9(c)
(a) Notwithstanding Rule 15.4(b), the confirmation under Rule 4.9(c)
of any designations made under Rule 4.9(b) shall be subject to the payment
to the receiving Office of as many designation fees (for the benefit of the
International Bureau) as there are national patents and regional patents
sought by the applicant by virtue of the confirmation, together with a
confirmation fee (for the benefit of the receiving Office) equal to 50% of
the sum of the designation fees payable under this paragraph. Such fees
shall be payable in respect of each designation so confirmed, even if the
maximum number of designation fees referred to in item 2(a) of the
Schedule of Fees is already payable or if a designation fee is already payable
in respect of the designation under Rule 4.9(a) of the same State for a
different purpose.
(b) Where moneys paid by the applicant within the time limit under
Rule 4.9(b)(ii) are not sufficient to cover the fees due under paragraph (a),
the receiving Office shall allocate any moneys paid as specified by the
applicant or, in the absence of such specification, as prescribed by the
Administrative Instructions.
15.6 Refund
The receiving Office shall refund the international fee to the applicant:
(i) if the determination under Article 11(1) is negative,
(ii) if, before the transmittal of the record copy to the International
Bureau, the international application is withdrawn or considered withdrawn,
or
54

Regulations Under the PCT
(iii) if, due to prescriptions concerning national security, the
international application is not treated as such.
Rule 16
The Search Fee
16.1 Right to Ask for a Fee
(a) Each International Searching Authority may require that the
applicant pay a fee (“search fee”) for its own benefit for carrying out the
international search and for performing all other tasks entrusted to
International Searching Authorities by the Treaty and these Regulations.
(b) The search fee shall be collected by the receiving Office. The
said fee shall be payable in the currency or one of the currencies prescribed
by that Office (“receiving Office currency”), it being understood that, if
any receiving Office currency is not that, or one of those, in which the
International Searching Authority has fixed the said fee (“fixed currency”),
it shall, when transferred by the receiving Office to the International
Searching Authority, be freely convertible into the currency of the State in
which the International Searching Authority has its headquarters
(“headquarters currency”). The amount of the search fee in any receiving
Office currency, other than the fixed currency, shall be established by the
Director General after consultation with the receiving Office of, or acting
under Rule 19.1(b) for, the State whose official currency is the same as the
receiving Office currency. The amounts so established shall be the
equivalents, in round figures, of the amount established by the International
Searching Authority in the headquarters currency. They shall be notified
by the International Bureau to each receiving Office prescribing payment
in that receiving Office currency and shall be published in the Gazette.
(c) Where the amount of the search fee in the headquarters currency
is changed, the corresponding amounts in the receiving Office currencies,
other than the fixed currency or currencies, shall be applied from the same
date as the changed amount in the headquarters currency.
(d) Where the exchange rate between the headquarters currency and
any receiving Office currency, other than the fixed currency or currencies,
becomes different from the exchange rate last applied, the Director General
shall establish the new amount in the said receiving Office currency
55

Regulations Under the PCT
according to directives given by the Assembly. The newly established
amount shall become applicable two months after its publication in the
Gazette, provided that any receiving Office referred to in the third sentence
of paragraph (b) and the Director General may agree on a date falling
during the said two-month period, in which case the said amount shall
become applicable for that Office from that date.
(e) Where, in respect of the payment of the search fee in a receiving
Office currency, other than the fixed currency or currencies, the amount
actually received by the International Searching Authority in the
headquarters currency is less than that fixed by it, the difference will be
paid to the International Searching Authority by the International Bureau,
whereas, if the amount actually received is more, the difference will belong
to the International Bureau.
(f) As to the time limit for payment of the search fee and the amount
payable, the provisions of Rule 15.4(a) relating to the basic fee shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
16.2 Refund
The receiving Office shall refund the search fee to the applicant:
(i) if the determination under Article 11(1) is negative,
(ii) if, before the transmittal of the search copy to the International
Searching Authority, the international application is withdrawn or
considered withdrawn, or
(iii) if, due to prescriptions concerning national security, the
international application is not treated as such.
16.3 Partial Refund
Where the international application claims the priority of an earlier
international application which has been the subject of an international
search by the same International Searching Authority, that Authority shall
refund the search fee paid in connection with the later international
application to the extent and under the conditions provided for in the
agreement under Article 16(3)(b), if the international search report on the
later international application could wholly or partly be based on the results
of the international search effected on the earlier international application.
56

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 16bis
Extension of Time Limits for Payment of Fees
16bis.1 Invitation by the Receiving Office
(a) Where, by the time they are due under Rules 14.1(c), 15.4(a)
and 16.1(f), the receiving Office finds that no fees were paid to it, or that
the amount paid to it is insufficient to cover the transmittal fee, the basic
fee and the search fee, the receiving Office shall invite the applicant to pay
to it the amount required to cover those fees, together with, where
applicable, the late payment fee under Rule 16bis.2, within a time limit of
one month from the date of the invitation.
(b) Where, by the time they are due under Rule 15.4(b), the receiving
Office finds that no fees were paid to it, or that the amount paid to it is
insufficient to cover the designation fees necessary to cover all the
designations under Rule 4.9(a), the receiving Office shall invite the
applicant to pay to it the amount required to cover those fees, together
with, where applicable, the late payment fee under Rule 16bis.2, within a
time limit of one month from the date of the invitation. The amount payable
in respect of any designation fee shall be the amount applicable on the last
day of the one-year period from the priority date if the time limit under
Rule 15.4(b)(i) applies or the amount applicable on the date of receipt of
the international application if the time limit under Rule 15.4(b)(ii) applies.
(c) Where the receiving Office has sent to the applicant an invitation
under paragraph (a) or (b) and the applicant has not, within the time limit
referred to in that paragraph, paid in full the amount due, including, where
applicable, the late payment fee under Rule 16bis.2, the receiving Office
shall, subject to paragraph (d):
(i) allocate any moneys paid as specified by the applicant or, in
the absence of such specification, as prescribed by the Administrative
Instructions,
(ii) make the applicable declaration under Article 14(3), and
(iii) proceed as provided in Rule 29.
(d) Any payment received by the receiving Office before that Office
sends the invitation under paragraph (a) or (b) shall be considered to have
been received before the expiration of the time limit under Rule 14.1(c),
15.4(a) or (b) or 16.1(f), as the case may be.
57

Regulations Under the PCT
(e) Any payment received by the receiving Office before that Office
makes the applicable declaration under Article 14(3) shall be considered
to have been received before the expiration of the time limit referred to in
paragraph (a) or (b).
16bis.2 Late Payment Fee
(a) The payment of fees in response to an invitation under
Rule 16bis.1(a) or (b) may be subjected by the receiving Office to the
payment to it, for its own benefit, of a late payment fee. The amount of
that fee shall be:
(i) 50% of the amount of unpaid fees which is specified in the
invitation, or,
(ii) if the amount calculated under item (i) is less than the
transmittal fee, an amount equal to the transmittal fee.
(b) The amount of the late payment fee shall not, however, exceed
the amount of the basic fee referred to in item 1(a) of the Schedule of Fees.
Rule 17
The Priority Document
17.1 Obligation to Submit Copy of Earlier National or International
Application
(a) Where the priority of an earlier national or international
application is claimed under Article 8, a copy of that earlier application,
certified by the authority with which it was filed (“the priority document”),
shall, unless already filed with the receiving Office together with the
international application in which the priority claim is made, and subject
to paragraph (b), be submitted by the applicant to the International Bureau
or to the receiving Office not later than 16 months after the priority date,
provided that any copy of the said earlier application which is received by
the International Bureau after the expiration of that time limit shall be
considered to have been received by that Bureau on the last day of that
time limit if it reaches it before the date of international publication of the
international application.
(b) Where the priority document is issued by the receiving Office,
the applicant may, instead of submitting the priority document, request
58

Regulations Under the PCT
the receiving Office to prepare and transmit the priority document to the
International Bureau. Such request shall be made not later than 16 months
after the priority date and may be subjected by the receiving Office to the
payment of a fee.
(c) If the requirements of neither of the two preceding paragraphs
are complied with, any designated State may disregard the priority claim,
provided that no designated Office shall disregard the priority claim before
giving the applicant an opportunity to furnish the priority document within
a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances.
17.2 Availability of Copies
(a) Where the applicant has complied with Rule 17.1(a) or (b), the
International Bureau shall, at the specific request of the designated Office,
promptly but not prior to the international publication of the international
application, furnish a copy of the priority document to that Office. No
such Office shall ask the applicant himself to furnish it with a copy. The
applicant shall not be required to furnish a translation to the designated
Office before the expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 22.
Where the applicant makes an express request to the designated Office
under Article 23(2) prior to the international publication of the international
application, the International Bureau shall, at the specific request of the
designated Office, furnish a copy of the priority document to that Office
promptly after receiving it.
(b) The International Bureau shall not make copies of the priority
document available to the public prior to the international publication of
the international application.
(c) Where the international application has been published under
Article 21, the International Bureau shall furnish a copy of the priority
document to any person upon request and subject to reimbursement of the
cost unless, prior to that publication:
(i) the international application was withdrawn,
(ii) the relevant priority claim was withdrawn or considered,
under Rule 26bis.2(b), not to have been made.

59

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 18
The Applicant
18.1 Residence and Nationality
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c), the question
whether an applicant is a resident or national of the Contracting State of
which he claims to be a resident or national shall depend on the national
law of that State and shall be decided by the receiving Office.
(b) In any case,
(i) possession of a real and effective industrial or commercial
establishment in a Contracting State shall be considered residence in that
State, and
(ii) a legal entity constituted according to the national law of a
Contracting State shall be considered a national of that State.
(c) Where the international application is filed with the International
Bureau as receiving Office, the International Bureau shall, in the
circumstances specified in the Administrative Instructions, request the
national Office of, or acting for, the Contracting State concerned to decide
the question referred to in paragraph (a). The International Bureau shall
inform the applicant of any such request. The applicant shall have an
opportunity to submit arguments directly to the national Office. The national
Office shall decide the said question promptly.
18.2 [Deleted]
18.3 Two or More Applicants
If there are two or more applicants, the right to file an international
application shall exist if at least one of them is entitled to file an international
application according to Article 9.
18.4 Information on Requirements Under National Law as to Applicants
(a) and (b) [Deleted]
(c) The International Bureau shall, from time to time, publish
information on the various national laws in respect of the question who is
qualified (inventor, successor in title of the inventor, owner of the invention,
or other) to file a national application and shall accompany such information
60

Regulations Under the PCT
by a warning that the effect of the international application in any designated
State may depend on whether the person designated in the international
application as applicant for the purposes of that State is a person who,
under the national law of that State, is qualified to file a national application.
Rule 19
The Competent Receiving Office
19.1 Where to File
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), the international
application shall be filed, at the option of the applicant,
(i) with the national Office of or acting for the Contracting State
of which the applicant is a resident,
(ii) with the national Office of or acting for the Contracting State
of which the applicant is a national, or
(iii) irrespective of the Contracting State of which the applicant
is a resident or national, with the International Bureau.
(b) Any Contracting State may agree with another Contracting State
or any intergovernmental organization that the national Office of the latter
State or the intergovernmental organization shall, for all or some purposes,
act instead of the national Office of the former State as receiving Office
for applicants who are residents or nationals of that former State.
Notwithstanding such agreement, the national Office of the former State
shall be considered the competent receiving Office for the purposes of
Article 15(5).
(c) In connection with any decision made under Article 9(2), the
Assembly shall appoint the national Office or the intergovernmental
organization which will act as receiving Office for applications of residents
or nationals of States specified by the Assembly. Such appointment shall
require the previous consent of the said national Office or intergovernmental
organization.
19.2 Two or More Applicants
If there are two or more applicants:
(i) the requirements of Rule 19.1 shall be considered to be met
if the national Office with which the international application is filed is the
61

Regulations Under the PCT
national Office of or acting for a Contracting State of which at least one of
the applicants is a resident or national;
(ii) the international application may be filed with the
International Bureau under Rule 19.1(a)(iii) if at least one of the applicants
is a resident or national of a Contracting State.
19.3 Publication of Fact of Delegation of Duties of Receiving Office
(a) Any agreement referred to in Rule 19.1(b) shall be promptly
notified to the International Bureau by the Contracting State which delegates
the duties of the receiving Office to the national Office of or acting for
another Contracting State or an intergovernmental organization.
(b) The International Bureau shall, promptly upon receipt, publish
the notification in the Gazette.
19.4 Transmittal to the International Bureau as Receiving Office
(a) Where an international application is filed with a national Office
which acts as a receiving Office under the Treaty but
(i) that national Office is not competent under Rule 19.1 or 19.2
to receive that international application, or
(ii) that international application is not in a language accepted
under Rule 12.1(a) by that national Office but is in a language
accepted under that Rule by the International Bureau as
receiving Office, or
(iii) that national Office and the International Bureau agree, for
any reason other than those specified under items (i) and (ii),
and with the authorization of the applicant, that the procedure
under this Rule should apply,
that international application shall, subject to paragraph (b), be considered
to have been received by that Office on behalf of the International Bureau
as receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii).
(b) Where, pursuant to paragraph (a), an international application is
received by a national Office on behalf of the International Bureau as
receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii), that national Office shall, unless
prescriptions concerning national security prevent the international
application from being so transmitted, promptly transmit it to the
International Bureau. Such transmittal may be subjected by the national
62

Regulations Under the PCT
Office to the payment of a fee, for its own benefit, equal to the transmittal
fee charged by that Office under Rule 14. The international application so
transmitted shall be considered to have been received by the International
Bureau as receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii) on the date of receipt of
the international application by that national Office.
(c) For the purposes of Rules 14.1(c), 15.4(a) to (c) and 16.1(f), where
the international application was transmitted to the International Bureau
under paragraph (b), the date of receipt of the international application
shall be considered to be the date on which the international application
was actually received by the International Bureau. For the purposes of this
paragraph, the last sentence of paragraph (b) shall not apply.
Rule 20
Receipt of the International Application
20.1 Date and Number
(a) Upon receipt of papers purporting to be an international
application, the receiving Office shall indelibly mark the date of actual
receipt on the request of each copy received and the international application
number on each sheet of each copy received.
(b) The place on each sheet where the date or number shall be marked,
and other details, shall be specified in the Administrative Instructions.
20.2 Receipt on Different Days
(a) In cases where all the sheets pertaining to the same purported
international application are not received on the same day by the receiving
Office, that Office shall correct the date marked on the request (still leaving
legible, however, the earlier date or dates already marked) so that it indicates
the day on which the papers completing the international application were
received, provided that
(i) where no invitation under Article 11(2)(a) to correct was
sent to the applicant, the said papers are received within 30 days from the
date on which sheets were first received;
(ii) where an invitation under Article 11(2)(a) to correct was sent
to the applicant, the said papers are received within the applicable time
limit under Rule 20.6;
63

Regulations Under the PCT
(iii) in the case of Article 14(2), the missing drawings are received
within 30 days from the date on which the incomplete papers were filed;
(iv) the absence or later receipt of any sheet containing the abstract
or part thereof shall not, in itself, require any correction of the date marked
on the request.
(b) Any sheet received on a date later than the date on which sheets
were first received shall be marked by the receiving Office with the date
on which it was received.
20.3 Corrected International Application
In the case referred to in Article 11(2)(b), the receiving Office shall
correct the date marked on the request (still leaving legible, however, the
earlier date or dates already marked) so that it indicates the day on which
the last required correction was received.
20.4 Determination Under Article 11(1)
(a) Promptly after receipt of the papers purporting to be an
international application, the receiving Office shall determine whether the
papers comply with the requirements of Article 11(1).
(b) For the purposes of Article 11(1)(iii)(c), it shall be sufficient to
indicate the name of the applicant in a way which allows his identity to be
established even if the name is misspelled, the given names are not fully
indicated, or, in the case of legal entities, the indication of the name is
abbreviated or incomplete.
(c) For the purposes of Article 11(1)(ii), it shall be sufficient that the
part which appears to be a description (other than any sequence listing
part thereof) and the part which appears to be a claim or claims be in a
language accepted by the receiving Office under Rule 12.1(a).
(d) If, on October 1, 1997, paragraph (c) is not compatible with the
national law applied by the receiving Office, paragraph (c) shall not apply
to that receiving Office for as long as it continues not to be compatible
with that law, provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau
accordingly by December 31, 1997. The information received shall be
promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.

64

Regulations Under the PCT
20.5 Positive Determination
(a) If the determination under Article 11(1) is positive, the receiving
Office shall stamp on the request the name of the receiving Office and the
words “PCT International Application,” or “Demande internationale PCT.”
If the official language of the receiving Office is neither English nor French,
the words “International Application” or “Demande internationale” may
be accompanied by a translation of these words in the official language of
the receiving Office.
(b) The copy whose request has been so stamped shall be the record
copy of the international application.
(c) The receiving Office shall promptly notify the applicant of the
international application number and the international filing date. At the
same time, it shall send to the International Bureau a copy of the notification
sent to the applicant, except where it has already sent, or is sending at the
same time, the record copy to the International Bureau under Rule 22.1(a).
20.6 Invitation to Correct
(a) The invitation to correct under Article 11(2) shall specify the
requirement provided for under Article 11(1) which, in the opinion of the
receiving Office, has not been fulfilled.
(b) The receiving Office shall promptly mail the invitation to the
applicant and shall fix a time limit, reasonable under the circumstances of
the case, for filing the correction. The time limit shall not be less than 10
days, and shall not exceed one month, from the date of the invitation. If
such time limit expires after the expiration of one year from the filing date
of any application whose priority is claimed, the receiving Office may call
this circumstance to the attention of the applicant.
20.7 Negative Determination
If the receiving Office does not, within the prescribed time limit,
receive a reply to its invitation to correct, or if the correction offered by
the applicant still does not fulfill the requirements provided for under
Article 11(1), it shall:
(i) promptly notify the applicant that his application is not and
will not be treated as an international application and shall indicate the
reasons therefor,
65

Regulations Under the PCT
(ii) notify the International Bureau that the number it has marked
on the papers will not be used as an international application number,
(iii) keep the papers constituting the purported international
application and any correspondence relating thereto as provided in
Rule 93.1, and
(iv) send a copy of the said papers to the International Bureau
where, pursuant to a request by the applicant under Article 25(1), the
International Bureau needs such a copy and specially asks for it.
20.8 Error by the Receiving Office
If the receiving Office later discovers, or on the basis of the applicant’s
reply realizes, that it has erred in issuing an invitation to correct since the
requirements provided for under Article 11(1) were fulfilled when the
papers were received, it shall proceed as provided in Rule 20.5.
20.9 Certified Copy for the Applicant
Against payment of a fee, the receiving Office shall furnish to the
applicant, on request, certified copies of the international application as
filed and of any corrections thereto.
Rule 21
Preparation of Copies
21.1 Responsibility of the Receiving Office
(a) Where the international application is required to be filed in one
copy, the receiving Office shall be responsible for preparing the home
copy and the search copy required under Article 12(1).
(b) Where the international application is required to be filed in two
copies, the receiving Office shall be responsible for preparing the home
copy.
(c) If the international application is filed in less than the number of
copies required under Rule 11.1(b), the receiving Office shall be responsible
for the prompt preparation of the number of copies required, and shall
have the right to fix a fee for performing that task and to collect such fee
from the applicant.

