be in a prescribed language;

comply with the prescribed physical requirements;

comply with the prescribed requirement of unity of invention;

be subject to the payment of the prescribed fees.

a petition to the effect that the international application be processed according to this Treaty;

the designation of the Contracting State or States in which protection for the invention is desired on the basis of the international application (“designated States”); if for any designated State a regional patent is available and the applicant wishes to obtain a regional patent rather than a national patent, the request shall so indicate; if, under a treaty concerning a regional patent, the applicant cannot limit his application to certain of the States party to that treaty, designation of one of those States and the indication of the wish to obtain the regional patent shall be treated as designation of all the States party to that treaty; if, under the national law of the designated State, the designation of that State has the effect of an application for a regional patent, the designation of the said State shall be treated as an indication of the wish to obtain the regional patent;

the name of and other prescribed data concerning the applicant and the agent (if any);

the title of the invention;

the name of and other prescribed data concerning the inventor where the national law of at least one of the designated States requires that these indications be furnished at the time of filing a national application. Otherwise, the said indications may be furnished either in the request or in separate notices addressed to each designated Office whose national law requires the furnishing of the said indications but allows that they be furnished at a time later than that of the filing of a national application.

the applicant may include such drawings in the international application when filed,

any designated Office may require that the applicant file such drawings with it within the prescribed time limit.

Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), the conditions for, and the effect of, any priority claim declared under paragraph (1) shall be as provided in Article 4 of the Stockholm Act of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

The international application for which the priority of one or more earlier applications filed in or for a Contracting State is claimed may contain the designation of that State. Where, in the International application, the priority of one or more national applications filed in or for a designated State is claimed, or where the priority of an international application having designated only one State is claimed, the conditions for, and the effect of, the priority claim in that State shall be governed by the national law of that State.

the applicant does not obviously lack, for reasons of residence or nationality, the right to file an international application with the receiving Office,

the international application is in the prescribed language,

the international application contains at least the following elements:

If the receiving Office finds that the International application did not, at the time of receipt, fulfil the requirements listed in paragraph (1), it shall, as provided in the Regulations, invite the applicant to file the, required correction.

If the applicant complies with the invitation, as provided in the Regulations, the receiving Office shall accord as the international filing date the date of receipt of the required correction.

The applicant may, at any time, transmit a copy of his international application to any designated Office.

The applicant may, at any time, ask the International Bureau to transmit a copy of his international application to any designated Office, and the International Bureau shall transmit such copy to the designated Office as soon as possible.

Any national Office may notify the International Bureau that it does not wish to receive copies as provided for in subparagraph (b), in which case that subparagraph shall not be applicable in respect of that Office.

The receiving Office shall check whether the international application contains any of the following defects, that is to say:

If the receiving Office finds any of the said defects, it shall invite the applicant to correct the international application within the prescribed time limit, failing which that application shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare.

If the receiving Office finds that, within the prescribed time limits, the fees prescribed under Article 3(4)(iv) have not been paid, or no fee prescribed under Article 4(2) has been paid in respect of any of the designated States, the international application shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare.

If the receiving Office finds that the fee prescribed under Article 4(2) has been paid in respect of one or more (but less than all) designated States within the prescribed time limit, the designation of those States in respect of which it has not been paid within the prescribed time limit shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare.

If the national law of the Contracting State so permits, the applicant who files a national application within the national Office of or acting for such State may, subject to the conditions provided for in such law, request that a search similar to an international search (“international-type search”) be carried out on such application.

If the national law of the Contracting State so permits, the national Office of or acting for such State may subject any national application filed with it to an international-type search.

The international-type search shall be carried out by the International Searching Authority referred to in Article 16 which would be competent for an international search if the national application were an international application and were filed with the Office referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b). If the national application is in a language which the International Searching Authority considers it is not equipped to handle, the international-type search shall be carried out on a translation prepared by the applicant in a language prescribed for international applications and which the International Searching Authority has undertaken to accept for international applications. The national application and the translation, when required, shall be presented in the form prescribed for international applications.

International Searching Authorities shall be appointed by the Assembly. Any national Office and any intergovernmental organization satisfying the requirements referred to in subparagraph (c) may be appointed as International Searching Authority.

Appointment shall be conditional on the consent of the national Office or intergovernmental organization to be appointed and the conclusion of an agreement, subject to approval by the Assembly, between such Office or organization and the International Bureau. The agreement shall specify the rights and obligations of the parties, in particular, the formal undertaking by the said Office or organization to apply and observe all the common rules of International search.