66

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 22
Transmittal of the Record Copy and Translation
22.1 Procedure
(a) If the determination under Article 11(1) is positive, and unless
prescriptions concerning national security prevent the international
application from being treated as such, the receiving Office shall transmit
the record copy to the International Bureau. Such transmittal shall be
effected promptly after receipt of the international application or, if a check
to preserve national security must be performed, as soon as the necessary
clearance has been obtained. In any case, the receiving Office shall transmit
the record copy in time for it to reach the International Bureau by the
expiration of the 13th month from the priority date. If the transmittal is
effected by mail, the receiving Office shall mail the record copy not later
than five days prior to the expiration of the 13th month from the priority
date.
(b) If the International Bureau has received a copy of the notification
under Rule 20.5(c) but is not, by the expiration of 13 months from the
priority date, in possession of the record copy, it shall remind the receiving
Office that it should transmit the record copy to the International Bureau
promptly.
(c) If the International Bureau has received a copy of the notification
under Rule 20.5(c) but is not, by the expiration of 14 months from the
priority date, in possession of the record copy, it shall notify the applicant
and the receiving Office accordingly.
(d) After the expiration of 14 months from the priority date, the
applicant may request the receiving Office to certify a copy of his
international application as being identical with the international application
as filed and may transmit such certified copy to the International Bureau.
(e) Any certification under paragraph (d) shall be free of charge and
may be refused only on any of the following grounds:
(i) the copy which the receiving Office has been requested to
certify is not identical with the international application as filed;

67

Regulations Under the PCT
(ii) prescriptions concerning national security prevent the
international application from being treated as such;
(iii) the receiving Office has already transmitted the record copy
to the International Bureau and that Bureau has informed the receiving
Office that it has received the record copy.
(f) Unless the International Bureau has received the record copy, or
until it receives the record copy, the copy certified under paragraph (e)
and received by the International Bureau shall be considered to be the
record copy.
(g) If, by the expiration of the time limit applicable under Article 22,
the applicant has performed the acts referred to in that Article but the
designated Office has not been informed by the International Bureau of
the receipt of the record copy, the designated Office shall inform the
International Bureau. If the International Bureau is not in possession of
the record copy, it shall promptly notify the applicant and the receiving
Office unless it has already notified them under paragraph (c).
(h) Where the international application is to be published in the
language of a translation furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4, that translation
shall be transmitted by the receiving Office to the International Bureau
together with the record copy under paragraph (a) or, if the receiving Office
has already transmitted the record copy to the International Bureau under
that paragraph, promptly after receipt of the translation.
22.2 [Deleted]
22.3 Time Limit Under Article 12(3)
The time limit referred to in Article 12(3) shall be three months from
the date of the notification sent by the International Bureau to the applicant
under Rule 22.1(c) or (g).
Rule 23
Transmittal of the Search Copy, Translation and Sequence Listing
23.1 Procedure
(a) Where no translation of the international application is required
under Rule 12.3(a), the search copy shall be transmitted by the receiving
Office to the International Searching Authority at the latest on the same
68

Regulations Under the PCT
day as the record copy is transmitted to the International Bureau unless no
search fee has been paid. In the latter case, it shall be transmitted promptly
after payment of the search fee.
(b) Where a translation of the international application is furnished
under Rule 12.3, a copy of that translation and of the request, which together
shall be considered to be the search copy under Article 12(1), shall be
transmitted by the receiving Office to the International Searching Authority,
unless no search fee has been paid. In the latter case, a copy of the said
translation and of the request shall be transmitted promptly after payment
of the search fee.
(c) Any sequence listing in computer readable form which is furnished
to the receiving Office shall be transmitted by that Office to the International
Searching Authority.
Rule 24
Receipt of the Record Copy by the International Bureau
24.1 [Deleted]
24.2 Notification of Receipt of the Record Copy
(a) The International Bureau shall promptly notify:
(i) the applicant,
(ii) the receiving Office, and
(iii) the International Searching Authority (unless it has informed
the International Bureau that it wishes not to be so notified),
of the fact and the date of receipt of the record copy. The notification shall
identify the international application by its number, the international filing
date and the name of the applicant, and shall indicate the filing date of any
earlier application whose priority is claimed. The notification sent to the
applicant shall also contain a list of the States designated under Rule 4.9(a)
and, where applicable, of those States whose designations have been
confirmed under Rule 4.9(c).
(b) Each designated Office which has informed the International
Bureau that it wishes to receive the notification under paragraph (a) prior
to the communication under Rule 47.1 shall be so notified by the
International Bureau:
69

Regulations Under the PCT
(i) if the designation concerned was made under Rule 4.9(a),
promptly after the receipt of the record copy;
(ii) if the designation concerned was made under Rule 4.9(b),
promptly after the International Bureau has been informed by the receiving
Office of the confirmation of that designation.
(c) If the record copy is received after the expiration of the time
limit fixed in Rule 22.3, the International Bureau shall promptly notify the
applicant, the receiving Office, and the International Searching Authority,
accordingly.
Rule 25
Receipt of the Search Copy
by the International Searching Authority
25.1 Notification of Receipt of the Search Copy
The International Searching Authority shall promptly notify the
International Bureau, the applicant, and—unless the International Searching
Authority is the same as the receiving Office—the receiving Office, of the
fact and the date of receipt of the search copy.
Rule 26
Checking by, and Correcting Before, the Receiving Office
of Certain Elements of the International Application
26.1 Time Limit for Check
(a) The receiving Office shall issue the invitation to correct provided
for in Article 14(1)(b) as soon as possible, preferably within one month
from the receipt of the international application.
(b) If the receiving Office issues an invitation to correct the defect
referred to in Article 14(1)(a)(iii) or (iv) (missing title or missing abstract),
it shall notify the International Searching Authority accordingly.
26.2 Time Limit for Correction
The time limit referred to in Article 14(1)(b) shall be reasonable under
the circumstances and shall be fixed in each case by the receiving Office.

70

Regulations Under the PCT
It shall not be less than one month from the date of the invitation to correct.
It may be extended by the receiving Office at any time before a decision is
taken.
26.3 Checking of Physical Requirements Under Article 14(1)(a)(v)
(a) Where the international application is filed in a language of
publication, the receiving Office shall check:
(i) the international application for compliance with the physical
requirements referred to in Rule 11 only to the extent that compliance
therewith is necessary for the purpose of reasonably uniform international
publication;
(ii) any translation furnished under Rule 12.3 for compliance
with the physical requirements referred to in Rule 11 to the extent that
compliance therewith is necessary for the purpose of satisfactory
reproduction.
(b) Where the international application is filed in a language which
is not a language of publication, the receiving Office shall check:
(i) the international application for compliance with the physical
requirements referred to in Rule 11 only to the extent that compliance
therewith is necessary for the purpose of satisfactory reproduction;
(ii) any translation furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4 and the
drawings for compliance with the physical requirements referred to in
Rule 11 to the extent that compliance therewith is necessary for the purpose
of reasonably uniform international publication.
26.3bis Invitation Under Article 14(1)(b) to Correct Defects Under Rule 11
The receiving Office shall not be required to issue the invitation under
Article 14(1)(b) to correct a defect under Rule 11 where the physical
requirements referred to in that Rule are complied with to the extent required
under Rule 26.3.
26.3ter Invitation to Correct Defects Under Article 3(4)(i)
(a) Where the abstract or any text matter of the drawings is filed in a
language which is different from the language of the description and the
claims, the receiving Office shall, unless

71

Regulations Under the PCT
(i) a translation of the international application is required under
Rule 12.3(a), or
(ii) the abstract or the text matter of the drawings is in the
language in which the international application is to be
published,
invite the applicant to furnish a translation of the abstract or the text matter
of the drawings into the language in which the international application is
to be published. Rules 26.1(a), 26.2, 26.3, 26.3bis, 26.5 and 29.1 shall
apply mutatis mutandis.
(b) If, on October 1, 1997, paragraph (a) is not compatible with the
national law applied by the receiving Office, paragraph (a) shall not apply
to that receiving Office for as long as it continues not to be compatible
with that law, provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau
accordingly by December 31, 1997. The information received shall be
promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.
(c) Where the request does not comply with Rule 12.1(c), the
receiving Office shall invite the applicant to file a translation so as to comply
with that Rule. Rules 3, 26.1(a), 26.2, 26.5 and 29.1 shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
(d) If, on October 1, 1997, paragraph (c) is not compatible with the
national law applied by the receiving Office, paragraph (c) shall not apply
to that receiving Office for as long as it continues not to be compatible
with that law, provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau
accordingly by December 31, 1997. The information received shall be
promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.
26.4 Procedure
Any correction offered to the receiving Office may be stated in a
letter addressed to that Office if the correction is of such a nature that it
can be transferred from the letter to the record copy without adversely
affecting the clarity and the direct reproducibility of the sheet on to which
the correction is to be transferred; otherwise, the applicant shall be required
to submit a replacement sheet embodying the correction and the letter
accompanying the replacement sheet shall draw attention to the differences
between the replaced sheet and the replacement sheet.
72

Regulations Under the PCT
26.5 Decision of the Receiving Office
The receiving Office shall decide whether the applicant has submitted
the correction within the time limit under Rule 26.2 and, if the correction
has been submitted within that time limit, whether the international
application so corrected is or is not to be considered withdrawn, provided
that no international application shall be considered withdrawn for lack of
compliance with the physical requirements referred to in Rule 11 if it
complies with those requirements to the extent necessary for the purpose
of reasonably uniform international publication.
26.6 Missing Drawings
(a) If, as provided in Article 14(2), the international application refers
to drawings which in fact are not included in that application, the receiving
Office shall so indicate in the said application.
(b) The date on which the applicant receives the notification provided
for in Article 14(2) shall have no effect on the time limit fixed under
Rule 20.2(a)(iii).
Rule 26bis
Correction or Addition of Priority Claim
26bis.1 Correction or Addition of Priority Claim
(a) The applicant may correct or add a priority claim by a notice
submitted to the receiving Office or the International Bureau within a time
limit of 16 months from the priority date or, where the correction or addition
would cause a change in the priority date, 16 months from the priority date
as so changed, whichever 16-month period expires first, provided that such
a notice may be submitted until the expiration of four months from the
international filing date. The correction of a priority claim may include the
addition of any indication referred to in Rule 4.10.
(b) Any notice referred to in paragraph (a) received by the receiving
Office or the International Bureau after the applicant has made a request
for early publication under Article 21(2)(b) shall be considered not to have
been submitted, unless that request is withdrawn before the technical
preparations for international publication have been completed.

73

Regulations Under the PCT
(c) Where the correction or addition of a priority claim causes a
change in the priority date, any time limit which is computed from the
previously applicable priority date and which has not already expired shall
be computed from the priority date as so changed.
26bis.2 Invitation to Correct Defects in Priority Claims
(a) Where the receiving Office or, if the receiving Office fails to do
so, the International Bureau, finds that a priority claim does not comply
with the requirements of Rule 4.10 or that any indication in a priority
claim is not the same as the corresponding indication appearing in the
priority document, the receiving Office or the International Bureau, as the
case may be, shall invite the applicant to correct the priority claim.
(b) If, in response to an invitation under paragraph (a), the applicant
does not, before the expiration of the time limit under Rule 26bis.1(a),
submit a notice correcting the priority claim so as to comply with the
requirements of Rule 4.10, that priority claim shall, for the purposes of the
procedure under the Treaty, be considered not to have been made and the
receiving Office or the International Bureau, as the case may be, shall so
declare and shall inform the applicant accordingly, provided that a priority
claim shall not be considered not to have been made only because the
indication of the number of the earlier application referred to in
Rule 4.10(a)(ii) is missing or because an indication in the priority claim is
not the same as the corresponding indication appearing in the priority
document.
(c) Where the receiving Office or the International Bureau has made
a declaration under paragraph (b), the International Bureau shall, upon
request made by the applicant and received by the International Bureau
prior to the completion of the technical preparations for international
publication, and subject to the payment of a special fee whose amount
shall be fixed in the Administrative Instructions, publish, together with the
international application, information concerning the priority claim which
was considered not to have been made. A copy of that request shall be
included in the communication under Article 20 where a copy of the
pamphlet is not used for that communication or where the international
application is not published by virtue of Article 64(3).

74

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 26ter
Correction or Addition of Declarations Under Rule 4.17
26ter.1 Correction or Addition of Declarations
The applicant may correct or add to the request any declaration
referred to in Rule 4.17 by a notice submitted to the International Bureau
within a time limit of 16 months from the priority date, provided that any
notice which is received by the International Bureau after the expiration of
that time limit shall be considered to have been received on the last day of
that time limit if it reaches it before the technical preparations for
international publication have been completed.
26ter.2 Processing of Declarations
(a) Where the receiving Office or the International Bureau finds that
any declaration referred to in Rule 4.17 is not worded as required or, in the
case of the declaration of inventorship referred to in Rule 4.17(iv), is not
signed as required, the receiving Office or the International Bureau, as the
case may be, may invite the applicant to correct the declaration within a
time limit of 16 months from the priority date.
(b) Where the International Bureau receives any declaration or
correction under Rule 26ter.1 after the expiration of the time limit under
Rule 26ter.1, the International Bureau shall notify the applicant accordingly
and shall proceed as provided for in the Administrative Instructions.
Rule 27
Lack of Payment of Fees
27.1 Fees
(a) For the purposes of Article 14(3)(a), “fees prescribed under
Article 3(4)(iv)” means: the transmittal fee (Rule 14), the basic fee part of
the international fee (Rule 15.1(i)), the search fee (Rule 16), and, where
required, the late payment fee (Rule 16bis.2).
(b) For the purposes of Article 14(3)(a) and (b), “the fee prescribed
under Article 4(2)” means the designation fee part of the international fee
(Rule 15.1(ii)) and, where required, the late payment fee (Rule 16bis.2).

75

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 28
Defects Noted by the International Bureau
28.1 Note on Certain Defects
(a) If, in the opinion of the International Bureau, the international
application contains any of the defects referred to in Article 14(1)(a)(i),
(ii) or (v), the International Bureau shall bring such defects to the attention
of the receiving Office.
(b) The receiving Office shall, unless it disagrees with the said
opinion, proceed as provided in Article 14(1)(b) and Rule 26.
Rule 29
International Applications or Designations Considered Withdrawn
29.1 Finding by Receiving Office
(a) If the receiving Office declares, under Article 14(1)(b) and
Rule 26.5 (failure to correct certain defects), or under Article 14(3)(a)
(failure to pay the prescribed fees under Rule 27.1(a)), or under
Article 14(4) (later finding of non-compliance with the requirements listed
in items (i) to (iii) of Article 11(1)), or under Rule 12.3(d) or 12.4(d) (failure
to furnish a required translation or, where applicable, to pay a late furnishing
fee), or under Rule 92.4(g)(i) (failure to furnish the original of a document),
that the international application is considered withdrawn:
(i) the receiving Office shall transmit the record copy (unless
already transmitted), and any correction offered by the applicant, to the
International Bureau;
(ii) the receiving Office shall promptly notify both the applicant
and the International Bureau of the said declaration, and the International
Bureau shall in turn notify each designated Office which has already been
notified of its designation;
(iii) the receiving Office shall not transmit the search copy as
provided in Rule 23, or, if such copy has already been transmitted, it shall
notify the International Searching Authority of the said declaration;
(iv) the International Bureau shall not be required to notify the
applicant of the receipt of the record copy.

76

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) If the receiving Office declares under Article 14(3)(b) (failure to
pay the prescribed designation fee under Rule 27.1(b)) that the designation
of any given State is considered withdrawn, the receiving Office shall
promptly notify both the applicant and the International Bureau of the said
declaration. The International Bureau shall in turn notify each designated
Office which has already been notified of its designation.
29.2 [Deleted]
29.3 Calling Certain Facts to the Attention of the Receiving Office
If the International Bureau or the International Searching Authority
considers that the receiving Office should make a finding under
Article 14(4), it shall call the relevant facts to the attention of the receiving
Office.
29.4 Notification of Intent to Make Declaration Under Article 14(4)
Before the receiving Office issues any declaration under Article 14(4),
it shall notify the applicant of its intent to issue such declaration and the
reasons therefor. The applicant may, if he disagrees with the tentative
finding of the receiving Office, submit arguments to that effect within one
month from the notification.
Rule 30
Time Limit Under Article 14(4)
30.1 Time Limit
The time limit referred to in Article 14(4) shall be four months from
the international filing date.
Rule 31
Copies Required Under Article 13
31.1 Request for Copies
(a) Requests under Article 13(1) may relate to all, some kinds of, or
individual international applications in which the national Office making
the request is designated. Requests for all or some kinds of such
international applications must be renewed for each year by means of a

77

Regulations Under the PCT
notification addressed by that Office before November 30 of the preceding
year to the International Bureau.
(b) Requests under Article 13(2)(b) shall be subject to the payment
of a fee covering the cost of preparing and mailing the copy.
31.2 Preparation of Copies
The preparation of copies required under Article 13 shall be the
responsibility of the International Bureau.
Rule 32
Extension of Effects of
International Application to Certain Successor States
32.1 Request for Extension of International Application to Successor State
(a) The effects of any international application whose international
filing date falls in the period defined in paragraph (b) may, subject to the
performance by the applicant of the acts specified in paragraph (c), be
extended to a State (“the successor State”) whose territory was, before the
independence of that State, part of the territory of a Contracting State which
subsequently ceased to exist (“the predecessor State”), provided that the
successor State has become a Contracting State through the deposit, with
the Director General, of a declaration of continuation the effect of which
is that the Treaty is applied by the successor State.
(b) The period referred to in paragraph (a) starts on the day following
the last day of the existence of the predecessor State and ends two months
after the date on which the declaration referred to in paragraph (a) was
notified by the Director General to the Governments of the States party to
the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. However,
where the date of independence of the successor State is earlier than the
date of the day following the last day of the existence of the predecessor
State, the successor State may declare that the said period starts on the
date of its independence; such a declaration shall be made together with
the declaration referred to in paragraph (a) and shall specify the date of
independence.
(c) In respect of any international application whose filing date falls
within the applicable period under paragraph (b), the International Bureau
78

Regulations Under the PCT
shall send the applicant a notification informing him that he may make a
request for extension by performing, within three months from the date of
that notification, the following acts:
(i) filing with the International Bureau the request for extension;
(ii) paying to the International Bureau an extension fee in Swiss
francs, the amount of which shall be the same as the amount of the
designation fee referred to in Rule 15.2(a).
(d) This Rule shall not apply to the Russian Federation.
32.2 Effects of Extension to Successor State
(a) Where a request for extension is made in accordance with
Rule 32.1,
(i) the successor State shall be considered as having been
designated in the international application, and
(ii) the applicable time limit under Article 22 or 39(1) in relation
to that State shall be extended until the expiration of at least three months
from the date of the request for extension.
(b) Where, in the case of a successor State which is bound by
Chapter II of the Treaty, the request for extension was made after, but the
demand was made before, the expiration of the 19th month from the priority
date, and a later election is made of the successor State within three months
from the date of the request for extension, the applicable time limit under
paragraph (a)(ii) shall be at least 30 months from the priority date.
(c) The successor State may fix time limits which expire later than
those provided in paragraphs (a)(ii) and (b). The International Bureau shall
publish information on such time limits in the Gazette.
Rule 33
Relevant Prior Art for the International Search
33.1 Relevant Prior Art for the International Search
(a) For the purposes of Article 15(2), relevant prior art shall consist
of everything which has been made available to the public anywhere in
the world by means of written disclosure (including drawings and other
illustrations) and which is capable of being of assistance in determining
79

Regulations Under the PCT
that the claimed invention is or is not new and that it does or does not
involve an inventive step (i.e., that it is or is not obvious), provided that
the making available to the public occurred prior to the international filing
date.
(b) When any written disclosure refers to an oral disclosure, use,
exhibition, or other means whereby the contents of the written disclosure
were made available to the public, and such making available to the public
occurred on a date prior to the international filing date, the international
search report shall separately mention that fact and the date on which it
occurred if the making available to the public of the written disclosure
occurred on a date which is the same as, or later than, the international
filing date.
(c) Any published application or any patent whose publication date
is the same as, or later than, but whose filing date, or, where applicable,
claimed priority date, is earlier than the international filing date of the
international application searched, and which would constitute relevant
prior art for the purposes of Article 15(2) had it been published prior to the
international filing date, shall be specially mentioned in the international
search report.
33.2 Fields to Be Covered by the International Search
(a) The international search shall cover all those technical fields,
and shall be carried out on the basis of all those search files, which may
contain material pertinent to the invention.
(b) Consequently, not only shall the art in which the invention is
classifiable be searched but also analogous arts regardless of where
classified.
(c) The question what arts are, in any given case, to be regarded as
analogous shall be considered in the light of what appears to be the
necessary essential function or use of the invention and not only the specific
functions expressly indicated in the international application.
(d) The international search shall embrace all subject matter that is
generally recognized as equivalent to the subject matter of the claimed
invention for all or certain of its features, even though, in its specifics, the
invention as described in the international application is different.
80

Regulations Under the PCT
33.3 Orientation of the International Search
(a) International search shall be made on the basis of the claims,
with due regard to the description and the drawings (if any) and with
particular emphasis on the inventive concept towards which the claims are
directed.
(b) In so far as possible and reasonable, the international search shall
cover the entire subject matter to which the claims are directed or to which
they might reasonably be expected to be directed after they have been
amended.
Rule 34
Minimum Documentation
34.1 Definition
(a) The definitions contained in Article 2(i) and (ii) shall not apply
for the purposes of this Rule.
(b) The documentation referred to in Article 15(4) (“minimum
documentation”) shall consist of:
(i) the “national patent documents” as specified in paragraph (c),
(ii) the published international (PCT) applications, the published
regional applications for patents and inventors’ certificates, and the
published regional patents and inventors’ certificates,
(iii) such other published items of non-patent literature as the
International Searching Authorities shall agree upon and which shall be
published in a list by the International Bureau when agreed upon for the
first time and whenever changed.
(c) Subject to paragraphs (d) and (e), the “national patent documents”
shall be the following:
(i) the patents issued in and after 1920 by France, the former
Reichspatentamt of Germany, Japan, the former Soviet Union, Switzerland
(in the French and German languages only), the United Kingdom, and the
United States of America,
(ii) the patents issued by the Federal Republic of Germany and
the Russian Federation,
81

Regulations Under the PCT
(iii) the patent applications, if any, published in and after 1920 in
the countries referred to in items (i) and (ii),
(iv) the inventors’ certificates issued by the former Soviet Union,
(v) the utility certificates issued by, and the published
applications for utility certificates of, France,
(vi) such patents issued by, and such patent applications published
in, any other country after 1920 as are in the English, French, German or
Spanish language and in which no priority is claimed, provided that the
national Office of the interested country sorts out these documents and
places them at the disposal of each International Searching Authority.
(d) Where an application is republished once (for example, an
Offenlegungsschrift as an Auslegeschrift) or more than once, no
International Searching Authority shall be obliged to keep all versions in
its documentation; consequently, each such Authority shall be entitled not
to keep more than one version. Furthermore, where an application is granted
and is issued in the form of a patent or a utility certificate (France), no
International Searching Authority shall be obliged to keep both the
application and the patent or utility certificate (France) in its documentation;
consequently, each such Authority shall be entitled to keep either the
application only or the patent or utility certificate (France) only.
(e) Any International Searching Authority whose official language,
or one of whose official languages, is not Japanese, Russian or Spanish is
entitled not to include in its documentation those patent documents of Japan,
the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union as well as those patent
documents in the Spanish language, respectively, for which no abstracts
in the English language are generally available. English abstracts becoming
generally available after the date of entry into force of these Regulations
shall require the inclusion of the patent documents to which the abstracts
refer no later than six months after such abstracts become generally
available. In case of the interruption of abstracting services in English in
technical fields in which English abstracts were formerly generally
available, the Assembly shall take appropriate measures to provide for the
prompt restoration of such services in the said fields.
(f) For the purposes of this Rule, applications which have only been
laid open for public inspection are not considered published applications.
82

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 35
The Competent International Searching Authority
35.1 When Only One International Searching Authority Is Competent
Each receiving Office shall, in accordance with the terms of the
applicable agreement referred to in Article 16(3)(b), inform the International
Bureau which International Searching Authority is competent for the
searching of the international applications filed with it, and the International
Bureau shall promptly publish such information.
35.2 When Several International Searching Authorities Are Competent
(a) Any receiving Office may, in accordance with the terms of the
applicable agreement referred to in Article 16(3)(b), specify several
International Searching Authorities:
(i) by declaring all of them competent for any international
application filed with it, and leaving the choice to the applicant, or
(ii) by declaring one or more competent for certain kinds of
international applications filed with it, and declaring one or more others
competent for other kinds of international applications filed with it, provided
that, for those kinds of international applications for which several
International Searching Authorities are declared to be competent, the choice
shall be left to the applicant.
(b) Any receiving Office availing itself of the faculty provided in
paragraph (a) shall promptly inform the International Bureau, and the
International Bureau shall promptly publish such information.
35.3 When the International Bureau Is Receiving Office Under
Rule 19.1(a)(iii)
(a) Where the international application is filed with the International
Bureau as receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii), an International
Searching Authority shall be competent for the searching of that
international application if it would have been competent had that
international application been filed with a receiving Office competent under
Rule 19.1(a)(i) or (ii), (b) or (c) or Rule 19.2(i).
(b) Where two or more International Searching Authorities are
competent under paragraph (a), the choice shall be left to the applicant.
83

Regulations Under the PCT
(c) Rules 35.1 and 35.2 shall not apply to the International Bureau
as receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii).
Rule 36
Minimum Requirements for International Searching Authorities
36.1 Definition of Minimum Requirements
The minimum requirements referred to in Article 16(3)(c) shall be
the following:
(i) the national Office or intergovernmental organization must
have at least 100 full-time employees with sufficient technical qualifications
to carry out searches;
(ii) that Office or organization must have in its possession, or
have access to, at least the minimum documentation referred to in Rule 34,
properly arranged for search purposes, on paper, in microform or stored
on electronic media;
(iii) that Office or organization must have a staff which is capable
of searching the required technical fields and which has the language
facilities to understand at least those languages in which the minimum
documentation referred to in Rule 34 is written or is translated.
Rule 37
Missing or Defective Title
37.1 Lack of Title
If the international application does not contain a title and the receiving
Office has notified the International Searching Authority that it has invited
the applicant to correct such defect, the International Searching Authority
shall proceed with the international search unless and until it receives
notification that the said application is considered withdrawn.
37.2 Establishment of Title
If the international application does not contain a title and the
International Searching Authority has not received a notification from the
receiving Office to the effect that the applicant has been invited to furnish
a title, or if the said Authority finds that the title does not comply with
Rule 4.3, it shall itself establish a title. Such title shall be established in the
84

Regulations Under the PCT
language in which the international application is to be published or, if a
translation into another language was transmitted under Rule 23.1(b) and
the International Searching Authority so wishes, in the language of that
translation.
Rule 38
Missing or Defective Abstract
38.1 Lack of Abstract
If the international application does not contain an abstract and the
receiving Office has notified the International Searching Authority that it
has invited the applicant to correct such defect, the International Searching
Authority shall proceed with the international search unless and until it
receives notification that the said application is considered withdrawn.
38.2 Establishment of Abstract
(a) If the international application does not contain an abstract and
the International Searching Authority has not received a notification from
the receiving Office to the effect that the applicant has been invited to
furnish an abstract, or if the said Authority finds that the abstract does not
comply with Rule 8, it shall itself establish an abstract. Such abstract shall
be established in the language in which the international application is to
be published or, if a translation into another language was transmitted
under Rule 23.1(b) and the International Searching Authority so wishes,
in the language of that translation.
(b) The applicant may, within one month from the date of mailing of
the international search report, submit comments on the abstract established
by the International Searching Authority. Where that Authority amends
the abstract established by it, it shall notify the amendment to the
International Bureau.