The Regulations prescribe the minimum requirements, particularly as to manpower and documentation, which any Office or organization must satisfy before it can be appointed and must continue to satisfy while it remains appointed.

Appointment shall be for a fixed period of time and may be extended for further periods.

Before the Assembly makes a decision on the appointment of any national Office or intergovernmental organization, or on the extension of its appointment, or before it allows any such appointment to lapse, the Assembly shall hear the interested Office or organization and seek the advice of the Committee for Technical Cooperation referred to in Article 56 once that Committee has been established.

If the International Searching Authority considers

the said Authority shall so declare and shall notify the applicant and the International Bureau that no international search report will be established.

If any of the situations referred to in subparagraph (a) is found to exist in connection with certain claims only, the international search report shall so indicate in respect of such claims, whereas, for the other claims, the said report shall be established as provided in Article 18.

If the International Searching Authority considers that the international application does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention as set forth in the Regulations, it shall invite the applicant to pay additional fees. The International Searching Authority shall establish the international search report on those parts of the international application which relate to the invention first mentioned in the claims (“main invention”) and, provided the required additional fees have been paid within the prescribed time limit, on those parts of the international application which relate to inventions in respect of which the said fees were paid.

The national law of any designated State may provide that, where the national Office of that State finds the invitation, referred to in subparagraph (a), of the International Searching Authority justified and where the applicant has not paid all additional fees, those parts of the international application which consequently have not been searched shall, as far as effects in that State are concerned, be considered withdrawn unless a special fee is paid by the applicant to the national Office of that State.

The international application, together with the international search report (including any indication referred to in Article 17(2)(b) or the declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a), shall be communicated to each designated Office, as provided in the Regulations, unless the designated Office waives such requirement in its entirety or in part.

The communication shall include the translation (as prescribed) of the said report or declaration.

Subject to the exceptions provided for in subparagraph (b) and in Article 64(3), the international publication of the international application shall be effected promptly after the expiration of 18 months from the priority date of that application.

The applicant may ask the International Bureau to publish his international application any time before the expiration of the time limit referred to in subparagraph (a). The International Bureau shall proceed accordingly, as provided in the Regulations.

if the applicant withdraws his international application or the designation of that State;

if the international application is considered withdrawn by virtue of Articles 12(3), 14(1)(b), 14(3)(a), or 14(4), or if the designation of that State is considered withdrawn by virtue of Article 14(3)(b);

if the applicant fails to perform the acts referred to in Article 22 within the applicable time limit.

Where the receiving Office has refused to accord an international filing date or has declared that the international application is considered withdrawn, or where the International Bureau has made a finding under Article 12(3), the International Bureau shall promptly send, at the request of the applicant, copies of any document in the file to any of the designated Offices named by the applicant.

Where the receiving Office has declared that the designation of any given State is considered withdrawn, the International Bureau shall promptly send, at the request of the applicant, copies of any document in the file to the national Office of such State.

The request under subparagraphs (a) or (b) shall be presented within the prescribed time limit.

Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), each designated Office shall, provided that the national fee (if any) has been paid and the appropriate translation (as prescribed) has been furnished within the prescribed time limit, decide whether the refusal, declaration, or finding, referred to in paragraph (1) was justified under the provisions of this Treaty and the Regulations, and, if it finds that the refusal or declaration was the result of an error or omission on the part of the receiving Office or that the finding was the result of an error or omission on the part of the International Bureau, it shall, as far as effects in the State of the designated Office are concerned, treat the international application as if such error or omission had not occurred.

Where the record copy has reached the International Bureau after the expiration of the time limit prescribed under Article 12(3) on account of any error or omission on the part of the applicant, the provisions of subparagraph (a) shall apply only under the circumstances referred to in Article 48(2).

when the applicant is a legal entity, of the name of an officer entitled to represent such legal entity,

of documents not part of the international application but which constitute proof of allegations or statements made in that application, including the confirmation of the international application by the signature of the applicant when that application, as filed, was signed by his representative or agent.

a translation into the latter language has been published as provided by the national law, or

a translation into the latter language has been made available to the public, by laying open for public inspection as provided by the national law, or

a translation into the latter language has been transmitted by the applicant to the actual or prospective unauthorized user of the invention claimed in the international application, or

both the acts described in (i) and (iii), or both the acts described in (ii) and (iii), have taken place.

Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), the International Bureau and the International Searching Authorities shall not allow access by any person or authority to the international application before the international publication of that application, unless requested or authorized by the applicant.

The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not apply to any transmittal to the competent International Searching Authority, to transmittals provided for under Article 13, and to communications provided for under Article 20.

No national Office shall allow access to the international application by third parties, unless requested or authorized by the applicant, before the earliest of the following dates:

The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not prevent any national Office from informing third parties that it has been designated, or from publishing that fact. Such information or publication may, however, contain only the following data: identification of the receiving Office, name of the applicant, international filing date, international application number, and title of the invention.

The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not prevent any designated Office from allowing access to the international application for the purposes of the judicial authorities.

Any applicant who is a resident or national, as defined in the Regulations, of a Contracting State bound by Chapter II, and whose international application has been filed with the receiving Office of or acting for such State, may make a demand for international preliminary examination.

The Assembly may decide to allow persons entitled to file international applications to make a demand for international preliminary examination even if they are residents or nationals of a State not party to this Treaty or not bound by Chapter II.

The demand shall indicate the Contracting State or States in which the applicant intends to use the results of the international preliminary examination (“elected States”). Additional Contracting States may be elected later. Election may relate only to Contracting States already designated under Article 4.

Applicants referred to in paragraph (2)(a) may elect any Contracting State bound by Chapter II. Applicants referred to in paragraph (2)(b) may elect only such Contracting States bound by Chapter II as have declared that they are prepared to be elected by such applicants.

The demand shall be submitted to the competent International Preliminary Examining Authority referred to in Article 32.

Any later election shall be submitted to the International Bureau.

The applicant shall have a right to communicate orally and in writing with the International Preliminary Examining Authority.

The applicant shall have a right to amend the claims, the description, and the drawings, in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time limit, before the international preliminary examination report is established. The amendment shall not go beyond the disclosure in the international application as filed.

The applicant shall receive at least one written opinion from the International Preliminary Examining Authority unless such Authority considers that all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

The applicant may respond to the written opinion.

If the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers that the International application does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention as set forth in the Regulations, it may invite the applicant, at his option, to restrict the claims so as to comply with the requirement or to pay additional fees.

The national law of any elected State may provide that, where the applicant chooses to restrict the claims under subparagraph (a), those parts of the international application which, as a consequence of the restriction, are not to be the subject of international preliminary examination shall, as far as effects in that State are concerned, be considered withdrawn unless a special fee is paid by the applicant to the national Office of that State.

If the applicant does not comply with the invitation referred to in subparagraph (a) within the prescribed time limit, the International Preliminary Examining Authority shall establish an international preliminary examination report on those parts of the International application which relate to what appears to be the main invention and shall indicate the relevant facts in the said report. The national law of any elected State may provide that, where its national Office finds the invitation of the International Preliminary Examining Authority justified, those parts of the international application which do not relate to the main invention shall, as far as effects in that State are concerned, be considered withdrawn unless a special fee is paid by the applicant to that Office.

If the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers—

the said Authority shall not go into the questions referred to in Article 33(1) and shall inform the applicant of this opinion and the reasons therefor.

If any of the situations referred to in subparagraph (a) is found to exist in, or in connection with, certain claims only, the provisions of that subparagraph shall apply only to the said claims.

If, at the time of establishing the international preliminary examination report, the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers that any of the situations referred to in Article 34(4)(a) exists, that report shall state this opinion and the reasons therefor. It shall not contain any statement as provided in paragraph (2).

If a situation under Article 34(4)(b) is found to exist, the international preliminary examination report shall, in relation to the claims in question, contain the statement as provided in subparagraph (a), whereas, in relation to the other claims, it shall contain the statement as provided in paragraph (2).

The international preliminary examination report and its annexes shall be translated into the prescribed languages.

Any translation of the said report shall be prepared by or under the responsibility of the International Bureau, whereas any translation of the said annexes shall be prepared by the applicant.

The international preliminary examination report, together with its translation (as prescribed) and its annexes (in the original language), shall be communicated by the International Bureau to each elected Office.

The prescribed translation of the annexes shall be transmitted within the prescribed time limit by the applicant to the elected Offices.

Any withdrawal shall be notified to the International Bureau.

The elected Offices concerned and the International Preliminary Examining Authority concerned shall be notified accordingly by the International Bureau.

Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), withdrawal of the demand or of the election of a Contracting State shall, unless the national law of that State provides otherwise, be considered to be withdrawal of the international application as far as that State is concerned.