85

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 39
Subject Matter Under Article 17(2)(a)(i)
39.1 Definition
No International Searching Authority shall be required to search an
international application if, and to the extent to which, its subject matter is
any of the following:
(i) scientific and mathematical theories,
(ii) plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes
for the production of plants and animals, other than microbiological
processes and the products of such processes,
(iii) schemes, rules or methods of doing business, performing
purely mental acts or playing games,
(iv) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by
surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods,
(v) mere presentations of information,
(vi) computer programs to the extent that the International
Searching Authority is not equipped to search prior art concerning such
programs.
Rule 40
Lack of Unity of Invention (International Search)
40.1 Invitation to Pay
The invitation to pay additional fees provided for in Article 17(3)(a)
shall specify the reasons for which the international application is not
considered as complying with the requirement of unity of invention and
shall indicate the amount to be paid.
40.2 Additional Fees
(a) The amount of the additional fee due for searching under
Article 17(3)(a) shall be determined by the competent International
Searching Authority.
(b) The additional fee due for searching under Article 17(3)(a) shall
be payable direct to the International Searching Authority.
86

Regulations Under the PCT
(c) Any applicant may pay the additional fee under protest, that is,
accompanied by a reasoned statement to the effect that the international
application complies with the requirement of unity of invention or that the
amount of the required additional fee is excessive. Such protest shall be
examined by a three-member board or other special instance of the
International Searching Authority or any competent higher authority, which,
to the extent that it finds the protest justified, shall order the total or partial
reimbursement to the applicant of the additional fee. On the request of the
applicant, the text of both the protest and the decision thereon shall be
notified to the designated Offices together with the international search
report. The applicant shall submit any translation thereof with the furnishing
of the translation of the international application required under Article 22.
(d) The three-member board, special instance or competent higher
authority, referred to in paragraph (c), shall not comprise any person who
made the decision which is the subject of the protest.
(e) Where the applicant has, under paragraph (c), paid an additional
fee under protest, the International Searching Authority may, after a prior
review of the justification for the invitation to pay an additional fee, require
that the applicant pay a fee for the examination of the protest (“protest
fee”). The protest fee shall be paid within one month from the date of the
notification to the applicant of the result of the review. If the protest fee is
not so paid, the protest shall be considered withdrawn. The protest fee
shall be refunded to the applicant where the three-member board, special
instance or higher authority referred to in paragraph (c) finds that the protest
was entirely justified.
40.3 Time Limit
The time limit provided for in Article 17(3)(a) shall be fixed, in each
case, according to the circumstances of the case, by the International
Searching Authority; it shall not be shorter than 15 or 30 days, respectively,
depending on whether the applicant’s address is in the same country as or
in a different country from that in which the International Searching
Authority is located, and it shall not be longer than 45 days, from the date
of the invitation.

87

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 41
Earlier Search Other than International Search
41.1 Obligation to Use Results; Refund of Fee
If reference has been made in the request, in the form provided for in
Rule 4.11, to an international-type search carried out under the conditions
set out in Article 15(5) or to a search other than an international or
international-type search, the International Searching Authority shall, to
the extent possible, use the results of the said search in establishing the
international search report on the international application. The International
Searching Authority shall refund the search fee, to the extent and under
the conditions provided for in the agreement under Article 16(3)(b) or in a
communication addressed to and published in the Gazette by the
International Bureau, if the international search report could wholly or
partly be based on the results of the said search.
Rule 42
Time Limit for International Search
42.1 Time Limit for International Search
The time limit for establishing the international search report or the
declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a) shall be three months from the
receipt of the search copy by the International Searching Authority, or
nine months from the priority date, whichever time limit expires later.
Rule 43
The International Search Report
43.1 Identifications
The international search report shall identify the International
Searching Authority which established it by indicating the name of such
Authority, and the international application by indicating the international
application number, the name of the applicant, and the international filing
date.

88

Regulations Under the PCT
43.2 Dates
The international search report shall be dated and shall indicate the
date on which the international search was actually completed. It shall
also indicate the filing date of any earlier application whose priority is
claimed or, if the priority of more than one earlier application is claimed,
the filing date of the earliest among them.
43.3 Classification
(a) The international search report shall contain the classification of
the subject matter at least according to the International Patent
Classification.
(b) Such classification shall be effected by the International Searching
Authority.
43.4 Language
Every international search report and any declaration made under
Article 17(2)(a) shall be in the language in which the international
application to which it relates is to be published or, if a translation into
another language was transmitted under Rule 23.1(b) and the International
Searching Authority so wishes, in the language of that translation.
43.5 Citations
(a) The international search report shall contain the citations of the
documents considered to be relevant.
(b) The method of identifying any cited document shall be regulated
by the Administrative Instructions.
(c) Citations of particular relevance shall be specially indicated.
(d) Citations which are not relevant to all the claims shall be cited in
relation to the claim or claims to which they are relevant.
(e) If only certain passages of the cited document are relevant or
particularly relevant, they shall be identified, for example, by indicating
the page, the column, or the lines, where the passage appears. If the entire
document is relevant but some passages are of particular relevance, such
passages shall be identified unless such identification is not practicable.
89

Regulations Under the PCT
43.6 Fields Searched
(a) The international search report shall list the classification
identification of the fields searched. If that identification is effected on the
basis of a classification other than the International Patent Classification,
the International Searching Authority shall publish the classification used.
(b) If the international search extended to patents, inventors’
certificates, utility certificates, utility models, patents or certificates of
addition, inventors’ certificates of addition, utility certificates of addition,
or published applications for any of those kinds of protection, of States,
periods, or languages, not included in the minimum documentation as
defined in Rule 34, the international search report shall, when practicable,
identify the kinds of documents, the States, the periods, and the languages
to which it extended. For the purposes of this paragraph, Article 2(ii) shall
not apply.
(c) If the international search was based on, or was extended to, any
electronic data base, the international search report may indicate the name
of the data base and, where considered useful to others and practicable,
the search terms used.
43.7 Remarks Concerning Unity of Invention
If the applicant paid additional fees for the international search, the
international search report shall so indicate. Furthermore, where the
international search was made on the main invention only or on less than
all the inventions (Article 17(3)(a)), the international search report shall
indicate what parts of the international application were and what parts
were not searched.
43.8 Authorized Officer
The international search report shall indicate the name of the officer
of the International Searching Authority responsible for that report.
43.9 Additional Matter
The international search report shall contain no matter other than that
specified in Rules 33.1(b) and (c), 43.1 to 43.3, 43.5 to 43.8, and 44.2, and
the indication referred to in Article 17(2)(b), provided that the
Administrative Instructions may permit the inclusion in the international
90

Regulations Under the PCT
search report of any additional matter specified in the Administrative
Instructions. The international search report shall not contain, and the
Administrative Instructions shall not permit the inclusion of, any
expressions of opinion, reasoning, arguments, or explanations.
43.10 Form
The physical requirements as to the form of the international search
report shall be prescribed by the Administrative Instructions.
Rule 44
Transmittal of the International Search Report, Etc.
44.1 Copies of Report or Declaration
The International Searching Authority shall, on the same day, transmit
one copy of the international search report or the declaration referred to in
Article 17(2)(a) to the International Bureau and one copy to the applicant.
44.2 Title or Abstract
The international search report shall either state that the International
Searching Authority approves the title and the abstract as submitted by the
applicant or be accompanied by the text of the title and/or abstract as
established by the International Searching Authority under Rules 37 and 38.
44.3 Copies of Cited Documents
(a) The request referred to in Article 20(3) may be presented any
time during seven years from the international filing date of the international
application to which the international search report relates.
(b) The International Searching Authority may require that the party
(applicant or designated Office) presenting the request pay to it the cost of
preparing and mailing the copies. The level of the cost of preparing copies
shall be provided for in the agreements referred to in Article 16(3)(b)
between the International Searching Authorities and the International
Bureau.
(c) [Deleted]

91

Regulations Under the PCT
(d) Any International Searching Authority may perform the
obligations referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) through another agency
responsible to it.
Rule 45
Translation of the International Search Report
45.1 Languages
International search reports and declarations referred to in
Article 17(2)(a) shall, when not in English, be translated into English.
Rule 46
Amendment of Claims Before the International Bureau
46.1 Time Limit
The time limit referred to in Article 19 shall be two months from the
date of transmittal of the international search report to the International
Bureau and to the applicant by the International Searching Authority or
16 months from the priority date, whichever time limit expires later,
provided that any amendment made under Article 19 which is received by
the International Bureau after the expiration of the applicable time limit
shall be considered to have been received by that Bureau on the last day of
that time limit if it reaches it before the technical preparations for
international publication have been completed.
46.2 Where to File
Amendments made under Article 19 shall be filed directly with the
International Bureau.
46.3 Language of Amendments
If the international application has been filed in a language other than
the language in which it is published, any amendment made under Article 19
shall be in the language of publication.
46.4 Statement
(a) The statement referred to in Article 19(1) shall be in the language
in which the international application is published and shall not exceed

92

Regulations Under the PCT
500 words if in the English language or if translated into that language.
The statement shall be identified as such by a heading, preferably by using
the words “Statement under Article 19(1)” or their equivalent in the
language of the statement.
(b) The statement shall contain no disparaging comments on the
international search report or the relevance of citations contained in that
report. Reference to citations, relevant to a given claim, contained in the
international search report may be made only in connection with an
amendment of that claim.
46.5 Form of Amendments
The applicant shall be required to submit a replacement sheet for
every sheet of the claims which, on account of an amendment or
amendments under Article 19, differs from the sheet originally filed. The
letter accompanying the replacement sheets shall draw attention to the
differences between the replaced sheets and the replacement sheets. To
the extent that any amendment results in the cancellation of an entire sheet,
that amendment shall be communicated in a letter.
Rule 47
Communication to Designated Offices
47.1 Procedure
(a) The communication provided for in Article 20 shall be effected
by the International Bureau.
(a-bis) The International Bureau shall notify each designated Office,
at the time of the communication provided for in Article 20, of the fact and
date of receipt of the record copy and of the fact and date of receipt of any
priority document. Such notification shall also be sent to any designated
Office which has waived the communication provided for in Article 20,
unless such Office has also waived the notification of its designation.
(a-ter) The notification under paragraph (a-bis) shall include any
declaration referred to in Rule 4.17(i) to (iv), and any correction thereof
under Rule 26ter.1, which was received by the International Bureau before
the expiration of the time limit under Rule 26ter.1, provided that the

93

Regulations Under the PCT
designated Office has informed the International Bureau that the applicable
national law requires the furnishing of documents or evidence relating to
the matter to which the declaration relates.
(b) Such communication shall be effected promptly after the
international publication of the international application and, in any event,
by the end of the 19th month after the priority date. Any amendment
received by the International Bureau within the time limit under Rule 46.1
which was not included in the communication shall be communicated
promptly to the designated Offices by the International Bureau, and the
latter shall notify the applicant accordingly.
(c) The International Bureau shall send a notice to the applicant
indicating the designated Offices to which the communication has been
effected and the date of such communication. Such notice shall be sent on
the same day as the communication. Each designated Office shall be
informed, separately from the communication, about the sending and the
date of mailing of the notice. The notice shall be accepted by all designated
Offices as conclusive evidence that the communication has duly taken
place on the date specified in the notice.
(d) Each designated Office shall, when it so requires, receive the
international search reports and the declarations referred to in
Article 17(2)(a) also in the translation referred to in Rule 45.1.
(e) Where any designated Office has waived the requirement provided
under Article 20, the copies of the documents which otherwise would have
been sent to that Office shall, at the request of that Office or the applicant,
be sent to the applicant at the time of the notice referred to in paragraph (c).
47.2 Copies
(a) The copies required for communication shall be prepared by the
International Bureau.
(b) They shall be on sheets of A4 size.
(c) Except to the extent that any designated Office notifies the
International Bureau otherwise, copies of the pamphlet under Rule 48 may
be used for the purposes of the communication of the international
application under Article 20.
94

Regulations Under the PCT
47.3 Languages
(a) The international application communicated under Article 20 shall
be in the language in which it is published.
(b) Where the language in which the international application is
published is different from the language in which it was filed, the
International Bureau shall furnish to any designated Office, upon the request
of that Office, a copy of that application in the language in which it was
filed.
47.4 Express Request Under Article 23(2)
Where the applicant makes an express request to a designated Office
under Article 23(2) before the communication provided for in Article 20
has taken place, the International Bureau shall, upon request of the applicant
or the designated Office, promptly effect that communication to that Office.
Rule 48
International Publication
48.1 Form
(a) The international application shall be published in the form of a
pamphlet.
(b) The particulars regarding the form of the pamphlet and the method
of reproduction shall be governed by the Administrative Instructions.
48.2 Contents
(a) The pamphlet shall contain:
(i) a standardized front page,
(ii) the description,
(iii) the claims,
(iv) the drawings, if any,
(v) subject to paragraph (g), the international search report or
the declaration under Article 17(2)(a); the publication of the international
search report in the pamphlet shall, however, not be required to include
the part of the international search report which contains only matter
referred to in Rule 43 already appearing on the front page of the pamphlet,
95

Regulations Under the PCT
(vi) any statement filed under Article 19(1), unless the
International Bureau finds that the statement does not comply with the
provisions of Rule 46.4,
(vii) any request for rectification referred to in the third sentence
of Rule 91.1(f),
(viii) the relevant data from any indications in relation to deposited
biological material furnished under Rule 13bis separately from the
description, together with an indication of the date on which the
International Bureau received such indications,
(ix) any information concerning a priority claim considered not
to have been made under Rule 26bis.2(b), the publication of which is
requested under Rule 26bis.2(c),
(x) any declaration referred to in Rule 4.17(v), and any correction
thereof under Rule 26ter.1, which was received by the International Bureau
before the expiration of the time limit under Rule 26ter.1.
(b) Subject to paragraph (c), the front page shall include:
(i) data taken from the request sheet and such other data as are
prescribed by the Administrative Instructions,
(ii) a figure or figures where the international application contains
drawings, unless Rule 8.2(b) applies,
(iii) the abstract; if the abstract is both in English and in another
language, the English text shall appear first,
(iv) an indication that the request contains any declaration referred
to in Rule 4.17 which was received by the International Bureau before the
expiration of the time limit under Rule 26ter.1.
(c) Where a declaration under Article 17(2)(a) has issued, the front
page shall conspicuously refer to that fact and need include neither a
drawing nor an abstract.
(d) The figure or figures referred to in paragraph (b)(ii) shall be
selected as provided in Rule 8.2. Reproduction of such figure or figures on
the front page may be in a reduced form.
(e) If there is not enough room on the front page for the totality of
the abstract referred to in paragraph (b)(iii), the said abstract shall appear
96

Regulations Under the PCT
on the back of the front page. The same shall apply to the translation of the
abstract when such translation is required to be published under
Rule 48.3(c).
(f) If the claims have been amended under Article 19, the publication
shall contain either the full text of the claims both as filed and as amended
or the full text of the claims as filed and specify the amendments. Any
statement referred to in Article 19(1) shall be included as well, unless the
International Bureau finds that the statement does not comply with the
provisions of Rule 46.4. The date of receipt of the amended claims by the
International Bureau shall be indicated.
(g) If, at the time of the completion of the technical preparations for
international publication, the international search report is not yet available
(for example, because of publication on the request of the applicant as
provided in Articles 21(2)(b) and 64(3)(c)(i)), the pamphlet shall contain,
in place of the international search report, an indication to the effect that
that report was not available and that either the pamphlet (then also
including the international search report) will be republished or the
international search report (when it becomes available) will be separately
published.
(h) If, at the time of the completion of the technical preparations for
international publication, the time limit for amending the claims under
Article 19 has not expired, the pamphlet shall refer to that fact and indicate
that, should the claims be amended under Article 19, then, promptly after
such amendments, either the pamphlet (containing the claims as amended)
will be republished or a statement reflecting all the amendments will be
published. In the latter case, at least the front page and the claims shall be
republished and, if a statement under Article 19(1) has been filed, that
statement shall be published as well, unless the International Bureau finds
that the statement does not comply with the provisions of Rule 46.4.
(i) The Administrative Instructions shall determine the cases in which
the various alternatives referred to in paragraphs (g) and (h) shall apply.
Such determination shall depend on the volume and complexity of the
amendments and/or the volume of the international application and the
cost factors.

97

Regulations Under the PCT
48.3 Languages of Publication
(a) If the international application is filed in Chinese, English, French,
German, Japanese, Russian or Spanish (“languages of publication”), that
application shall be published in the language in which it was filed.
(b) If the international application is not filed in a language of
publication and a translation into a language of publication has been
furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4, that application shall be published in
the language of that translation.
(c) If the international application is published in a language other
than English, the international search report to the extent that it is published
under Rule 48.2(a)(v), or the declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a),
the title of the invention, the abstract and any text matter pertaining to the
figure or figures accompanying the abstract shall be published both in that
language and in English. The translations shall be prepared under the
responsibility of the International Bureau.
48.4 Earlier Publication on the Applicant’s Request
(a) Where the applicant asks for publication under Articles 21(2)(b)
and 64(3)(c)(i) and the international search report, or the declaration
referred to in Article 17(2)(a), is not yet available for publication together
with the international application, the International Bureau shall collect a
special publication fee whose amount shall be fixed in the Administrative
Instructions.
(b) Publication under Articles 21(2)(b) and 64(3)(c)(i) shall be
effected by the International Bureau promptly after the applicant has asked
for it and, where a special fee is due under paragraph (a), after receipt of
such fee.
48.5 Notification of National Publication
Where the publication of the international application by the
International Bureau is governed by Article 64(3)(c)(ii), the national Office
concerned shall, promptly after effecting the national publication referred
to in the said provision, notify the International Bureau of the fact of such
national publication.

98

Regulations Under the PCT
48.6 Announcing of Certain Facts
(a) If any notification under Rule 29.1(a)(ii) reaches the International
Bureau at a time later than that at which it was able to prevent the
international publication of the international application, the International
Bureau shall promptly publish a notice in the Gazette reproducing the
essence of such notification.
(b) [Deleted]
(c) If the international application, the designation of any designated
State or the priority claim is withdrawn under Rule 90bis after the technical
preparations for international publication have been completed, notice of
the withdrawal shall be published in the Gazette.
Rule 49
Copy, Translation and Fee Under Article 22
49.1 Notification
(a) Any Contracting State requiring the furnishing of a translation or
the payment of a national fee, or both, under Article 22, shall notify the
International Bureau of:
(i) the languages from which and the language into which it
requires translation,
(ii) the amount of the national fee.
(a-bis) Any Contracting State not requiring the furnishing, under
Article 22, by the applicant of a copy of the international application (even
though the communication of the copy of the international application by
the International Bureau under Rule 47 has not taken place by the expiration
of the time limit applicable under Article 22) shall notify the International
Bureau accordingly.
(a-ter) Any Contracting State which, pursuant to Article 24(2),
maintains, if it is a designated State, the effect provided for in Article 11(3)
even though a copy of the international application is not furnished by the
applicant by the expiration of the time limit applicable under Article 22
shall notify the International Bureau accordingly.