Withdrawal of the demand or of the election shall not be considered to be withdrawal of the international application if such withdrawal is effected prior to the expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 22; however, any Contracting State may provide in its national law that the aforesaid shall apply only if its national Office has received, within the said time limit, a copy of the international application, together with a translation (as prescribed), and the national fee.

If the election of any Contracting State has been effected prior to the expiration of the 19th month from the priority date, the provisions of Article 22 shall not apply to such State and the applicant shall furnish a copy of the international application (unless the communication under Article 20 has already taken place) and a translation thereof (as prescribed), and pay the national fee (if any), to each elected Office not later than at the expiration of 30 months from the priority date.

Any national law may, for performing the acts referred to in subparagraph (a), fix time limits which expire later than the time limit provided for in that subparagraph.

All time limits fixed in Chapters I and II of this Treaty may, outside any revision under Article 60, be modified by a decision of the Contracting States.

Such decisions shall be made in the Assembly or through voting by correspondence and must be unanimous.

The details of the procedure are governed by the Regulations.

Any Contracting State shall, as far as that State is concerned, excuse, for reasons admitted under its national law, any delay in meeting any time limit.

Any Contracting State may, as far as that State is concerned, excuse, for reasons other than those referred to in subparagraph (a), any delay in meeting any time limit.

Any service to Governments of Contracting States shall be furnished at cost, provided that, when the government is that of a Contracting State which is a developing country, the service shall be furnished below cost if the difference can be covered from profit made on services furnished to others than governments of Contracting States or from the sources referred to in Article 51(4).

The cost referred to in subparagraph (a) is to be understood as cost over and above costs normally incident to the performance of the services of a national Office or the obligations of an International Searching Authority.

The members of the Committee shall be elected among the Contracting States, with due regard to the representation of developing countries.

The Director General shall, on his own initiative or at the request of the Committee, invite representatives of intergovernmental organizations concerned with technical assistance to developing countries to participate in the work of the Committee.

The task of the Committee shall be to organize and supervise technical assistance for Contracting States which are developing countries in developing their patent systems individually or on a regional basis.

The technical assistance shall comprise, among other things, the training of specialists, the loaning of experts, and the supply of equipment both for demonstration and for operational purposes.

The Assembly shall, subject to Article 57(8), consist of the Contracting States.

The Government of each Contracting State shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.

The Assembly shall:

With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

One-half of the Contracting States shall constitute a quorum.

In the absence of the quorum, the Assembly may make decisions but, with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure, all such decisions shall take effect only if the quorum and the required majority are attained through voting by correspondence as provided in the Regulations.

Subject to the provisions of Articles 47(2)(b), 58(2)(b), 58(3) and 61(2)(b), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the votes cast.

Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

The Assembly shall meet in every second calendar year in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period and at the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization.

The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, at the request of the Executive Committee, or at the request of one-fourth of the Contracting States.

The Executive Committee shall, subject to Article 57(8), consist of States elected by the Assembly from among States members of the Assembly.

The Government of each State member of the Executive Committee shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.

Each member of the Executive Committee shall serve from the close of the session of the Assembly which elected it to the close of the next ordinary session of the Assembly.

Members of the Executive Committee may be re-elected but only up to a maximum of two-thirds of such members.

The Assembly shall establish the details of the rules governing the election and possible re-election of the members of the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee shall:

With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Executive Committee shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

The Executive Committee shall meet once a year in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, preferably during the same period and at the same place as the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

The Executive Committee shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, either on his own initiative or at the request of its Chairman or one-fourth of its members.

Each State member of the Executive Committee shall have one vote.

One-half of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.

Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of the votes cast.

Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one State only.

The International Bureau shall, in accordance with the directions of the Assembly and in cooperation with the Executive Committee, make the preparations for the revision conferences.

The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations concerning preparations for revision conferences.

The Director General and persons designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, in the discussions at revision conferences.

The Assembly shall determine the composition of the Committee and appoint its members, with due regard to an equitable representation of developing countries.

The International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities shall be ex officio members of the Committee. In the case where such an Authority is the national Office of a Contracting State, that State shall not be additionally represented on the Committee.

If the number of Contracting States so allows, the total number of members of the Committee shall be more than double the number of ex officio members.