99

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) Any notification received by the International Bureau under
paragraphs (a), (a-bis) or (a-ter) shall be promptly published by the
International Bureau in the Gazette.
(c) If the requirements under paragraph (a) change later, such changes
shall be notified by the Contracting State to the International Bureau and
that Bureau shall promptly publish the notification in the Gazette. If the
change means that translation is required into a language which, before
the change, was not required, such change shall be effective only with
respect to international applications filed later than two months after the
publication of the notification in the Gazette. Otherwise, the effective date
of any change shall be determined by the Contracting State.
49.2 Languages
The language into which translation may be required must be an
official language of the designated Office. If there are several of such
languages, no translation may be required if the international application
is in one of them. If there are several official languages and a translation
must be furnished, the applicant may choose any of those languages.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, if there are
several official languages but the national law prescribes the use of one
such language for foreigners, a translation into that language may be
required.
49.3 Statements Under Article 19; Indications Under Rule 13bis.4
For the purposes of Article 22 and the present Rule, any statement
made under Article 19(1) and any indication furnished under Rule 13bis.4
shall, subject to Rule 49.5(c) and (h), be considered part of the international
application.
49.4 Use of National Form
No applicant shall be required to use a national form when performing
the acts referred to in Article 22.
49.5 Contents of and Physical Requirements for the Translation
(a) For the purposes of Article 22, the translation of the international
application shall contain the description (subject to paragraph (a-bis)), the

100

Regulations Under the PCT
claims, any text matter of the drawings and the abstract. If required by the
designated Office, the translation shall also, subject to paragraphs (b), (c-bis)
and (e),
(i) contain the request,
(ii) if the claims have been amended under Article 19, contain
both the claims as filed and the claims as amended, and
(iii) be accompanied by a copy of the drawings.
(a-bis) No designated Office shall require the applicant to furnish to
it a translation of any text matter contained in the sequence listing part of
the description if such sequence listing part complies with Rule 12.1(d)
and if the description complies with Rule 5.2(b).
(b) Any designated Office requiring the furnishing of a translation
of the request shall furnish copies of the request form in the language of
the translation free of charge to the applicants. The form and contents of
the request form in the language of the translation shall not be different
from those of the request under Rules 3 and 4; in particular, the request
form in the language of the translation shall not ask for any information
that is not in the request as filed. The use of the request form in the language
of the translation shall be optional.
(c) Where the applicant did not furnish a translation of any statement
made under Article 19(1), the designated Office may disregard such
statement.
(c-bis) Where the applicant furnishes, to a designated Office which
requires under paragraph (a)(ii) a translation of both the claims as filed
and the claims as amended, only one of the required two translations, the
designated Office may disregard the claims of which a translation has not
been furnished or invite the applicant to furnish the missing translation
within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances and
shall be fixed in the invitation. Where the designated Office chooses to
invite the applicant to furnish the missing translation and the latter is not
furnished within the time limit fixed in the invitation, the designated Office
may disregard those claims of which a translation has not been furnished
or consider the international application withdrawn.

101

Regulations Under the PCT
(d) If any drawing contains text matter, the translation of that text
matter shall be furnished either in the form of a copy of the original drawing
with the translation pasted on the original text matter or in the form of a
drawing executed anew.
(e) Any designated Office requiring under paragraph (a) the
furnishing of a copy of the drawings shall, where the applicant failed to
furnish such copy within the time limit applicable under Article 22, invite
the applicant to furnish such copy within a time limit which shall be
reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation.
(f) The expression “Fig.” does not require translation into any
language.
(g) Where any copy of the drawings or any drawing executed anew
which has been furnished under paragraph (d) or (e) does not comply with
the physical requirements referred to in Rule 11, the designated Office
may invite the applicant to correct the defect within a time limit which
shall be reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the
invitation.
(h) Where the applicant did not furnish a translation of the abstract
or of any indication furnished under Rule 13bis.4, the designated Office
shall invite the applicant to furnish such translation, if it deems it to be
necessary, within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the
circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation.
(i) Information on any requirement and practice of designated Offices
under the second sentence of paragraph (a) shall be published by the
International Bureau in the Gazette.
(j) No designated Office shall require that the translation of the
international application comply with physical requirements other than
those prescribed for the international application as filed.
(k) Where a title has been established by the International Searching
Authority pursuant to Rule 37.2, the translation shall contain the title as
established by that Authority.
(l) If, on July 12, 1991, paragraph (c-bis) or paragraph (k) is not
compatible with the national law applied by the designated Office, the
102

Regulations Under the PCT
paragraph concerned shall not apply to that designated Office for as long
as it continues not to be compatible with that law, provided that the said
Office informs the International Bureau accordingly by December 31, 1991.
The information received shall be promptly published by the International
Bureau in the Gazette.
49.6 Reinstatement of Rights After Failure to Perform the Acts Referred
to in Article 22
(a) Where the effect of the international application provided for in
Article 11(3) has ceased because the applicant failed to perform the acts
referred to in Article 22 within the applicable time limit, the designated
Office shall, upon request of the applicant, and subject to paragraphs (b)
to (e) of this Rule, reinstate the rights of the applicant with respect to that
international application if it finds that any delay in meeting that time limit
was unintentional or, at the option of the designated Office, that the failure
to meet that time limit occurred in spite of due care required by the
circumstances having been taken.
(b) The request under paragraph (a) shall be submitted to the
designated Office, and the acts referred to in Article 22 shall be performed,
within whichever of the following periods expires first:
(i) two months from the date of removal of the cause of the
failure to meet the applicable time limit under Article 22; or
(ii) 12 months from the date of the expiration of the applicable
time limit under Article 22;
provided that the applicant may submit the request at any later time if so
permitted by the national law applicable by the designated Office.
(c) The request under paragraph (a) shall state the reasons for the
failure to comply with the applicable time limit under Article 22.
(d) The national law applicable by the designated Office may require:
(i) that a fee be paid in respect of a request under paragraph (a);
(ii) that a declaration or other evidence in support of the reasons
referred to in paragraph (c) be filed.

103

Regulations Under the PCT
(e) The designated Office shall not refuse a request under
paragraph (a) without giving the applicant the opportunity to make
observations on the intended refusal within a time limit which shall be
reasonable under the circumstances.
(f) If, on October 1, 2002, paragraphs (a) to (e) are not compatible
with the national law applied by the designated Office, those paragraphs
shall not apply in respect of that designated Office for as long as they
continue not to be compatible with that law, provided that the said Office
informs the International Bureau accordingly by January 1, 2003. The
information received shall be promptly published by the International
Bureau in the Gazette.
Rule 50
Faculty Under Article 22(3)
50.1 Exercise of Faculty
(a) Any Contracting State allowing a time limit expiring later than
the time limits provided for in Article 22(1) or (2) shall notify the
International Bureau of the time limits so fixed.
(b) Any notification received by the International Bureau under
paragraph (a) shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in
the Gazette.
(c) Notifications concerning the shortening of the previously fixed
time limit shall be effective in relation to international applications filed
after the expiration of three months computed from the date on which the
notification was published by the International Bureau.
(d) Notifications concerning the lengthening of the previously fixed
time limit shall become effective upon publication by the International
Bureau in the Gazette in respect of international applications pending at
the time or filed after the date of such publication, or, if the Contracting
State effecting the notification fixes some later date, as from the latter
date.

104

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 51
Review by Designated Offices
51.1 Time Limit for Presenting the Request to Send Copies
The time limit referred to in Article 25(1)(c) shall be two months
computed from the date of the notification sent to the applicant under
Rules 20.7(i), 24.2(c), 29.1(a)(ii), or 29.1(b).
51.2 Copy of the Notice
Where the applicant, after having received a negative determination
under Article 11(1), requests the International Bureau, under Article 25(1),
to send copies of the file of the purported international application to any
of the named Offices he has attempted to designate, he shall attach to his
request a copy of the notice referred to in Rule 20.7(i).
51.3 Time Limit for Paying National Fee and Furnishing Translation
The time limit referred to in Article 25(2)(a) shall expire at the same
time as the time limit prescribed in Rule 51.1.
Rule 51bis
Certain National Requirements Allowed Under Article 27
51bis.1 Certain National Requirements Allowed
(a) Subject to Rule 51bis.2, the national law applicable by the
designated Office may, in accordance with Article 27, require the applicant
to furnish, in particular:
(i) any document relating to the identity of the inventor,
(ii) any document relating to the applicant’s entitlement to apply
for or be granted a patent,
(iii) any document containing any proof of the applicant’s
entitlement to claim priority of an earlier application where the applicant
is not the applicant who filed the earlier application or where the applicant’s
name has changed since the date on which the earlier application was filed,
(iv) where the international application designates a State whose
national law requires that national applications be filed by the inventor,
any document containing an oath or declaration of inventorship,

105

Regulations Under the PCT
(v) any evidence concerning non-prejudicial disclosures or
exceptions to lack of novelty, such as disclosures resulting from abuse,
disclosures at certain exhibitions and disclosures by the applicant during a
certain period of time.
(b) The national law applicable by the designated Office may, in
accordance with Article 27(7), require that
(i) the applicant be represented by an agent having the right to
represent applicants before that Office and/or have an address in the
designated State for the purpose of receiving notifications,
(ii) the agent, if any, representing the applicant be duly appointed
by the applicant.
(c) The national law applicable by the designated Office may, in
accordance with Article 27(1), require that the international application,
the translation thereof or any document relating thereto be furnished in
more than one copy.
(d) The national law applicable by the designated Office may, in
accordance with Article 27(2)(ii), require that the translation of the
international application furnished by the applicant under Article 22 be:
(i) verified by the applicant or the person having translated the
international application in a statement to the effect that, to the best of his
knowledge, the translation is complete and faithful;
(ii) certified by a public authority or sworn translator, but only
where the designated Office may reasonably doubt the accuracy of the
translation.
(e) The national law applicable by the designated Office may, in
accordance with Article 27, require the applicant to furnish a translation
of the priority document, provided that such a translation may only be
required where the validity of the priority claim is relevant to the
determination of whether the invention concerned is patentable.
(f) If, on March 17, 2000, the proviso in paragraph (e) is not
compatible with the national law applied by the designated Office, that
proviso shall not apply in respect of that Office for as long as that proviso
continues not to be compatible with that law, provided that the said Office

106

Regulations Under the PCT
informs the International Bureau accordingly by November 30, 2000. The
information received shall be promptly published by the International
Bureau in the Gazette.
51bis.2 Certain Circumstances in Which Documents or Evidence May
Not Be Required
(a) Where the applicable national law does not require that national
applications be filed by the inventor, the designated Office shall not, unless
it may reasonably doubt the veracity of the indications or declaration
concerned, require any document or evidence:
(i) relating to the identity of the inventor (Rule 51bis.1(a)(i)), if
indications concerning the inventor, in accordance with Rule 4.6, are
contained in the request or if a declaration as to the identity of the inventor,
in accordance with Rule 4.17(i), is contained in the request or is submitted
directly to the designated Office;
(ii) relating to the applicant’s entitlement, as at the international
filing date, to apply for and be granted a patent (Rule 51bis.1(a)(ii)), if a
declaration as to that matter, in accordance with Rule 4.17(ii), is contained
in the request or is submitted directly to the designated Office;
(iii) relating to the applicant’s entitlement, as at the international
filing date, to claim priority of an earlier application (Rule 51bis.1(a)(iii)),
if a declaration as to that matter, in accordance with Rule 4.17(iii), is
contained in the request or is submitted directly to the designated Office.
(b) Where the applicable national law requires that national
applications be filed by the inventor, the designated Office shall not, unless
it may reasonably doubt the veracity of the indications or declaration
concerned, require any document or evidence:
(i) relating to the identity of the inventor (Rule 51bis.1(a)(i))
(other than a document containing an oath or declaration of inventorship
(Rule 51bis.1(a)(iv))), if indications concerning the inventor, in accordance
with Rule 4.6, are contained in the request;
(ii) relating to the applicant’s entitlement, as at the international
filing date, to claim priority of an earlier application (Rule 51bis.1(a)(iii)),
if a declaration as to that matter, in accordance with Rule 4.17(iii), is
contained in the request or is submitted directly to the designated Office;
107

Regulations Under the PCT
(iii) containing an oath or declaration of inventorship
(Rule 51bis.1(a)(iv)), if a declaration of inventorship, in accordance with
Rule 4.17(iv), is contained in the request or is submitted directly to the
designated Office.
(c) If, on March 17, 2000, paragraph (a) is not compatible, in relation
to any item of that paragraph, with the national law applied by the designated
Office, paragraph (a) shall not apply in respect of that Office in relation to
that item for as long as it continues not to be compatible with that law,
provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau accordingly
by November 30, 2000. The information received shall be promptly
published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.
51bis.3 Opportunity to Comply with National Requirements
(a) Where any of the requirements referred to in Rule 51bis.1(a)(i)
to (iv) and (c) to (e), or any other requirement of the national law applicable
by the designated Office which that Office may apply in accordance with
Article 27(1) or (2), is not already fulfilled during the same period within
which the requirements under Article 22 must be complied with, the
designated Office shall invite the applicant to comply with the requirement
within a time limit which shall not be less than two months from the date
of the invitation. Each designated Office may require that the applicant
pay a fee for complying with national requirements in response to the
invitation.
(b) Where any requirement of the national law applicable by the
designated Office which that Office may apply in accordance with
Article 27(6) or (7) is not already fulfilled during the same period within
which the requirements under Article 22 must be complied with, the
applicant shall have an opportunity to comply with the requirement after
the expiration of that period.
(c) If, on March 17, 2000, paragraph (a) is not compatible with the
national law applied by the designated Office in relation to the time limit
referred to in that paragraph, the said paragraph shall not apply in respect
of that Office in relation to that time limit for as long as the said paragraph
continues not to be compatible with that law, provided that the said Office

108

Regulations Under the PCT
informs the International Bureau accordingly by November 30, 2000. The
information received shall be promptly published by the International
Bureau in the Gazette.
Rule 52
Amendment of the Claims, the Description,
and the Drawings, Before Designated Offices
52.1 Time Limit
(a) In any designated State in which processing or examination starts
without special request, the applicant shall, if he so wishes, exercise the
right under Article 28 within one month from the fulfillment of the
requirements under Article 22, provided that, if the communication under
Rule 47.1 has not been effected by the expiration of the time limit applicable
under Article 22, he shall exercise the said right not later than four months
after such expiration date. In either case, the applicant may exercise the
said right at any other time if so permitted by the national law of the said
State.
(b) In any designated State in which the national law provides that
examination starts only on special request, the time limit within or the
time at which the applicant may exercise the right under Article 28 shall
be the same as that provided by the national law for the filing of amendments
in the case of the examination, on special request, of national applications,
provided that such time limit shall not expire prior to, or such time shall
not come before, the expiration of the time limit applicable under
paragraph (a).
PART C
RULES CONCERNING CHAPTER II OF THE TREATY
Rule 53
The Demand
53.1 Form
(a) The demand shall be made on a printed form or be presented as a
computer print-out. The particulars of the printed form and of a demand
109

Regulations Under the PCT
presented as a computer print-out shall be prescribed by the Administrative
Instructions.
(b) Copies of printed demand forms shall be furnished free of charge
by the receiving Office or by the International Preliminary Examining
Authority.
53.2 Contents
(a) The demand shall contain:
(i) a petition,
(ii) indications concerning the applicant and the agent if there is
an agent,
(iii) indications concerning the international application to which
it relates,
(iv) election of States,
(v) where applicable, a statement concerning amendments.
(b) The demand shall be signed.
53.3 The Petition
The petition shall be to the following effect and shall preferably be
worded as follows: “Demand under Article 31 of the Patent Cooperation
Treaty: The undersigned requests that the international application specified
below be the subject of international preliminary examination according
to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.”
53.4 The Applicant
As to the indications concerning the applicant, Rules 4.4 and 4.16
shall apply, and Rule 4.5 shall apply mutatis mutandis. Only applicants for
the elected States are required to be indicated in the demand.
53.5 Agent or Common Representative
If an agent or common representative is appointed, the demand shall
so indicate. Rules 4.4 and 4.16 shall apply, and Rule 4.7 shall apply mutatis
mutandis.

110

Regulations Under the PCT
53.6 Identification of the International Application
The international application shall be identified by the name and
address of the applicant, the title of the invention, the international filing
date (if known to the applicant) and the international application number
or, where such number is not known to the applicant, the name of the
receiving Office with which the international application was filed.
53.7 Election of States
(a) The demand shall indicate at least one Contracting State, from
among those States which are designated and are bound by Chapter II of
the Treaty (“eligible States”), as an elected State.
(b) Election of Contracting States in the demand shall be made:
(i) by an indication that all eligible States are elected, or,
(ii) in the case of States which have been designated for the
purpose of obtaining national patents, by an indication of those eligible
States that are elected, and, in the case of States which have been designated
for the purpose of obtaining a regional patent, by an indication of the
regional patent concerned together with either an indication that all eligible
States party to the regional patent treaty concerned are elected or an
indication of those among the said States that are elected.
53.8 Signature
(a) Subject to paragraph (b), the demand shall be signed by the
applicant or, if there is more than one applicant, by all applicants making
the demand.
(b) Where two or more applicants file a demand which elects a State
whose national law requires that national applications be filed by the
inventor and where an applicant for that elected State who is an inventor
refused to sign the demand or could not be found or reached after diligent
effort, the demand need not be signed by that applicant (“the applicant
concerned”) if it is signed by at least one applicant and
(i) a statement is furnished explaining, to the satisfaction of the
International Preliminary Examining Authority, the lack of signature of
the applicant concerned, or
(ii) the applicant concerned did not sign the request but the
requirements of Rule 4.15(b) were complied with.
111

Regulations Under the PCT
53.9 Statement Concerning Amendments
(a) If amendments under Article 19 have been made, the statement
concerning amendments shall indicate whether, for the purposes of the
international preliminary examination, the applicant wishes those
amendments
(i) to be taken into account, in which case a copy of the
amendments shall preferably be submitted with the demand, or
(ii) to be considered as reversed by an amendment under
Article 34.
(b) If no amendments under Article 19 have been made and the time
limit for filing such amendments has not expired, the statement may indicate
that the applicant wishes the start of the international preliminary
examination to be postponed in accordance with Rule 69.1(d).
(c) If any amendments under Article 34 are submitted with the
demand, the statement shall so indicate.
Rule 54
The Applicant Entitled to Make a Demand
54.1 Residence and Nationality
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), the residence or
nationality of the applicant shall, for the purposes of Article 31(2), be
determined according to Rule 18.1(a) and (b).
(b) The International Preliminary Examining Authority shall, in the
circumstances specified in the Administrative Instructions, request the receiving Office or, where the international application was filed with the
International Bureau as receiving Office, the national Office of, or acting
for, the Contracting State concerned to decide the question whether the
applicant is a resident or national of the Contracting State of which he
claims to be a resident or national. The International Preliminary Examining
Authority shall inform the applicant of any such request. The applicant
shall have an opportunity to submit arguments directly to the Office
concerned. The Office concerned shall decide the said question promptly.

112

Regulations Under the PCT
54.2 Right to Make a Demand
The right to make a demand under Article 31(2) shall exist if the
applicant making the demand or, if there are two or more applicants, at
least one of them is a resident or national of a Contracting State bound by
Chapter II and the international application has been filed with a receiving
Office of or acting for a Contracting State bound by Chapter II.
54.3 International Applications Filed with the International Bureau as
Receiving Office
Where the international application is filed with the International
Bureau as receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii), the International Bureau
shall, for the purposes of Article 31(2)(a), be considered to be acting for
the Contracting State of which the applicant is a resident or national.
54.4 Applicant Not Entitled to Make a Demand
If the applicant does not have the right to make a demand or, in the
case of two or more applicants, if none of them has the right to make a
demand under Rule 54.2, the demand shall be considered not to have been
submitted.
Rule 55
Languages (International Preliminary Examination)
55.1 Language of Demand
The demand shall be in the language of the international application
or, if the international application has been filed in a language other than
the language in which it is published, in the language of publication.
However, if a translation of the international application is required under
Rule 55.2, the demand shall be in the language of that translation.
55.2 Translation of International Application
(a) Where neither the language in which the international application
is filed nor the language in which the international application is published
is accepted by the International Preliminary Examining Authority that is
to carry out the international preliminary examination, the applicant shall,
subject to paragraph (b), furnish with the demand a translation of the
international application into a language which is both:
113

Regulations Under the PCT
(i) a language accepted by that Authority, and
(ii) a language of publication.
(b) Where a translation of the international application into a language
referred to in paragraph (a) was transmitted to the International Searching
Authority under Rule 23.1(b) and the International Preliminary Examining
Authority is part of the same national Office or intergovernmental
organization as the International Searching Authority, the applicant need
not furnish a translation under paragraph (a). In such a case, unless the
applicant furnishes a translation under paragraph (a), the international
preliminary examination shall be carried out on the basis of the translation
transmitted under Rule 23.1(b).
(c) If the requirement of paragraph (a) is not complied with and
paragraph (b) does not apply, the International Preliminary Examining
Authority shall invite the applicant to furnish the required translation within
a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances. That time
limit shall not be less than one month from the date of the invitation. It
may be extended by the International Preliminary Examining Authority at
any time before a decision is taken.
(d) If the applicant complies with the invitation within the time limit
under paragraph (c), the said requirement shall be considered to have been
complied with. If the applicant fails to do so, the demand shall be considered
not to have been submitted and the International Preliminary Examining
Authority shall so declare.
55.3 Translation of Amendments
(a) Where a translation of the international application is required
under Rule 55.2, any amendments which are referred to in the statement
concerning amendments under Rule 53.9 and which the applicant wishes
to be taken into account for the purposes of the international preliminary
examination, and any amendments under Article 19 which are to be taken
into account under Rule 66.1(c), shall be in the language of that translation.
Where such amendments have been or are filed in another language, a
translation shall also be furnished.

114

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) Where the required translation of an amendment referred to in
paragraph (a) is not furnished, the International Preliminary Examining
Authority shall invite the applicant to furnish the missing translation within
a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances. That time
limit shall not be less than one month from the date of the invitation. It
may be extended by the International Preliminary Examining Authority at
any time before a decision is taken.
(c) If the applicant fails to comply with the invitation within the time
limit under paragraph (b), the amendment shall not be taken into account
for the purposes of the international preliminary examination.
Rule 56
Later Elections
56.1 Elections Submitted Later than the Demand
(a) The election of States subsequent to the submission of the demand
(“later election”) shall be effected by a notice submitted to the International
Bureau. The notice shall identify the international application and the
demand, and shall include an indication as referred to in Rule 53.7(b)(ii).
(b) Subject to paragraph (c), the notice referred to in paragraph (a)
shall be signed by the applicant for the elected States concerned or, if
there is more than one applicant for those States, by all of them.
(c) Where two or more applicants file a notice effecting a later election
of a State whose national law requires that national applications be filed
by the inventor and where an applicant for that elected State who is an
inventor refused to sign the notice or could not be found or reached after
diligent effort, the notice need not be signed by that applicant (“the applicant
concerned”) if it is signed by at least one applicant and
(i) a statement is furnished explaining, to the satisfaction of the
International Bureau, the lack of signature of the applicant concerned, or
(ii) the applicant concerned did not sign the request but the
requirements of Rule 4.15(b) were complied with, or did not sign the
demand but the requirements of Rule 53.8(b) were complied with.
(d) An applicant for a State elected by a later election need not have
been indicated as an applicant in the demand.
115

Regulations Under the PCT
(e) If a notice effecting a later election is submitted after the expiration
of 19 months from the priority date, the International Bureau shall notify
the applicant that the election does not have the effect provided for under
Article 39(1)(a) and that the acts referred to in Article 22 must be performed
in respect of the elected Office concerned within the time limit applicable
under Article 22.
(f) If, notwithstanding paragraph (a), a notice effecting a later election
is submitted by the applicant to the International Preliminary Examining
Authority rather than the International Bureau, that Authority shall mark
the date of receipt on the notice and transmit it promptly to the International
Bureau. The notice shall be considered to have been submitted to the
International Bureau on the date marked.
56.2 Identification of the International Application
The international application shall be identified as provided in
Rule 53.6.
56.3 Identification of the Demand
The demand shall be identified by the date on which it was submitted
and by the name of the International Preliminary Examining Authority to
which it was submitted.
56.4 Form of Later Elections
The notice effecting the later election shall preferably be worded as
follows: “In relation to the international application filed with ... on ...
under No. ... by ... (applicant) (and the demand for international preliminary
examination submitted on ... to ...), the undersigned elects the following
additional State(s) under Article 31 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty: ...”
56.5 Language of Later Elections
The later election shall be in the language of the demand.

116

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 57
The Handling Fee
57.1 Requirement to Pay
Each demand for international preliminary examination shall be
subject to the payment of a fee for the benefit of the International Bureau
(“handling fee”) to be collected by the International Preliminary Examining
Authority to which the demand is submitted.
57.2 Amount
(a) The amount of the handling fee is as set out in the Schedule of
Fees.
(b) [Deleted]
(c) The handling fee shall be payable in the currency or one of the
currencies prescribed by the International Preliminary Examining Authority
(“prescribed currency”), it being understood that, when transferred by that
Authority to the International Bureau, it shall be freely convertible into
Swiss currency. The amount of the handling fee shall be established, in
each prescribed currency, for each International Preliminary Examining
Authority which prescribes the payment of the handling fee in any currency
other than Swiss currency, by the Director General after consultation with
the Office with which consultation takes place under Rule 15.2(b) in relation
to that currency, or, if there is no such Office, with the Authority which
prescribes payment in that currency. The amount so established shall be
the equivalent, in round figures, of the amount in Swiss currency set out in
the Schedule of Fees. It shall be notified by the International Bureau to
each International Preliminary Examining Authority prescribing payment
in that prescribed currency and shall be published in the Gazette.
(d) Where the amount of the handling fee set out in the Schedule of
Fees is changed, the corresponding amounts in the prescribed currencies
shall be applied from the same date as the amount set out in the amended
Schedule of Fees.
(e) Where the exchange rate between Swiss currency and any
prescribed currency becomes different from the exchange rate last applied,
the Director General shall establish the new amount in the prescribed
117

Regulations Under the PCT
currency according to directives given by the Assembly. The newly
established amount shall become applicable two months after its publication
in the Gazette, provided that the interested International Preliminary
Examining Authority and the Director General may agree on a date falling
during the said two-month period in which case the said amount shall
become applicable for that Authority from that date.
57.3 Time Limit for Payment; Amount Payable
The handling fee shall be paid within one month from the date on
which the demand was submitted, provided that, where the demand was
transmitted to the International Preliminary Examining Authority under
Rule 59.3, the handling fee shall be paid within one month from the date
of receipt by that Authority. The amount payable shall be the amount
applicable on that date of submittal or date of receipt, as the case may be.
For the purposes of the preceding two sentences, Rule 59.3(e) shall not
apply.
57.4 and 57.5 [Deleted]
57.6 Refund
The International Preliminary Examining Authority shall refund the
handling fee to the applicant:
(i) if the demand is withdrawn before the demand has been sent
by that Authority to the International Bureau, or
(ii) if the demand is considered, under Rule 54.4, not to have
been submitted.
Rule 58
The Preliminary Examination Fee
58.1 Right to Ask for a Fee
(a) Each International Preliminary Examining Authority may require
that the applicant pay a fee (“preliminary examination fee”) for its own
benefit for carrying out the international preliminary examination and for
performing all other tasks entrusted to International Preliminary Examining
Authorities under the Treaty and these Regulations.

118

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) The amount of the preliminary examination fee, if any, shall be
fixed by the International Preliminary Examining Authority. As to the time
limit for payment of the preliminary examination fee and the amount
payable, the provisions of Rule 57.3 relating to the handling fee shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
(c) The preliminary examination fee shall be payable directly to the
International Preliminary Examining Authority. Where that Authority is a
national Office, it shall be payable in the currency prescribed by that Office,
and where the Authority is an intergovernmental organization, it shall be
payable in the currency of the State in which the intergovernmental
organization is located or in any other currency which is freely convertible
into the currency of the said State.
58.2 [Deleted]
58.3 Refund
The International Preliminary Examining Authorities shall inform
the International Bureau of the extent, if any, to which, and the conditions,
if any, under which, they will refund any amount paid as a preliminary
examination fee where the demand is considered as if it had not been
submitted, and the International Bureau shall promptly publish such
information.
Rule 58bis
Extension of Time Limits for Payment of Fees
58bis.1 Invitation by the International Preliminary Examining Authority
(a) Where, by the time they are due under Rules 57.3 and 58.1(b),
the International Preliminary Examining Authority finds that no fees were
paid to it, or that the amount paid to it is insufficient to cover the handling
fee and the preliminary examination fee, the Authority shall invite the
applicant to pay to it the amount required to cover those fees, together
with, where applicable, the late payment fee under Rule 58bis.2, within a
time limit of one month from the date of the invitation.
(b) Where the International Preliminary Examining Authority has
sent an invitation under paragraph (a) and the applicant has not, within the
time limit referred to in that paragraph, paid in full the amount due,
119

Regulations Under the PCT
including, where applicable, the late payment fee under Rule 58bis.2, the
demand shall, subject to paragraph (c), be considered as if it had not been
submitted and the International Preliminary Examining Authority shall so
declare.
(c) Any payment received by the International Preliminary Examining
Authority before that Authority sends the invitation under paragraph (a)
shall be considered to have been received before the expiration of the time
limit under Rule 57.3 or 58.1(b), as the case may be.
(d) Any payment received by the International Preliminary
Examining Authority before that Authority proceeds under paragraph (b)
shall be considered to have been received before the expiration of the time
limit under paragraph (a).
58bis.2 Late Payment Fee
(a) The payment of fees in response to an invitation under
Rule 58bis.1(a) may be subjected by the International Preliminary
Examining Authority to the payment to it, for its own benefit, of a late
payment fee. The amount of that fee shall be:
(i) 50% of the amount of unpaid fees which is specified in the
invitation, or,
(ii) if the amount calculated under item (i) is less than the handling
fee, an amount equal to the handling fee.
(b) The amount of the late payment fee shall not, however, exceed
double the amount of the handling fee.
Rule 59
The Competent International Preliminary Examining Authority
59.1 Demands Under Article 31(2)(a)
(a) For demands made under Article 31(2)(a), each receiving Office
of or acting for a Contracting State bound by the provisions of Chapter II
shall, in accordance with the terms of the applicable agreement referred to
in Article 32(2) and (3), inform the International Bureau which
International Preliminary Examining Authority is or which International
Preliminary Examining Authorities are competent for the international
120

Regulations Under the PCT
preliminary examination of international applications filed with it. The
International Bureau shall promptly publish such information. Where
several International Preliminary Examining Authorities are competent,
the provisions of Rule 35.2 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(b) Where the international application was filed with the
International Bureau as receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii),
Rule 35.3(a) and (b) shall apply mutatis mutandis. Paragraph (a) of this
Rule shall not apply to the International Bureau as receiving Office under
Rule 19.1(a)(iii).
59.2 Demands Under Article 31(2)(b)
As to demands made under Article 31(2)(b), the Assembly, in
specifying the International Preliminary Examining Authority competent
for international applications filed with a national Office which is an
International Preliminary Examining Authority, shall give preference to
that Authority; if the national Office is not an International Preliminary
Examining Authority, the Assembly shall give preference to the
International Preliminary Examining Authority recommended by that
Office.
59.3 Transmittal of Demand to the Competent International Preliminary
Examining Authority
(a) If the demand is submitted to a receiving Office, an International
Searching Authority, or an International Preliminary Examining Authority
which is not competent for the international preliminary examination of
the international application, that Office or Authority shall mark the date
of receipt on the demand and, unless it decides to proceed under
paragraph (f), transmit the demand promptly to the International Bureau.
(b) If the demand is submitted to the International Bureau, the
International Bureau shall mark the date of receipt on the demand.
(c) Where the demand is transmitted to the International Bureau under
paragraph (a) or submitted to it under paragraph (b), the International
Bureau shall promptly:
(i) if there is only one competent International Preliminary
Examining Authority, transmit the demand to that Authority and inform
the applicant accordingly, or
121

Regulations Under the PCT
(ii) if two or more International Preliminary Examining
Authorities are competent, invite the applicant to indicate, within 15 days
from the date of the invitation or 19 months from the priority date,
whichever is later, the competent International Preliminary Examining
Authority to which the demand should be transmitted.
(d) Where an indication is furnished as required under
paragraph (c)(ii), the International Bureau shall promptly transmit the
demand to the competent International Preliminary Examining Authority
indicated by the applicant. Where no indication is so furnished, the demand
shall be considered not to have been submitted and the International Bureau
shall so declare.
(e) Where the demand is transmitted to a competent International
Preliminary Examining Authority under paragraph (c), it shall be considered
to have been received on behalf of that Authority on the date marked on it
under paragraph (a) or (b), as applicable, and the demand so transmitted
shall be considered to have been received by that Authority on that date.
(f) Where an Office or Authority to which the demand is submitted
under paragraph (a) decides to transmit that demand directly to the
competent International Preliminary Examining Authority, paragraphs (c)
to (e) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Rule 60
Certain Defects in the Demand or Elections
60.1 Defects in the Demand
(a) If the demand does not comply with the requirements specified
in Rules 53.1, 53.2(a)(i) to (iv), 53.2(b), 53.3 to 53.8 and 55.1, the
International Preliminary Examining Authority shall invite the applicant
to correct the defects within a time limit which shall be reasonable under
the circumstances. That time limit shall not be less than one month from
the date of the invitation. It may be extended by the International
Preliminary Examining Authority at any time before a decision is taken.
(b) If the applicant complies with the invitation within the time limit
under paragraph (a), the demand shall be considered as if it had been
received on the actual filing date, provided that the demand as submitted
122

Regulations Under the PCT
contained at least one election and permitted the international application
to be identified; otherwise, the demand shall be considered as if it had
been received on the date on which the International Preliminary Examining
Authority receives the correction.
(c) Subject to paragraph (d), if the applicant does not comply with
the invitation within the time limit under paragraph (a), the demand shall
be considered as if it had not been submitted and the International
Preliminary Examining Authority shall so declare.
(d) Where, after the expiration of the time limit under paragraph (a),
a signature required under Rule 53.8 or a prescribed indication is lacking
in respect of an applicant for a certain elected State, the election of that
State shall be considered as if it had not been made.
(e) If the defect is noticed by the International Bureau, it shall bring
the defect to the attention of the International Preliminary Examining
Authority, which shall then proceed as provided in paragraphs (a) to (d).
(f) If the demand does not contain a statement concerning
amendments, the International Preliminary Examining Authority shall
proceed as provided for in Rules 66.1 and 69.1(a) or (b).
(g) Where the statement concerning amendments contains an
indication that amendments under Article 34 are submitted with the demand
(Rule 53.9(c)) but no such amendments are, in fact, submitted, the
International Preliminary Examining Authority shall invite the applicant
to submit the amendments within a time limit fixed in the invitation and
shall proceed as provided for in Rule 69.1(e).
60.2 Defects in Later Elections
(a) If the notice effecting a later election does not comply with the
requirements of Rule 56, the International Bureau shall invite the applicant
to correct the defects within a time limit which shall be reasonable under
the circumstances. That time limit shall not be less than one month from
the date of the invitation. It may be extended by the International Bureau
at any time before a decision is taken.
(b) If the applicant complies with the invitation within the time limit
under paragraph (a), the notice shall be considered as if it had been received
123

Regulations Under the PCT
on the actual filing date, provided that the notice as submitted contained at
least one election and permitted the international application to be identified;
otherwise, the notice shall be considered as if it had been received on the
date on which the International Bureau receives the correction.
(c) Subject to paragraph (d), if the applicant does not comply with
the invitation within the time limit under paragraph (a), the notice shall be
considered as if it had not been submitted and the International Bureau
shall so declare.
(d) Where, in respect of an applicant for a certain elected State, the
signature required under Rule 56.1(b) and (c) or the name or address is
lacking after the expiration of the time limit under paragraph (a), the later
election of that State shall be considered as if it had not been made.
Rule 61
Notification of the Demand and Elections
61.1 Notification to the International Bureau and the Applicant
(a) The International Preliminary Examining Authority shall indicate
on the demand the date of receipt or, where applicable, the date referred to
in Rule 60.1(b). The International Preliminary Examining Authority shall
promptly either send the demand to the International Bureau and keep a
copy in its files or send a copy to the International Bureau and keep the
demand in its files.
(b) The International Preliminary Examining Authority shall promptly
notify the applicant of the date of receipt of the demand. Where the demand
has been considered under Rules 54.4, 55.2(d), 58bis.1(b) or 60.1(c) as if
it had not been submitted or where an election has been considered under
Rule 60.1(d) as if it had not been made, the International Preliminary
Examining Authority shall notify the applicant and the International Bureau
accordingly.
(c) The International Bureau shall promptly notify the applicant of
the receipt, and the date of receipt, of any notice effecting a later election.
That date shall be the actual date of receipt by the International Bureau or,
where applicable, the date referred to in Rule 56.1(f) or 60.2(b). Where
the notice has been considered under Rule 60.2(c) as if it had not been
124

Regulations Under the PCT
submitted or where a later election has been considered under Rule 60.2(d)
as if it had not been made, the International Bureau shall notify the applicant
accordingly.
61.2 Notification to the Elected Offices
(a) The notification provided for in Article 31(7) shall be effected
by the International Bureau.
(b) The notification shall indicate the number and filing date of the
international application, the name of the applicant, the filing date of the
application whose priority is claimed (where priority is claimed), the date
of receipt by the International Preliminary Examining Authority of the
demand, and—in the case of a later election—the date of receipt of the
notice effecting the later election. The latter date shall be the actual date of
receipt by the International Bureau or, where applicable, the date referred
to in Rule 56.1(f) or 60.2(b).
(c) The notification shall be sent to the elected Office together with
the communication provided for in Article 20. Elections effected after such
communication shall be notified promptly after they have been made.
(d) Where the applicant makes an express request to an elected Office
under Article 40(2) before the communication provided for in Article 20
has taken place, the International Bureau shall, upon request of the applicant
or the elected Office, promptly effect that communication to that Office.
61.3 Information for the Applicant
The International Bureau shall inform the applicant in writing of the
notification referred to in Rule 61.2 and of the elected Offices notified
under Article 31(7).
61.4 Publication in the Gazette
Where a demand has been filed before the expiration of 19 months
from the priority date, the International Bureau shall, promptly after the
filing of the demand but not before the international publication of the
international application, publish in the Gazette information on the demand
and the elected States concerned, as provided in the Administrative
Instructions.

125

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 62
Copy of Amendments Under Article 19 for the
International Preliminary Examining Authority
62.1 Amendments Made Before the Demand Is Filed
Upon receipt of a demand, or a copy thereof, from the International
Preliminary Examining Authority, the International Bureau shall promptly
transmit a copy of any amendments under Article 19, and any statement
referred to in that Article, to that Authority, unless that Authority has
indicated that it has already received such a copy.
62.2 Amendments Made After the Demand Is Filed
If, at the time of filing any amendments under Article 19, a demand
has already been submitted, the applicant shall preferably, at the same
time as he files the amendments with the International Bureau, also file
with the International Preliminary Examining Authority a copy of such
amendments and any statement referred to in that Article. In any case, the
International Bureau shall promptly transmit a copy of such amendments
and statement to that Authority.
Rule 63
Minimum Requirements for
International Preliminary Examining Authorities
63.1 Definition of Minimum Requirements
The minimum requirements referred to in Article 32(3) shall be the
following:
(i) the national Office or intergovernmental organization must
have at least 100 full-time employees with sufficient technical qualifications
to carry out examinations;
(ii) that Office or organization must have at its ready disposal at
least the minimum documentation referred to in Rule 34, properly arranged
for examination purposes;
(iii) that Office or organization must have a staff which is capable
of examining in the required technical fields and which has the language
facilities to understand at least those languages in which the minimum
documentation referred to in Rule 34 is written or is translated.
126

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 64
Prior Art for International Preliminary Examination
64.1 Prior Art
(a) For the purposes of Article 33(2) and (3), everything made
available to the public anywhere in the world by means of written disclosure
(including drawings and other illustrations) shall be considered prior art
provided that such making available occurred prior to the relevant date.
(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), the relevant date will be:
(i) subject to item (ii), the international filing date of the
international application under international preliminary examination;
(ii) where the international application under international
preliminary examination validly claims the priority of an earlier application,
the filing date of such earlier application.
64.2 Non-Written Disclosures
In cases where the making available to the public occurred by means
of an oral disclosure, use, exhibition or other non-written means
(“non-written disclosure”) before the relevant date as defined in
Rule 64.1(b) and the date of such non-written disclosure is indicated in a
written disclosure which has been made available to the public on a date
which is the same as, or later than, the relevant date, the non-written
disclosure shall not be considered part of the prior art for the purposes
of Article 33(2) and (3). Nevertheless, the international preliminary
examination report shall call attention to such non-written disclosure in
the manner provided for in Rule 70.9.
64.3 Certain Published Documents
In cases where any application or any patent which would constitute
prior art for the purposes of Article 33(2) and (3) had it been published
prior to the relevant date referred to in Rule 64.1 was published on a date
which is the same as, or later than, the relevant date but was filed earlier
than the relevant date or claimed the priority of an earlier application which
had been filed prior to the relevant date, such published application or
patent shall not be considered part of the prior art for the purposes of

127

Regulations Under the PCT
Article 33(2) and (3). Nevertheless, the international preliminary
examination report shall call attention to such application or patent in the
manner provided for in Rule 70.10.
Rule 65
Inventive Step or Non-Obviousness
65.1 Approach to Prior Art
For the purposes of Article 33(3), the international preliminary
examination shall take into consideration the relation of any particular
claim to the prior art as a whole. It shall take into consideration the claim’s
relation not only to individual documents or parts thereof taken separately
but also its relation to combinations of such documents or parts of
documents, where such combinations are obvious to a person skilled in
the art.
65.2 Relevant Date
For the purposes of Article 33(3), the relevant date for the
consideration of inventive step (non-obviousness) is the date prescribed in
Rule 64.1.
Rule 66
Procedure Before the
International Preliminary Examining Authority
66.1 Basis of the International Preliminary Examination
(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) to (d), the international preliminary
examination shall be based on the international application as filed.
(b) The applicant may submit amendments under Article 34 at the
time of filing the demand or, subject to Rule 66.4bis, until the international
preliminary examination report is established.
(c) Any amendments under Article 19 made before the demand was
filed shall be taken into account for the purposes of the international
preliminary examination unless superseded, or considered as reversed, by
an amendment under Article 34.

128

Regulations Under the PCT
(d) Any amendments under Article 19 made after the demand was
filed and any amendments under Article 34 submitted to the International
Preliminary Examining Authority shall, subject to Rule 66.4bis, be taken
into account for the purposes of the international preliminary examination.
(e) Claims relating to inventions in respect of which no international
search report has been established need not be the subject of international
preliminary examination.
66.2 First Written Opinion of the International Preliminary Examining
Authority
(a) If the International Preliminary Examining Authority
(i) considers that any of the situations referred to in Article 34(4)
exists,
(ii) considers that the international preliminary examination
report should be negative in respect of any of the claims
because the invention claimed therein does not appear to be
novel, does not appear to involve an inventive step (does not
appear to be non-obvious), or does not appear to be
industrially applicable,
(iii) notices that there is some defect in the form or contents of
the international application under the Treaty or these
Regulations,
(iv) considers that any amendment goes beyond the disclosure in
the international application as filed,
(v) wishes to accompany the international preliminary
examination report by observations on the clarity of the
claims, the description, and the drawings, or the question
whether the claims are fully supported by the description,
(vi) considers that a claim relates to an invention in respect of
which no international search report has been established
and has decided not to carry out the international preliminary
examination in respect of that claim, or
(vii) considers that a nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence listing
is not available to it in such a form that a meaningful
international preliminary examination can be carried out,
129

Regulations Under the PCT
the said Authority shall notify the applicant accordingly in writing. Where
the national law of the national Office acting as International Preliminary
Examining Authority does not allow multiple dependent claims to be
drafted in a manner different from that provided for in the second and
third sentences of Rule 6.4(a), the International Preliminary Examining
Authority may, in case of failure to use that manner of claiming, apply
Article 34(4)(b). In such case, it shall notify the applicant accordingly in
writing.
(b) The notification shall fully state the reasons for the opinion of
the International Preliminary Examining Authority.
(c) The notification shall invite the applicant to submit a written reply
together, where appropriate, with amendments.
(d) The notification shall fix a time limit for the reply. The time limit
shall be reasonable under the circumstances. It shall normally be two months
after the date of notification. In no case shall it be shorter than one month
after the said date. It shall be at least two months after the said date where
the international search report is transmitted at the same time as the
notification. It shall not be more than three months after the said date but
may be extended if the applicant so requests before its expiration.
66.3 Formal Response to the International Preliminary Examining
Authority
(a) The applicant may respond to the invitation referred to in
Rule 66.2(c) of the International Preliminary Examining Authority by
making amendments or—if he disagrees with the opinion of that
Authority—by submitting arguments, as the case may be, or do both.
(b) Any response shall be submitted directly to the International
Preliminary Examining Authority.
66.4 Additional Opportunity for Submitting Amendments or Arguments
(a) If the International Preliminary Examining Authority wishes to
issue one or more additional written opinions, it may do so, and Rules 66.2
and 66.3 shall apply.
(b) On the request of the applicant, the International Preliminary
Examining Authority may give him one or more additional opportunities
to submit amendments or arguments.
130

Regulations Under the PCT
66.4bis Consideration of Amendments and Arguments
Amendments or arguments need not be taken into account by the
International Preliminary Examining Authority for the purposes of a written
opinion or the international preliminary examination report if they are
received after that Authority has begun to draw up that opinion or report.
66.5 Amendment
Any change, other than the rectification of obvious errors, in the
claims, the description, or the drawings, including cancellation of claims,
omission of passages in the description, or omission of certain drawings,
shall be considered an amendment.
66.6 Informal Communications with the Applicant
The International Preliminary Examining Authority may, at any time,
communicate informally, over the telephone, in writing, or through personal
interviews, with the applicant. The said Authority shall, at its discretion,
decide whether it wishes to grant more than one personal interview if so
requested by the applicant, or whether it wishes to reply to any informal
written communication from the applicant.
66.7 Priority Document
(a) If the International Preliminary Examining Authority needs a copy
of the application whose priority is claimed in the international application,
the International Bureau shall, on request, promptly furnish such copy. If
that copy is not furnished to the International Preliminary Examining
Authority because the applicant failed to comply with the requirements of
Rule 17.1, the international preliminary examination report may be
established as if the priority had not been claimed.
(b) If the application whose priority is claimed in the international
application is in a language other than the language or one of the languages
of the International Preliminary Examining Authority, that Authority may,
where the validity of the priority claim is relevant for the formulation of
the opinion referred to in Article 33(1), invite the applicant to furnish a
translation in the said language or one of the said languages within two
months from the date of the invitation. If the translation is not furnished
within that time limit, the international preliminary examination report
may be established as if the priority had not been claimed.
131

Regulations Under the PCT
66.8 Form of Amendments
(a) Subject to paragraph (b), the applicant shall be required to submit
a replacement sheet for every sheet of the international application which,
on account of an amendment, differs from the sheet previously filed. The
letter accompanying the replacement sheets shall draw attention to the
differences between the replaced sheets and the replacement sheets and
shall preferably also explain the reasons for the amendment.
(b) Where the amendment consists in the deletion of passages or in
minor alterations or additions, the replacement sheet referred to in
paragraph (a) may be a copy of the relevant sheet of the international
application containing the alterations or additions, provided that the clarity
and direct reproducibility of that sheet are not adversely affected. To the
extent that any amendment results in the cancellation of an entire sheet,
that amendment shall be communicated in a letter which shall preferably
also explain the reasons for the amendment.
66.9 Language of Amendments
(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), if the international application
has been filed in a language other than the language in which it is published,
any amendment, as well as any letter referred to in Rule 66.8, shall be
submitted in the language of publication.
(b) If the international preliminary examination is carried out,
pursuant to Rule 55.2, on the basis of a translation of the international
application, any amendment, as well as any letter referred to in
paragraph (a), shall be submitted in the language of that translation.
(c) Subject to Rule 55.3, if an amendment or letter is not submitted
in a language as required under paragraph (a) or (b), the International
Preliminary Examining Authority shall, if practicable having regard to the
time limit for establishing the international preliminary examination report,
invite the applicant to furnish the amendment or letter in the required
language within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the
circumstances.
(d) If the applicant fails to comply, within the time limit under
paragraph (c), with the invitation to furnish an amendment in the required
language, the amendment shall not be taken into account for the purposes
132

Regulations Under the PCT
of the international preliminary examination. If the applicant fails to comply,
within the time limit under paragraph (c), with the invitation to furnish a
letter referred to in paragraph (a) in the required language, the amendment
concerned need not be taken into account for the purposes of the
international preliminary examination.
Rule 67
Subject Matter Under Article 34(4)(a)(i)
67.1 Definition
No International Preliminary Examining Authority shall be required
to carry out an international preliminary examination on an international
application if, and to the extent to which, its subject matter is any of the
following:
(i) scientific and mathematical theories,
(ii) plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes
for the production of plants and animals, other than microbiological
processes and the products of such processes,
(iii) schemes, rules or methods of doing business, performing
purely mental acts or playing games,
(iv) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by
surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods,
(v) mere presentations of information,
(vi) computer programs to the extent that the International
Preliminary Examining Authority is not equipped to carry out an
international preliminary examination concerning such programs.
Rule 68
Lack of Unity of Invention
(International Preliminary Examination)
68.1 No Invitation to Restrict or Pay
Where the International Preliminary Examining Authority finds that
the requirement of unity of invention is not complied with and chooses not
to invite the applicant to restrict the claims or to pay additional fees, it
shall proceed with the international preliminary examination, subject to
133

Regulations Under the PCT
Article 34(4)(b) and Rule 66.1(e), in respect of the entire international
application, but shall indicate, in any written opinion and in the international
preliminary examination report, that it considers that the requirement of
unity of invention is not fulfilled and it shall specify the reasons therefor.
68.2 Invitation to Restrict or Pay
Where the International Preliminary Examining Authority finds that
the requirement of unity of invention is not complied with and chooses to
invite the applicant, at his option, to restrict the claims or to pay additional
fees, it shall specify at least one possibility of restriction which, in the
opinion of the International Preliminary Examining Authority, would be
in compliance with the applicable requirement, and shall specify the amount
of the additional fees and the reasons for which the international application
is not considered as complying with the requirement of unity of invention.
It shall, at the same time, fix a time limit, with regard to the circumstances
of the case, for complying with the invitation; such time limit shall not be
shorter than one month, and it shall not be longer than two months, from
the date of the invitation.
68.3 Additional Fees
(a) The amount of the additional fee due for international preliminary
examination under Article 34(3)(a) shall be determined by the competent
International Preliminary Examining Authority.
(b) The additional fee due for international preliminary examination
under Article 34(3)(a) shall be payable direct to the International
Preliminary Examining Authority.
(c) Any applicant may pay the additional fee under protest, that is,
accompanied by a reasoned statement to the effect that the international
application complies with the requirement of unity of invention or that the
amount of the required additional fee is excessive. Such protest shall be
examined by a three-member board or other special instance of the
International Preliminary Examining Authority, or any competent higher
authority, which, to the extent that it finds the protest justified, shall order
the total or partial reimbursement to the applicant of the additional fee. On
the request of the applicant, the text of both the protest and the decision
thereon shall be notified to the elected Offices as an annex to the
international preliminary examination report.
134

Regulations Under the PCT
(d) The three-member board, special instance or competent higher
authority, referred to in paragraph (c), shall not comprise any person who
made the decision which is the subject of the protest.
(e) Where the applicant has, under paragraph (c), paid an additional
fee under protest, the International Preliminary Examining Authority may,
after a prior review of the justification for the invitation to pay an additional
fee, require that the applicant pay a fee for the examination of the protest
(“protest fee”). The protest fee shall be paid within one month from the
date of the notification to the applicant of the result of the review. If the
protest fee is not so paid, the protest shall be considered withdrawn. The
protest fee shall be refunded to the applicant where the three-member board,
special instance or higher authority referred to in paragraph (c) finds that
the protest was entirely justified.
68.4 Procedure in the Case of Insufficient Restriction of the Claims
If the applicant restricts the claims but not sufficiently to comply
with the requirement of unity of invention, the International Preliminary
Examining Authority shall proceed as provided in Article 34(3)(c).
68.5 Main Invention
In case of doubt which invention is the main invention for the purposes
of Article 34(3)(c), the invention first mentioned in the claims shall be
considered the main invention.
Rule 69
Start of and Time Limit
for International Preliminary Examination
69.1 Start of International Preliminary Examination
(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) to (e), the International Preliminary
Examining Authority shall start the international preliminary examination
when it is in possession both of the demand and of either the international
search report or a notice of the declaration by the International Searching
Authority under Article 17(2)(a) that no international search report will be
established.
(b) If the competent International Preliminary Examining Authority
is part of the same national Office or intergovernmental organization as
135

Regulations Under the PCT
the competent International Searching Authority, the international
preliminary examination may, if the International Preliminary Examining
Authority so wishes and subject to paragraph (d), start at the same time as
the international search.
(c) Where the statement concerning amendments contains an
indication that amendments under Article 19 are to be taken into account
(Rule 53.9(a)(i)), the International Preliminary Examining Authority shall
not start the international preliminary examination before it has received a
copy of the amendments concerned.
(d) Where the statement concerning amendments contains an
indication that the start of the international preliminary examination is to
be postponed (Rule 53.9(b)), the International Preliminary Examining
Authority shall not start the international preliminary examination before
(i) it has received a copy of any amendments made under
Article 19,
(ii) it has received a notice from the applicant that he does not
wish to make amendments under Article 19, or
(iii) the expiration of 20 months from the priority date,
whichever occurs first.
(e) Where the statement concerning amendments contains an
indication that amendments under Article 34 are submitted with the demand
(Rule 53.9(c)) but no such amendments are, in fact, submitted, the
International Preliminary Examining Authority shall not start the
international preliminary examination before it has received the
amendments or before the time limit fixed in the invitation referred to in
Rule 60.1(g) has expired, whichever occurs first.
69.2 Time Limit for International Preliminary Examination
The time limit for establishing the international preliminary
examination report shall be:
(i) 28 months from the priority date, or
(ii) eight months from the date of payment of the fees referred to
in Rules 57.1 and 58.1(a), or

136

Regulations Under the PCT
(iii) eight months from the date of receipt by the International
Preliminary Examining Authority of the translation furnished
under Rule 55.2,
whichever expires last.
Rule 70
The International Preliminary Examination Report
70.1 Definition
For the purposes of this Rule, “report” shall mean international
preliminary examination report.
70.2 Basis of the Report
(a) If the claims have been amended, the report shall issue on the
claims as amended.
(b) If, pursuant to Rule 66.7(a) or (b), the report is established as if
the priority had not been claimed, the report shall so indicate.
(c) If the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers
that any amendment goes beyond the disclosure in the international
application as filed, the report shall be established as if such amendment
had not been made, and the report shall so indicate. It shall also indicate
the reasons why it considers that the amendment goes beyond the said
disclosure.
(d) Where claims relate to inventions in respect of which no
international search report has been established and have therefore not
been the subject of international preliminary examination, the international
preliminary examination report shall so indicate.
70.3 Identifications
The report shall identify the International Preliminary Examining
Authority which established it by indicating the name of such Authority,
and the international application by indicating the international application
number, the name of the applicant, and the international filing date.

137

Regulations Under the PCT
70.4 Dates
The report shall indicate:
(i) the date on which the demand was submitted, and
(ii) the date of the report; that date shall be the date on which the
report is completed.
70.5 Classification
(a) The report shall repeat the classification given under Rule 43.3 if
the International Preliminary Examining Authority agrees with such
classification.
(b) Otherwise, the International Preliminary Examining Authority
shall indicate in the report the classification, at least according to the
International Patent Classification, which it considers correct.
70.6 Statement Under Article 35(2)
(a) The statement referred to in Article 35(2) shall consist of the
words “YES” or “NO,” or their equivalent in the language of the report, or
some appropriate sign provided for in the Administrative Instructions, and
shall be accompanied by the citations, explanations and observations, if
any, referred to in the last sentence of Article 35(2).
(b) If any of the three criteria referred to in Article 35(2) (that is,
novelty, inventive step (non-obviousness), industrial applicability) is not
satisfied, the statement shall be negative. If, in such a case, any of the
criteria, taken separately, is satisfied, the report shall specify the criterion
or criteria so satisfied.
70.7 Citations Under Article 35(2)
(a) The report shall cite the documents considered to be relevant for
supporting the statements made under Article 35(2), whether or not such
documents are cited in the international search report. Documents cited in
the international search report need only be cited in the report when they
are considered by the International Preliminary Examining Authority to
be relevant.
(b) The provisions of Rule 43.5(b) and (e) shall apply also to the
report.
138

Regulations Under the PCT
70.8 Explanations Under Article 35(2)
The Administrative Instructions shall contain guidelines for cases in
which the explanations referred to in Article 35(2) should or should not be
given and the form of such explanations. Such guidelines shall be based
on the following principles:
(i) explanations shall be given whenever the statement in relation
to any claim is negative;
(ii) explanations shall be given whenever the statement is positive
unless the reason for citing any document is easy to imagine on the basis
of consultation of the cited document;
(iii) generally, explanations shall be given if the case provided
for in the last sentence of Rule 70.6(b) obtains.
70.9 Non-Written Disclosures
Any non-written disclosure referred to in the report by virtue of
Rule 64.2 shall be mentioned by indicating its kind, the date on which the
written disclosure referring to the non-written disclosure was made available
to the public, and the date on which the non-written disclosure occurred in
public.
70.10 Certain Published Documents
Any published application or any patent referred to in the report by
virtue of Rule 64.3 shall be mentioned as such and shall be accompanied
by an indication of its date of publication, of its filing date, and its claimed
priority date (if any). In respect of the priority date of any such document,
the report may indicate that, in the opinion of the International Preliminary
Examining Authority, such date has not been validly claimed.
70.11 Mention of Amendments
If, before the International Preliminary Examining Authority,
amendments have been made, this fact shall be indicated in the report.
Where any amendment has resulted in the cancellation of an entire sheet,
this fact shall also be specified in the report.

139

Regulations Under the PCT
70.12 Mention of Certain Defects and Other Matters
If the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers that,
at the time it prepares the report:
(i) the international application contains any of the defects
referred to in Rule 66.2(a)(iii), it shall include this opinion and the reasons
therefor in the report;
(ii) the international application calls for any of the observations
referred to in Rule 66.2(a)(v), it may include this opinion in the report and,
if it does, it shall also indicate in the report the reasons for such opinion;
(iii) any of the situations referred to in Article 34(4) exists, it
shall state this opinion and the reasons therefor in the report;
(iv) a nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence listing is not
available to it in such a form that a meaningful international preliminary
examination can be carried out, it shall so state in the report.
70.13 Remarks Concerning Unity of Invention
If the applicant paid additional fees for the international preliminary
examination, or if the international application or the international
preliminary examination was restricted under Article 34(3), the report shall
so indicate. Furthermore, where the international preliminary examination
was carried out on restricted claims (Article 34(3)(a)), or on the main
invention only (Article 34(3)(c)), the report shall indicate what parts of
the international application were and what parts were not the subject of
international preliminary examination. The report shall contain the
indications provided for in Rule 68.1, where the International Preliminary
Examining Authority chose not to invite the applicant to restrict the claims
or to pay additional fees.
70.14 Authorized Officer
The report shall indicate the name of the officer of the International
Preliminary Examining Authority responsible for that report.
70.15 Form
The physical requirements as to the form of the report shall be
prescribed by the Administrative Instructions.

140

Regulations Under the PCT
70.16 Annexes to the Report
Each replacement sheet under Rule 66.8(a) or (b), each replacement
sheet containing amendments under Article 19 and each replacement sheet
containing rectifications of obvious errors authorized under Rule 91.1(e)(iii)
shall, unless superseded by later replacement sheets or amendments
resulting in the cancellation of entire sheets under Rule 66.8(b), be annexed
to the report. Amendments under Article 19 which have been considered
as reversed by an amendment under Article 34 and letters under Rule 66.8
shall not be annexed.
70.17 Languages of the Report and the Annexes
The report and any annex shall be in the language in which the
international application to which they relate is published, or, if the
international preliminary examination is carried out, pursuant to Rule 55.2,
on the basis of a translation of the international application, in the language
of that translation.
Rule 71
Transmittal of the
International Preliminary Examination Report
71.1 Recipients
The International Preliminary Examining Authority shall, on the same
day, transmit one copy of the international preliminary examination report
and its annexes, if any, to the International Bureau, and one copy to the
applicant.
71.2 Copies of Cited Documents
(a) The request under Article 36(4) may be presented any time during
seven years from the international filing date of the international application
to which the report relates.
(b) The International Preliminary Examining Authority may require
that the party (applicant or elected Office) presenting the request pay to it
the cost of preparing and mailing the copies. The level of the cost of
preparing copies shall be provided for in the agreements referred to in
Article 32(2) between the International Preliminary Examining Authorities
and the International Bureau.
141

Regulations Under the PCT
(c) [Deleted]
(d) Any International Preliminary Examining Authority may perform
the obligations referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) through another agency
responsible to it.
Rule 72
Translation of the
International Preliminary Examination Report
72.1 Languages
(a) Any elected State may require that the international preliminary
examination report, established in any language other than the official
language, or one of the official languages, of its national Office, be
translated into English.
(b) Any such requirement shall be notified to the International Bureau,
which shall promptly publish it in the Gazette.
72.2 Copy of Translation for the Applicant
The International Bureau shall transmit a copy of the translation
referred to in Rule 72.1(a) of the international preliminary examination
report to the applicant at the same time as it communicates such translation
to the interested elected Office or Offices.
72.3 Observations on the Translation
The applicant may make written observations on what, in his opinion,
are errors of translation in the translation of the international preliminary
examination report and shall send a copy of any such observations to each
of the interested elected Offices and a copy to the International Bureau.
Rule 73
Communication of the
International Preliminary Examination Report
73.1 Preparation of Copies
The International Bureau shall prepare the copies of the documents
to be communicated under Article 36(3)(a).

142

Regulations Under the PCT
73.2 Time Limit for Communication
The communication provided for in Article 36(3)(a) shall be effected
as promptly as possible but not earlier than the communication under
Article 20.
Rule 74
Translations of Annexes of the International
Preliminary Examination Report and Transmittal Thereof
74.1 Contents of Translation and Time Limit for Transmittal Thereof
(a) Where the furnishing of a translation of the international
application is required by the elected Office under Article 39(1), the
applicant shall, within the time limit applicable under Article 39(1), transmit
a translation of any replacement sheet referred to in Rule 70.16 which is
annexed to the international preliminary examination report, unless such
sheet is in the language of the required translation of the international
application. The same time limit shall apply where the furnishing of a
translation of the international application to the elected Office must,
because of a declaration made under Article 64(2)(a)(i), be effected within
the time limit applicable under Article 22.
(b) Where the furnishing under Article 39(1) of a translation of the
international application is not required by the elected Office, that Office
may require the applicant to furnish, within the time limit applicable under
that Article, a translation into the language in which the international
application was published of any replacement sheet referred to in Rule 70.16
which is annexed to the international preliminary examination report and
is not in that language.

143

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 75
[Deleted]
Rule 76
Copy, Translation and Fee Under
Article 39(1); Translation of Priority Document
76.1, 76.2 and 76.3 [Deleted]
76.4 Time Limit for Translation of Priority Document
The applicant shall not be required to furnish to any elected Office a
translation of the priority document before the expiration of the applicable
time limit under Article 39.
76.5 Application of Rules 22.1(g), 49 and 51bis
Rules 22.1(g), 49 and 51bis shall apply, provided that:
(i) any reference in the said Rules to the designated Office or to
the designated State shall be construed as a reference to the elected Office
or to the elected State, respectively;
(ii) any reference in the said Rules to Article 22 or Article 24(2)
shall be construed as a reference to Article 39(1) or Article 39(3),
respectively;
(iii) the words “international applications filed” in Rule 49.1(c)
shall be replaced by the words “a demand submitted;”
(iv) for the purposes of Article 39(1), where an international
preliminary examination report has been established, a translation of any
amendment under Article 19 shall only be required if that amendment is
annexed to that report.
76.6 Transitional Provision
If, on July 12, 1991, Rule 76.5(iv) is not compatible with the national
law applied by the elected Office in respect of claims amended under
Article 19, Rule 76.5(iv) shall not apply in that respect to that elected
Office for as long as it continues not to be compatible with that law, provided
that the said Office informs the International Bureau accordingly by
December 31, 1991. The information received shall be promptly published
by the International Bureau in the Gazette.
144

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 77
Faculty Under Article 39(1)(b)
77.1 Exercise of Faculty
(a) Any Contracting State allowing a time limit expiring later than
the time limit provided for in Article 39(1)(a) shall notify the International
Bureau of the time limit so fixed.
(b) Any notification received by the International Bureau under
paragraph (a) shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in
the Gazette.
(c) Notifications concerning the shortening of the previously fixed
time limit shall be effective in relation to demands submitted after the
expiration of three months computed from the date on which the notification
was published by the International Bureau.
(d) Notifications concerning the lengthening of the previously fixed
time limit shall become effective upon publication by the International
Bureau in the Gazette in respect of demands pending at the time or submitted
after the date of such publication, or, if the Contracting State effecting the
notification fixes some later date, as from the latter date.
Rule 78
Amendment of the Claims, the Description,
and the Drawings, Before Elected Offices
78.1 Time Limit Where Election Is Effected Prior to Expiration of
19 Months from Priority Date
(a) Where the election of any Contracting State is effected prior to
the expiration of the 19th month from the priority date, the applicant shall,
if he so wishes, exercise the right under Article 41 to amend the claims,
the description and the drawings, before the elected Office concerned within
one month from the fulfillment of the requirements under Article 39(1)(a),
provided that, if the transmittal of the international preliminary examination
report under Article 36(1) has not taken place by the expiration of the time
limit applicable under Article 39, he shall exercise the said right not later

145

Regulations Under the PCT
than four months after such expiration date. In either case, the applicant
may exercise the said right at any other time if so permitted by the national
law of the said State.
(b) In any elected State in which the national law provides that
examination starts only on special request, the national law may provide
that the time limit within or the time at which the applicant may exercise
the right under Article 41 shall, where the election of any Contracting
State is effected prior to the expiration of the 19th month from the priority
date, be the same as that provided by the national law for the filing of
amendments in the case of the examination, on special request, of national
applications, provided that such time limit shall not expire prior to, or such
time shall not come before, the expiration of the time limit applicable under
paragraph (a).
78.2 Time Limit Where Election Is Effected After Expiration of 19 Months
from Priority Date
Where the election of any Contracting State has been effected after
the expiration of the 19th month from the priority date and the applicant
wishes to make amendments under Article 41, the time limit for making
amendments under Article 28 shall apply.
78.3 Utility Models
The provisions of Rules 6.5 and 13.5 shall apply, mutatis mutandis,
before elected Offices. If the election was made before the expiration of
the 19th month from the priority date, the reference to the time limit
applicable under Article 22 is replaced by a reference to the time limit
applicable under Article 39.

146

Regulations Under the PCT
PART D
RULES CONCERNING CHAPTER III OF THE TREATY
Rule 79
Calendar
79.1 Expressing Dates
Applicants, national Offices, receiving Offices, International
Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities, and the International
Bureau, shall, for the purposes of the Treaty and the Regulations, express
any date in terms of the Christian era and the Gregorian calendar, or, if
they use other eras and calendars, they shall also express any date in terms
of the Christian era and the Gregorian calendar.
Rule 80
Computation of Time Limits
80.1 Periods Expressed in Years
When a period is expressed as one year or a certain number of years,
computation shall start on the day following the day on which the relevant
event occurred, and the period shall expire in the relevant subsequent year
in the month having the same name and on the day having the same number
as the month and the day on which the said event occurred, provided that
if the relevant subsequent month has no day with the same number the
period shall expire on the last day of that month.
80.2 Periods Expressed in Months
When a period is expressed as one month or a certain number of
months, computation shall start on the day following the day on which the
relevant event occurred, and the period shall expire in the relevant
subsequent month on the day which has the same number as the day on
which the said event occurred, provided that if the relevant subsequent
month has no day with the same number the period shall expire on the last
day of that month.

147

Regulations Under the PCT
80.3 Periods Expressed in Days
When a period is expressed as a certain number of days, computation
shall start on the day following the day on which the relevant event occurred,
and the period shall expire on the day on which the last day of the count
has been reached.
80.4 Local Dates
(a) The date which is taken into consideration as the starting date of
the computation of any period shall be the date which prevails in the locality
at the time when the relevant event occurred.
(b) The date on which any period expires shall be the date which
prevails in the locality in which the required document must be filed or the
required fee must be paid.
80.5 Expiration on a Non-Working Day
If the expiration of any period during which any document or fee
must reach a national Office or intergovernmental organization falls on a
day on which such Office or organization is not open to the public for the
purposes of the transaction of official business, or on which ordinary mail
is not delivered in the locality in which such Office or organization is
situated, the period shall expire on the next subsequent day on which neither
of the said two circumstances exists.
80.6 Date of Documents
Where a period starts on the day of the date of a document or letter
emanating from a national Office or intergovernmental organization, any
interested party may prove that the said document or letter was mailed on
a day later than the date it bears, in which case the date of actual mailing
shall, for the purposes of computing the period, be considered to be the
date on which the period starts. Irrespective of the date on which such a
document or letter was mailed, if the applicant offers to the national Office
or intergovernmental organization evidence which satisfies the national
Office or intergovernmental organization that the document or letter was
received more than seven days after the date it bears, the national Office
or intergovernmental organization shall treat the period starting from the
date of the document or letter as expiring later by an additional number of
148

Regulations Under the PCT
days which is equal to the number of days which the document or letter
was received later than seven days after the date it bears.
80.7 End of Working Day
(a) A period expiring on a given day shall expire at the moment the
national Office or intergovernmental organization with which the document
must be filed or to which the fee must be paid closes for business on that
day.
(b) Any Office or organization may depart from the provisions of
paragraph (a) up to midnight on the relevant day.
Rule 81
Modification of Time Limits Fixed in the Treaty
81.1 Proposal
(a) Any Contracting State or the Director General may propose a
modification under Article 47(2).
(b) Proposals made by a Contracting State shall be presented to the
Director General.
81.2 Decision by the Assembly
(a) When the proposal is made to the Assembly, its text shall be sent
by the Director General to all Contracting States at least two months in
advance of that session of the Assembly whose agenda includes the
proposal.
(b) During the discussion of the proposal in the Assembly, the
proposal may be amended or consequential amendments proposed.
(c) The proposal shall be considered adopted if none of the
Contracting States present at the time of voting votes against the proposal.
81.3 Voting by Correspondence
(a) When voting by correspondence is chosen, the proposal shall be
included in a written communication from the Director General to the
Contracting States, inviting them to express their vote in writing.

149

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) The invitation shall fix the time limit within which the reply
containing the vote expressed in writing must reach the International
Bureau. That time limit shall not be less than three months from the date of
the invitation.
(c) Replies must be either positive or negative. Proposals for
amendments or mere observations shall not be regarded as votes.
(d) The proposal shall be considered adopted if none of the
Contracting States opposes the amendment and if at least one-half of the
Contracting States express either approval or indifference or abstention.
Rule 82
Irregularities in the Mail Service
82.1 Delay or Loss in Mail
(a) Any interested party may offer evidence that he has mailed the
document or letter five days prior to the expiration of the time limit. Except
in cases where surface mail normally arrives at its destination within two
days of mailing, or where no airmail service is available, such evidence
may be offered only if the mailing was by airmail. In any case, evidence
may be offered only if the mailing was by mail registered by the postal
authorities.
(b) If the mailing, in accordance with paragraph (a), of a document
or letter is proven to the satisfaction of the national Office or
intergovernmental organization which is the addressee, delay in arrival
shall be excused, or, if the document or letter is lost in the mail, substitution
for it of a new copy shall be permitted, provided that the interested party
proves to the satisfaction of the said Office or organization that the
document or letter offered in substitution is identical with the document or
letter lost.
(c) In the cases provided for in paragraph (b), evidence of mailing
within the prescribed time limit, and, where the document or letter was
lost, the substitute document or letter as well as the evidence concerning
its identity with the document or letter lost shall be submitted within one
month after the date on which the interested party noticed—or with due
diligence should have noticed—the delay or the loss, and in no case later
150

Regulations Under the PCT
than six months after the expiration of the time limit applicable in the
given case.
(d) Any national Office or intergovernmental organization which has
notified the International Bureau that it will do so shall, where a delivery
service other than the postal authorities is used to mail a document or
letter, apply the provisions of paragraphs (a) to (c) as if the delivery service
was a postal authority. In such a case, the last sentence of paragraph (a)
shall not apply but evidence may be offered only if details of the mailing
were recorded by the delivery service at the time of mailing. The notification
may contain an indication that it applies only to mailings using specified
delivery services or delivery services which satisfy specified criteria. The
International Bureau shall publish the information so notified in the Gazette.
(e) Any national Office or intergovernmental organization may
proceed under paragraph (d):
(i) even if, where applicable, the delivery service used was not
one of those specified, or did not satisfy the criteria specified, in the relevant
notification under paragraph (d), or
(ii) even if that Office or organization has not sent to the
International Bureau a notification under paragraph (d).
82.2 Interruption in the Mail Service
(a) Any interested party may offer evidence that on any of the 10
days preceding the day of expiration of the time limit the postal service
was interrupted on account of war, revolution, civil disorder, strike, natural
calamity, or other like reason, in the locality where the interested party
resides or has his place of business or is staying.
(b) If such circumstances are proven to the satisfaction of the national
Office or intergovernmental organization which is the addressee, delay in
arrival shall be excused, provided that the interested party proves to the
satisfaction of the said Office or organization that he effected the mailing
within five days after the mail service was resumed. The provisions of
Rule 82.1(c) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

151

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 82bis
Excuse by the Designated or Elected State
of Delays in Meeting Certain Time Limits
82bis.1 Meaning of “Time Limit” in Article 48(2)
The reference to “any time limit” in Article 48(2) shall be construed
as comprising a reference:
(i) to any time limit fixed in the Treaty or these Regulations;
(ii) to any time limit fixed by the receiving Office, the
International Searching Authority, the International Preliminary Examining
Authority or the International Bureau or applicable by the receiving Office
under its national law;
(iii) to any time limit fixed by, or in the national law applicable
by, the designated or elected Office, for the performance of any act by the
applicant before that Office.
82bis.2 Reinstatement of Rights and Other Provisions to Which
Article 48(2) Applies
The provisions of the national law which is referred to in Article 48(2)
concerning the excusing, by the designated or elected State, of any delay
in meeting any time limit are those provisions which provide for
reinstatement of rights, restoration, restitutio in integrum or further
processing in spite of non-compliance with a time limit, and any other
provision providing for the extension of time limits or for excusing delays
in meeting time limits.
Rule 82ter
Rectification of Errors Made
by the Receiving Office or by the International Bureau
82ter.1 Errors Concerning the International Filing Date and the Priority
Claim
If the applicant proves to the satisfaction of any designated or elected
Office that the international filing date is incorrect due to an error made by
the receiving Office or that the priority claim has been erroneously
considered by the receiving Office or the International Bureau not to have
been made, and if the error is an error such that, had it been made by the
designated or elected Office itself, that Office would rectify it under the
152

Regulations Under the PCT
national law or national practice, the said Office shall rectify the error and
shall treat the international application as if it had been accorded the rectified
international filing date or as if the priority claim had not been considered
not to have been made.
Rule 83
Right to Practice Before International Authorities
83.1 Proof of Right
The International Bureau, the competent International Searching
Authority, and the competent International Preliminary Examining
Authority, may require the production of proof of the right to practice
referred to in Article 49.
83.1bis Where the International Bureau Is the Receiving Office
(a) Any person who has the right to practice before the national Office
of, or acting for, a Contracting State of which the applicant or, if there are
two or more applicants, any of the applicants is a resident or national shall
be entitled to practice in respect of the international application before the
International Bureau in its capacity as receiving Office under
Rule 19.1(a)(iii).
(b) Any person having the right to practice before the International
Bureau in its capacity as receiving Office in respect of an international
application shall be entitled to practice in respect of that application before
the International Bureau in any other capacity and before the competent
International Searching Authority and competent International Preliminary
Examining Authority.
83.2 Information
(a) The national Office or the intergovernmental organization which
the interested person is alleged to have a right to practice before shall,
upon request, inform the International Bureau, the competent International
Searching Authority, or the competent International Preliminary Examining
Authority, whether such person has the right to practice before it.
(b) Such information shall be binding upon the International Bureau,
the International Searching Authority, or the International Preliminary
Examining Authority, as the case may be.
153

Regulations Under the PCT
PART E
RULES CONCERNING CHAPTER V OF THE TREATY
Rule 84
Expenses of Delegations
84.1 Expenses Borne by Governments
The expenses of each Delegation participating in any organ established
by or under the Treaty shall be borne by the Government which has
appointed it.
Rule 85
Absence of Quorum in the Assembly
85.1 Voting by Correspondence
In the case provided for in Article 53(5)(b), the International Bureau
shall communicate the decisions of the Assembly (other than those
concerning the Assembly’s own procedure) to the Contracting States which
were not represented and shall invite them to express in writing their vote
or abstention within a period of three months from the date of the
communication. If, at the expiration of that period, the number of
Contracting States having thus expressed their vote or abstention attains
the number of Contracting States which was lacking for attaining the
quorum in the session itself, such decisions shall take effect provided that
at the same time the required majority still obtains.
Rule 86
The Gazette
86.1 Contents and Form
(a) The Gazette referred to in Article 55(4) shall contain:
(i) for each published international application, the data specified
by the Administrative Instructions taken from the front page of the pamphlet
published under Rule 48, the drawing (if any) appearing on the said front
page, and the abstract,
(ii) the schedule of all fees payable to the receiving Offices, the
International Bureau, and the International Searching and Preliminary
Examining Authorities,
154

Regulations Under the PCT
(iii) notices the publication of which is required under the Treaty
or these Regulations,
(iv) information, if and to the extent furnished to the International
Bureau by the designated or elected Offices, on the question whether the
requirements provided for in Articles 22 or 39 have been complied with in
respect of the international applications designating or electing the Office
concerned,
(v) any other useful information prescribed by the Administrative
Instructions, provided access to such information is not prohibited under
the Treaty or these Regulations.
(b) The information referred to in paragraph (a) shall be made
available in two forms:
(i) as a Gazette in paper form, which shall contain the data
specified by the Administrative Instructions taken from the front page of
the pamphlet published under Rule 48 (“bibliographic data”) and the matters
referred to in paragraph (a)(ii) to (v);
(ii) as a Gazette in electronic form, which shall contain the
bibliographic data, the drawing (if any) appearing on the said front page,
and the abstract.
86.2 Languages; Access to the Gazette
(a) The Gazette in paper form shall be published in a bilingual
(English and French) edition. It shall also be published in editions in any
other language, provided the cost of publication is assured through sales
or subventions.
(b) The Assembly may order the publication of the Gazette in
languages other than those referred to in paragraph (a).
(c) The Gazette in electronic form referred to in Rule 86.1(b)(ii) shall
be made accessible, in English and French at the same time, by any
electronic ways and means specified in the Administrative Instructions.
The translations shall be ensured by the International Bureau in English
and French. The International Bureau shall ensure that the making
accessible of the Gazette in electronic form shall be effected on, or as soon
as possible after, the date of publication of the pamphlet containing the
international application.
155

Regulations Under the PCT
86.3 Frequency
The frequency of publication of the Gazette shall be determined by
the Director General.
86.4 Sale
The subscription and other sale prices of the Gazette shall be
determined by the Director General.
86.5 Title
The title of the Gazette shall be determined by the Director General.
86.6 Further Details
Further details concerning the Gazette may be provided for in the
Administrative Instructions.
Rule 87
Copies of Publications
87.1 International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities
Any International Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority shall
have the right to receive, free of charge, two copies of every published
international application, of the Gazette, and of any other publication of
general interest published by the International Bureau in connection with
the Treaty or these Regulations.
87.2 National Offices
(a) Any national Office shall have the right to receive, free of charge,
one copy of every published international application, of the Gazette, and
of any other publication of general interest published by the International
Bureau in connection with the Treaty or these Regulations.
(b) The publications referred to in paragraph (a) shall be sent on
special request. If any publication is available in more than one language,
the request shall specify the language or languages in which it is desired.

156

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 88
Amendment of the Regulations
88.1 Requirement of Unanimity
Amendment of the following provisions of these Regulations shall
require that no State having the right to vote in the Assembly vote against
the proposed amendment:
(i) Rule 14.1 (Transmittal Fee),
(ii) [deleted]
(iii) Rule 22.3 (Time Limit Under Article 12(3)),
(iv) Rule 33 (Relevant Prior Art for International Search),
(v) Rule 64 (Prior Art for International Preliminary
Examination),
(vi) Rule 81 (Modification of Time Limits Fixed in the Treaty),
(vii) the present paragraph (i.e., Rule 88.1).
88.2 [Deleted]
88.3 Requirement of Absence of Opposition by Certain States
Amendment of the following provisions of these Regulations shall
require that no State referred to in Article 58(3)(a)(ii) and having the right
to vote in the Assembly vote against the proposed amendment:
(i) Rule 34 (Minimum Documentation),
(ii) Rule 39 (Subject Matter Under Article 17(2)(a)(i)),
(iii) Rule 67 (Subject Matter Under Article 34(4)(a)(i)),
(iv) the present paragraph (i.e., Rule 88.3).
88.4 Procedure
Any proposal for amending a provision referred to in Rules 88.1
or 88.3 shall, if the proposal is to be decided upon in the Assembly, be
communicated to all Contracting States at least two months prior to the
opening of that session of the Assembly which is called upon to make a
decision on the proposal.

157

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 89
Administrative Instructions
89.1 Scope
(a) The Administrative Instructions shall contain provisions:
(i) concerning matters in respect of which these Regulations
expressly refer to such Instructions,
(ii) concerning any details in respect of the application of these
Regulations.
(b) The Administrative Instructions shall not be in conflict with the
provisions of the Treaty, these Regulations, or any agreement concluded
by the International Bureau with an International Searching Authority, or
an International Preliminary Examining Authority.
89.2 Source
(a) The Administrative Instructions shall be drawn up and
promulgated by the Director General after consultation with the receiving
Offices and the International Searching and Preliminary Examining
Authorities.
(b) They may be modified by the Director General after consultation
with the Offices or Authorities which have a direct interest in the proposed
modification.
(c) The Assembly may invite the Director General to modify the
Administrative Instructions, and the Director General shall proceed
accordingly.
89.3 Publication and Entry into Force
(a) The Administrative Instructions and any modification thereof shall
be published in the Gazette.
(b) Each publication shall specify the date on which the published
provisions come into effect. The dates may be different for different
provisions, provided that no provision may be declared effective prior to
its publication in the Gazette.

158

Regulations Under the PCT
PART F
RULES CONCERNING SEVERAL CHAPTERS OF THE TREATY
Rule 89bis
Filing, Processing and
Transmission of International Applications and
Other Documents in Electronic Form or by Electronic Means
89bis.1 International Applications
(a) International applications may, subject to paragraphs (b) to (e),
be filed and processed in electronic form or by electronic means, in
accordance with the Administrative Instructions, provided that any
receiving Office shall permit the filing of international applications on
paper.
(b) These Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to international
applications filed in electronic form or by electronic means, subject to any
special provisions of the Administrative Instructions.
(c) The Administrative Instructions shall set out the provisions and
requirements in relation to the filing and processing of international
applications filed, in whole or in part, in electronic form or by electronic
means, including but not limited to, provisions and requirements in relation
to acknowledgment of receipt, procedures relating to the according of an
international filing date, physical requirements and the consequences of
non-compliance with those requirements, signature of documents, means
of authentication of documents and of the identity of parties communicating
with Offices and authorities, and the operation of Article 12 in relation to
the home copy, the record copy and the search copy, and may contain
different provisions and requirements in relation to international
applications filed in different languages.
(d) No national Office or intergovernmental organization shall be
obliged to receive or process international applications filed in electronic
form or by electronic means unless it has notified the International Bureau
that it is prepared to do so in compliance with the applicable provisions of
the Administrative Instructions. The International Bureau shall publish
the information so notified in the Gazette.

159

Regulations Under the PCT
(e) No receiving Office which has given the International Bureau a
notification under paragraph (d) may refuse to process an international
application filed in electronic form or by electronic means which complies
with the applicable requirements under the Administrative Instructions.
89bis.2 Other Documents
Rule 89bis.1 shall apply mutatis mutandis to other documents and
correspondence relating to international applications.
89bis.3 Transmittal Between Offices
Where the Treaty, these Regulations or the Administrative Instructions
provide for documents, notifications, communications or correspondence
to be transmitted by one national Office or intergovernmental organization
to another, such transmittal may, where so agreed by both the sender and
the receiver, be effected in electronic form or by electronic means.
Rule 89ter
Copies in Electronic Form of Documents Filed on Paper
89ter.1 Copies in Electronic Form of Documents Filed on Paper
Any national Office or intergovernmental organization may provide
that, where an international application or other document relating to an
international application is filed on paper, a copy thereof in electronic
form, in accordance with the Administrative Instructions, may be furnished
by the applicant.
Rule 90
Agents and Common Representatives
90.1 Appointment as Agent
(a) A person having the right to practice before the national Office
with which the international application is filed or, where the international
application is filed with the International Bureau, having the right to practice
in respect of the international application before the International Bureau
as receiving Office may be appointed by the applicant as his agent to
represent him before the receiving Office, the International Bureau, the
International Searching Authority and the International Preliminary
Examining Authority.
160

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) A person having the right to practice before the national Office
or intergovernmental organization which acts as the International Searching
Authority may be appointed by the applicant as his agent to represent him
specifically before that Authority.
(c) A person having the right to practice before the national Office
or intergovernmental organization which acts as the International
Preliminary Examining Authority may be appointed by the applicant as
his agent to represent him specifically before that Authority.
(d) An agent appointed under paragraph (a) may, unless otherwise
indicated in the document appointing him, appoint one or more sub-agents
to represent the applicant as the applicant’s agent:
(i) before the receiving Office, the International Bureau, the
International Searching Authority and the International Preliminary
Examining Authority, provided that any person so appointed as sub-agent
has the right to practice before the national Office with which the
international application was filed or to practice in respect of the
international application before the International Bureau as receiving Office,
as the case may be;
(ii) specifically before the International Searching Authority or
the International Preliminary Examining Authority, provided that any
person so appointed as sub-agent has the right to practice before the national
Office or intergovernmental organization which acts as the International
Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority,
as the case may be.
90.2 Common Representative
(a) Where there are two or more applicants and the applicants have
not appointed an agent representing all of them (a “common agent”) under
Rule 90.1(a), one of the applicants who is entitled to file an international
application according to Article 9 may be appointed by the other applicants
as their common representative.
(b) Where there are two or more applicants and all the applicants
have not appointed a common agent under Rule 90.1(a) or a common
representative under paragraph (a), the applicant first named in the request

161

Regulations Under the PCT
who is entitled according to Rule 19.1 to file an international application
with the receiving Office shall be considered to be the common
representative of all the applicants.
90.3 Effects of Acts by or in Relation to Agents and Common
Representatives
(a) Any act by or in relation to an agent shall have the effect of an act
by or in relation to the applicant or applicants concerned.
(b) If there are two or more agents representing the same applicant
or applicants, any act by or in relation to any of those agents shall have the
effect of an act by or in relation to the said applicant or applicants.
(c) Subject to Rule 90bis.5(a), second sentence, any act by or in
relation to a common representative or his agent shall have the effect of an
act by or in relation to all the applicants.
90.4 Manner of Appointment of Agent or Common Representative
(a) The appointment of an agent shall be effected by the applicant
signing the request, the demand or a separate power of attorney. Where
there are two or more applicants, the appointment of a common agent or
common representative shall be effected by each applicant signing, at his
choice, the request, the demand or a separate power of attorney.
(b) Subject to Rule 90.5, a separate power of attorney shall be
submitted to either the receiving Office or the International Bureau,
provided that, where a power of attorney appoints an agent under
Rule 90.1(b), (c) or (d)(ii), it shall be submitted to the International
Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority,
as the case may be.
(c) If the separate power of attorney is not signed, or if the required
separate power of attorney is missing, or if the indication of the name or
address of the appointed person does not comply with Rule 4.4, the power
of attorney shall be considered non-existent unless the defect is corrected.
90.5 General Power of Attorney
(a) Appointment of an agent in relation to a particular international
application may be effected by referring in the request, the demand or a
162

Regulations Under the PCT
separate notice to an existing separate power of attorney appointing that
agent to represent the applicant in relation to any international application
which may be filed by that applicant (i.e., a “general power of attorney”),
provided that:
(i) the general power of attorney has been deposited in
accordance with paragraph (b), and
(ii) a copy of it is attached to the request, the demand or the
separate notice, as the case may be; that copy need not be signed.
(b) The general power of attorney shall be deposited with the
receiving Office, provided that, where it appoints an agent under
Rule 90.1(b), (c) or (d)(ii), it shall be deposited with the International
Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority,
as the case may be.
90.6 Revocation and Renunciation
(a) Any appointment of an agent or common representative may be
revoked by the persons who made the appointment or by their successors
in title, in which case any appointment of a sub-agent under Rule 90.1(d)
by that agent shall also be considered as revoked. Any appointment of a
sub-agent under Rule 90.1(d) may also be revoked by the applicant
concerned.
(b) The appointment of an agent under Rule 90.1(a) shall, unless
otherwise indicated, have the effect of revoking any earlier appointment
of an agent made under that Rule.
(c) The appointment of a common representative shall, unless
otherwise indicated, have the effect of revoking any earlier appointment
of a common representative.
(d) An agent or a common representative may renounce his
appointment by a notification signed by him.
(e) Rule 90.4(b) and (c) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to a document
containing a revocation or renunciation under this Rule.

163

Regulations Under the PCT
Rule 90bis
Withdrawals
90bis.1 Withdrawal of the International Application
(a) The applicant may withdraw the international application at any
time prior to the expiration of 30 months from the priority date.
(b) Withdrawal shall be effective on receipt of a notice addressed by
the applicant, at his option, to the International Bureau, to the receiving
Office or, where Article 39(1) applies, to the International Preliminary
Examining Authority.
(c) No international publication of the international application shall
be effected if the notice of withdrawal sent by the applicant or transmitted
by the receiving Office or the International Preliminary Examining
Authority reaches the International Bureau before the technical preparations
for international publication have been completed.
90bis.2 Withdrawal of Designations
(a) The applicant may withdraw the designation of any designated
State at any time prior to the expiration of 30 months from the priority
date. Withdrawal of the designation of a State which has been elected
shall entail withdrawal of the corresponding election under Rule 90bis.4.
(b) Where a State has been designated for the purpose of obtaining
both a national patent and a regional patent, withdrawal of the designation
of that State shall be taken to mean withdrawal of only the designation for
the purpose of obtaining a national patent, except where otherwise indicated.
(c) Withdrawal of the designations of all designated States shall be
treated as withdrawal of the international application under Rule 90bis.1.
(d) Withdrawal shall be effective on receipt of a notice addressed by
the applicant, at his option, to the International Bureau, to the receiving
Office or, where Article 39(1) applies, to the International Preliminary
Examining Authority.
(e) No international publication of the designation shall be effected
if the notice of withdrawal sent by the applicant or transmitted by the

164

Regulations Under the PCT
receiving Office or the International Preliminary Examining Authority
reaches the International Bureau before the technical preparations for
international publication have been completed.
90bis.3 Withdrawal of Priority Claims
(a) The applicant may withdraw a priority claim, made in the
international application under Article 8(1), at any time prior to the
expiration of 30 months from the priority date.
(b) Where the international application contains more than one
priority claim, the applicant may exercise the right provided for in
paragraph (a) in respect of one or more or all of the priority claims.
(c) Withdrawal shall be effective on receipt of a notice addressed by
the applicant, at his option, to the International Bureau, to the receiving
Office or, where Article 39(1) applies, to the International Preliminary
Examining Authority.
(d) Where the withdrawal of a priority claim causes a change in the
priority date, any time limit which is computed from the original priority
date and which has not already expired shall, subject to paragraph (e), be
computed from the priority date resulting from that change.
(e) In the case of the time limit referred to in Article 21(2)(a), the
International Bureau may nevertheless proceed with the international
publication on the basis of the said time limit as computed from the original
priority date if the notice of withdrawal sent by the applicant or transmitted
by the receiving Office or the International Preliminary Examining
Authority reaches the International Bureau after the completion of the
technical preparations for international publication.
90bis.4 Withdrawal of the Demand, or of Elections
(a) The applicant may withdraw the demand or any or all elections
at any time prior to the expiration of 30 months from the priority date.
(b) Withdrawal shall be effective upon receipt of a notice addressed
by the applicant to the International Bureau.
(c) If the notice of withdrawal is submitted by the applicant to the
International Preliminary Examining Authority, that Authority shall mark
the date of receipt on the notice and transmit it promptly to the International
165

Regulations Under the PCT
Bureau. The notice shall be considered to have been submitted to the
International Bureau on the date marked.
90bis.5 Signature
(a) Any notice of withdrawal referred to in Rules 90bis.1 to 90bis.4
shall, subject to paragraph (b), be signed by the applicant. Where one of
the applicants is considered to be the common representative under
Rule 90.2(b), such notice shall, subject to paragraph (b), require the
signature of all the applicants.
(b) Where two or more applicants file an international application
which designates a State whose national law requires that national
applications be filed by the inventor and where an applicant for that
designated State who is an inventor could not be found or reached after
diligent effort, a notice of withdrawal referred to in Rules 90bis.1 to 90bis.4
need not be signed by that applicant (“the applicant concerned”) if it is
signed by at least one applicant and
(i) a statement is furnished explaining, to the satisfaction of the
receiving Office, the International Bureau or the International Preliminary
Examining Authority, as the case may be, the lack of signature of the
applicant concerned, or
(ii) in the case of a notice of withdrawal referred to in
Rule 90bis.1(b), 90bis.2(d) or 90bis.3(c), the applicant concerned did not
sign the request but the requirements of Rule 4.15(b) were complied with,
or
(iii) in the case of a notice of withdrawal referred to in
Rule 90bis.4(b), the applicant concerned did not sign the demand but the
requirements of Rule 53.8(b) were complied with, or did not sign the later
election concerned but the requirements of Rule 56.1(c) were complied
with.
90bis.6 Effect of Withdrawal
(a) Withdrawal under Rule 90bis of the international application,
any designation, any priority claim, the demand or any election shall have
no effect in any designated or elected Office where the processing or
examination of the international application has already started under
Article 23(2) or Article 40(2).
166

Regulations Under the PCT
(b) Where the international application is withdrawn under
Rule 90bis.1, the international processing of the international application
shall be discontinued.
(c) Where the demand or all elections are withdrawn under
Rule 90bis.4, the processing of the international application by the
International Preliminary Examining Authority shall be discontinued.
90bis.7 Faculty Under Article 37(4)(b)
(a) Any Contracting State whose national law provides for what is
described in the second part of Article 37(4)(b) shall notify the International
Bureau in writing.
(b) The notification referred to in paragraph (a) shall be promptly
published by the International Bureau in the Gazette, and shall have effect
in respect of international applications filed more than one month after the
date of such publication.
Rule 91
Obvious Errors in Documents
91.1 Rectification
(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) to (g-quater), obvious errors in the
international application or other papers submitted by the applicant may
be rectified.
(b) Errors which are due to the fact that something other than what
was obviously intended was written in the international application or other
paper shall be regarded as obvious errors. The rectification itself shall be
obvious in the sense that anyone would immediately realize that nothing
else could have been intended than what is offered as rectification.
(c) Omissions of entire elements or sheets of the international
application, even if clearly resulting from inattention, at the stage, for
example, of copying or assembling sheets, shall not be rectifiable.
(d) Rectification may be made on the request of the applicant. The
authority having discovered what appears to be an obvious error may invite
the applicant to present a request for rectification as provided in
paragraphs (e) to (g-quater). Rule 26.4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
manner in which rectifications shall be requested.
167

Regulations Under the PCT
(e) No rectification shall be made except with the express
authorization:
(i) of the receiving Office if the error is in the request,
(ii) of the International Searching Authority if the error is in any
part of the international application other than the request or in any paper
submitted to that Authority,
(iii) of the International Preliminary Examining Authority if the
error is in any part of the international application other than the request or
in any paper submitted to that Authority,
(iv) of the International Bureau if the error is in any paper, other
than the international application or amendments or corrections to that
application, submitted to the International Bureau.
(f) Any authority which authorizes or refuses any rectification shall
promptly notify the applicant of the authorization or refusal and, in the
case of refusal, of the reasons therefor. The authority which authorizes a
rectification shall promptly notify the International Bureau accordingly.
Where the authorization of the rectification was refused, the International
Bureau shall, upon request made by the applicant prior to the time relevant
under paragraph (g-bis), (g-ter) or (g-quater) and subject to the payment
of a special fee whose amount shall be fixed in the Administrative
Instructions, publish the request for rectification together with the
international application. A copy of the request for rectification shall be
included in the communication under Article 20 where a copy of the
pamphlet is not used for that communication or where the international
application is not published by virtue of Article 64(3).
(g) The authorization for rectification referred to in paragraph (e)
shall, subject to paragraphs (g-bis), (g-ter) and (g-quater), be effective:
(i) where it is given by the receiving Office or by the
International Searching Authority, if its notification to the International
Bureau reaches that Bureau before the expiration of 17 months from the
priority date;
(ii) where it is given by the International Preliminary Examining
Authority, if it is given before the establishment of the international
preliminary examination report;

168

Regulations Under the PCT
(iii) where it is given by the International Bureau, if it is given
before the expiration of 17 months from the priority date.
(g-bis) If the notification made under paragraph (g)(i) reaches the
International Bureau, or if the rectification made under paragraph (g)(iii)
is authorized by the International Bureau, after the expiration of 17 months
from the priority date but before the technical preparations for international
publication have been completed, the authorization shall be effective and
the rectification shall be incorporated in the said publication.
(g-ter) Where the applicant has asked the International Bureau to
publish his international application before the expiration of 18 months
from the priority date, any notification made under paragraph (g)(i) must
reach, and any rectification made under paragraph (g)(iii) must be
authorized by, the International Bureau, in order for the authorization to
be effective, not later than at the time of the completion of the technical
preparations for international publication.
(g-quater) Where the international application is not published by
virtue of Article 64(3), any notification made under paragraph (g)(i) must
reach, and any rectification made under paragraph (g)(iii) must be
authorized by, the International Bureau, in order for the authorization to
be effective, not later than at the time of the communication of the
international application under Article 20.
Rule 92
Correspondence
92.1 Need for Letter and for Signature
(a) Any paper submitted by the applicant in the course of the
international procedure provided for in the Treaty and these Regulations,
other than the international application itself, shall, if not itself in the form
of a letter, be accompanied by a letter identifying the international
application to which it relates. The letter shall be signed by the applicant.
(b) If the requirements provided for in paragraph (a) are not complied
with, the applicant shall be informed as to the non-compliance and invited
to remedy the omission within a time limit fixed in the invitation. The time
limit so fixed shall be reasonable in the circumstances; even where the
time limit so fixed expires later than the time limit applying to the furnishing
169

Regulations Under the PCT
of the paper (or even if the latter time limit has already expired), it shall
not be less than 10 days and not more than one month from the mailing of
the invitation. If the omission is remedied within the time limit fixed in the
invitation, the omission shall be disregarded; otherwise, the applicant shall
be informed that the paper has been disregarded.
(c) Where non-compliance with the requirements provided for in
paragraph (a) has been overlooked and the paper taken into account in the
international procedure, the non-compliance shall be disregarded.
92.2 Languages
(a) Subject to Rules 55.1 and 66.9 and to paragraph (b) of this Rule,
any letter or document submitted by the applicant to the International
Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority
shall be in the same language as the international application to which it
relates. However, where a translation of the international application has
been transmitted under Rule 23.1(b) or furnished under Rule 55.2, the
language of such translation shall be used.
(b) Any letter from the applicant to the International Searching
Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority may be in
a language other than that of the international application, provided the
said Authority authorizes the use of such language.
(c) [Deleted]
(d) Any letter from the applicant to the International Bureau shall be
in English or French.
(e) Any letter or notification from the International Bureau to the
applicant or to any national Office shall be in English or French.
92.3 Mailings by National Offices and Intergovernmental Organizations
Any document or letter emanating from or transmitted by a national
Office or an intergovernmental organization and constituting an event from
the date of which any time limit under the Treaty or these Regulations
commences to run shall be sent by air mail, provided that surface mail
may be used instead of air mail in cases where surface mail normally arrives
at its destination within two days from mailing or where air mail service is
not available.
170

Regulations Under the PCT
92.4 Use of Telegraph, Teleprinter, Facsimile Machine, Etc.
(a) A document making up the international application, and any
later document or correspondence relating thereto, may, notwithstanding
the provisions of Rules 11.14 and 92.1(a), but subject to paragraph (h), be
transmitted, to the extent feasible, by telegraph, teleprinter, facsimile
machine or other like means of communication resulting in the filing of a
printed or written document.
(b) A signature appearing on a document transmitted by facsimile
machine shall be recognized for the purposes of the Treaty and these
Regulations as a proper signature.
(c) Where the applicant has attempted to transmit a document by
any of the means referred to in paragraph (a) but part or all of the received
document is illegible or part of the document is not received, the document
shall be treated as not having been received to the extent that the received
document is illegible or that the attempted transmission failed. The national
Office or intergovernmental organization shall promptly notify the applicant
accordingly.
(d) Any national Office or intergovernmental organization may
require that the original of any document transmitted by any of the means
referred to in paragraph (a) and an accompanying letter identifying that
earlier transmission be furnished within 14 days from the date of the
transmission, provided that such requirement has been notified to the
International Bureau and the International Bureau has published
information thereon in the Gazette. The notification shall specify whether
such requirement concerns all or only certain kinds of documents.
(e) Where the applicant fails to furnish the original of a document as
required under paragraph (d), the national Office or intergovernmental
organization concerned may, depending on the kind of document
transmitted and having regard to Rules 11 and 26.3,
(i) waive the requirement under paragraph (d), or
(ii) invite the applicant to furnish, within a time limit which shall
be reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in
the invitation, the original of the document transmitted,
provided that, where the document transmitted contains defects, or shows
that the original contains defects, in respect of which the national Office
171

Regulations Under the PCT
or intergovernmental organization may issue an invitation to correct, that
Office or organization may issue such an invitation in addition to, or instead
of, proceeding under item (i) or (ii).
(f) Where the furnishing of the original of a document is not required
under paragraph (d) but the national Office or intergovernmental
organization considers it necessary to receive the original of the said
document, it may issue an invitation as provided for under paragraph (e)(ii).
(g) If the applicant fails to comply with an invitation under
paragraph (e)(ii) or (f):
(i) where the document concerned is the international
application, the latter shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving
Office shall so declare;
(ii) where the document concerned is a document subsequent to
the international application, the document shall be considered as not having
been submitted.
(h) No national Office or intergovernmental organization shall be
obliged to receive any document submitted by a means referred to in
paragraph (a) unless it has notified the International Bureau that it is
prepared to receive such a document by that means and the International
Bureau has published information thereon in the Gazette.
Rule 92bis
Recording of Changes in
Certain Indications in the Request or the Demand
92bis.1 Recording of Changes by the International Bureau
(a) The International Bureau shall, on the request of the applicant or
the receiving Office, record changes in the following indications appearing
in the request or demand:
(i) person, name, residence, nationality or address of the
applicant,
(ii) person, name or address of the agent, the common
representative or the inventor.
(b) The International Bureau shall not record the requested change
if the request for recording is received by it after the expiration:
172

Regulations Under the PCT
(i) of the time limit referred to in Article 22(1), where
Article 39(1) is not applicable with respect to any Contracting State;
(ii) of the time limit referred to in Article 39(1)(a), where
Article 39(1) is applicable with respect to at least one Contracting State.
Rule 93
Keeping of Records and Files
93.1 The Receiving Office
Each receiving Office shall keep the records relating to each
international application or purported international application, including
the home copy, for at least 10 years from the international filing date or,
where no international filing date is accorded, from the date of receipt.
93.2 The International Bureau
(a) The International Bureau shall keep the file, including the record
copy, of any international application for at least 30 years from the date of
receipt of the record copy.
(b) The basic records of the International Bureau shall be kept
indefinitely.
93.3 The International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities
Each International Searching Authority and each International
Preliminary Examining Authority shall keep the file of each international
application it receives for at least 10 years from the international filing
date.

173

Regulations Under the PCT
93.4 Reproductions
For the purposes of this Rule, records, copies and files may be kept
as photographic, electronic or other reproductions, provided that the
reproductions are such that the obligations to keep records, copies and
files under Rules 93.1 to 93.3 are met.
Rule 94*
Access to Files
94.1 Access to the File Held by the International Bureau
(a) At the request of the applicant or any person authorized by the
applicant, the International Bureau shall furnish, subject to reimbursement
of the cost of the service, copies of any document contained in its file.
(b) The International Bureau shall, at the request of any person but
not before the international publication of the international application and
subject to Article 38, furnish, subject to the reimbursement of the cost of
the service, copies of any document contained in its file.

*
Editor’s Note: Rule 94 as in force from July 1, 1998, applies only in respect of
international applications filed on or after that date. Rule 94 as in force until that date
continues to apply after that date in respect of international applications filed before
that date. The text of Rule 94 as in force until July 1, 1998, is reproduced below:
“Rule 94
Furnishing of Copies by the International Bureau and
the International Preliminary Examining Authority
94.1 Obligation to Furnish
At the request of the applicant or any person authorized by the applicant,
the International Bureau and the International Preliminary Examining Authority
shall furnish, subject to reimbursement of the cost of the service, copies of any
document contained in the file of the applicant’s international application or
purported international application.”

174

Regulations Under the PCT
94.2 Access to the File Held by the International Preliminary Examining
Authority
At the request of the applicant or any person authorized by the
applicant, or, once the international preliminary examination report has
been established, of any elected Office, the International Preliminary
Examining Authority shall furnish, subject to reimbursement of the cost
of the service, copies of any document contained in its file.
94.3 Access to the File Held by the Elected Office
If the national law applicable by any elected Office allows access by
third parties to the file of a national application, that Office may allow
access to any documents relating to the international application, including
any document relating to the international preliminary examination,
contained in its file, to the same extent as provided by the national law for
access to the file of a national application, but not before the international
publication of the international application. The furnishing of copies of
documents may be subject to reimbursement of the cost of the service.
Rule 95
Availability of Translations
95.1 Furnishing of Copies of Translations
(a) At the request of the International Bureau, any designated or
elected Office shall provide it with a copy of the translation of the
international application furnished by the applicant to that Office.
(b) The International Bureau may, upon request and subject to
reimbursement of the cost, furnish to any person copies of the translations
received under paragraph (a).
Rule 96
The Schedule of Fees
96.1 Schedule of Fees Annexed to Regulations
The amounts of the fees referred to in Rules 15 and 57 shall be
expressed in Swiss currency. They shall be specified in the Schedule of
Fees which is annexed to these Regulations and forms an integral part
thereof.
175

Regulations Under the PCT
SCHEDULE OF FEES*
Amounts

Fees

1. Basic Fee:
(Rule 15.2(a))
(a) if the international application 650 Swiss francs
contains not more than 30 sheets
(b) if the international application 650 Swiss francs plus 15 Swiss
contains more than 30 sheets
francs for each sheet in excess
of 30 sheets
2. Designation Fee:
(Rule 15.2(a))
(a) for designations made under 140 Swiss francs per designation
Rule 4.9(a)
provided that any designation
made under Rule 4.9(a) in
excess of 5 shall not require the
payment of a designation fee
(b) for designations made under 140 Swiss francs per designation
Rule 4.9(b) and confirmed
under Rule 4.9(c)**
3. Handling Fee:
(Rule 57.2(a))

233 Swiss francs

Reductions
4. The total amount of the fees payable under items 1 and 2(a) is reduced
by 200 Swiss francs if the international application is, in accordance with
and to the extent provided for in the Administrative Instructions, filed:
(a) on paper together with a copy thereof in electronic form; or
(b) in electronic form.
5. All fees payable (where applicable, as reduced under item 4) are reduced
by 75% for international applications filed by any applicant who is a natural
person and who is a national of and resides in a State whose per capita
national income is below US$3,000 (according to the average per capita
national income figures used by the United Nations for determining its
scale of assessments for the contributions payable for the years 1995, 1996
and 1997); if there are several applicants, each must satisfy those criteria.
*
Editor’s Note: Applies to any international application whose date of receipt is
on or after October 17, 2002.
**

176

Editor’s Note: See Rule 15.5(a) for the confirmation fee, which is also payable.