The Director General shall, on his own initiative or at the request of the Committee, invite representatives of interested organizations to participate in discussions of interest to them.

to the constant improvement of the services provided for under this Treaty,

to the securing, so long as there are several International Searching Authorities and several International Preliminary Examining Authorities, of the maximum degree of uniformity in their documentation and working methods and the maximum degree of uniformly high quality in their reports, and

on the initiative of the Assembly or the Executive Committee, to the solution of the technical problems specifically involved in the establishment of a single International Searching Authority.

In any case, the Director General shall transmit to the Executive Committee the texts of all the advice and recommendations of the Committee. He may comment on such texts.

The Executive Committee may express its views on any advice, recommendation, or other activity of the Committee, and may invite the Committee to study and report on questions falling within its competence. The Executive Committee may submit to the Assembly, with appropriate comments, the advice, recommendations and report of the Committee.

The Union shall have a budget.

The budget of the Union shall include the income and expenses proper to the Union and its contribution to the budget of expenses common to the Unions administered by the Organization.

Expenses not attributable exclusively to the Union but also to one or more other Unions administered by the Organization shall be considered as expenses common to the Unions. The share of the Union in such common expenses shall be in proportion to the interest the Union has in them.

fees and charges due for services rendered by the International Bureau in relation to the Union;

sale of, or royalties on, the publications of the International Bureau concerning the Union;

gifts, bequests, and subventions;

rents, interests, and other miscellaneous income.

Should any financial year close with a deficit, the Contracting States shall, subject to the provisions of subparagraphs (b) and (c), pay contributions to cover such deficit.

The amount of the contribution of each Contracting State shall be decided by the Assembly with due regard to the number of international applications which has emanated from each of them in the relevant year.

If other means of provisionally covering any deficit or any part thereof are secured, the Assembly may decide that such deficit be carried forward and that the Contracting States should not be asked to pay contributions.

If the financial situation of the Union so permits, the Assembly may decide that any contributions paid under subparagraph (a) be reimbursed to the Contracting States which have paid them.

A Contracting State which has not paid, within two years of the due date as established by the Assembly, its contribution under subparagraph (b) may not exercise its right to vote in any of the organs of the Union. However, any organ of the Union may allow such a State to continue to exercise its right to vote in that organ so long as it is satisfied that the delay in payment is due to exceptional and unavoidable circumstances.

The Union shall have a working capital fund which shall be constituted by a single payment made by each Contracting State. If the fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly shall arrange to increase it. If part of the fund is no longer needed, it shall be reimbursed.

The amount of the initial payment of each Contracting State to the said fund or of its participation in the increase thereof shall be decided by the Assembly on the basis of principles similar to those provided for under paragraph (5)(b).

The terms of payment shall be fixed by the Assembly on the proposal of the Director General and after it has heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

Any reimbursement shall be proportionate to the amounts paid by each Contracting State, taking into account the dates at which they were paid.

In the headquarters agreement concluded with the State on the territory of which the Organization has its headquarters, it shall be provided that, whenever the working capital fund is insufficient, such State shall grant advances. The amount of these advances and the conditions on which they are granted shall be the subject of separate agreements, in each case, between such State and the Organization. As long as it remains under the obligation to grant advances, such State shall have an ex officio seat in the Assembly and on the Executive Committee.

The State referred to in subparagraph (a) and the Organization shall each have the right to denounce the obligation to grant advances, by written notification. Denunciation shall take effect three years after the end of the year in which it has been notified.

concerning matters in respect of which this Treaty expressly refers to the Regulations or expressly provides that they are or shall be prescribed,

concerning any administrative requirements, matters, or procedures,

concerning any details useful in the implementation of the provisions of this Treaty.

The Assembly may amend the Regulations.

Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), amendments shall require three-fourths of the votes cast.

The Regulations specify the Rules which may be amended

Exclusion, for the future, of any such Rules from the applicable requirement shall require the fulfillment of the conditions referred to in subparagraph (a)(i) or (a)(ii), respectively.

Inclusion, for the future, of any Rule in one or the other of the requirements referred to in subparagraph (a) shall require unanimous consent.

Proposals for the amendment of Articles 53(5), (9) and (11), 54, 55(4) to (8), 56, and 57, may be initiated by any State member of the Assembly, by the Executive Committee, or by the Director General.

Such proposals shall be communicated by the Director General to the Contracting States at least six months in advance of their consideration by the Assembly.

Amendments to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall be adopted by the Assembly.

Adoption shall require three-fourths of the votes cast.

Any amendment to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall enter into force one month after written notifications of acceptance, effected in accordance with their respective constitutional processes, have been received by the Director General from three-fourths of the States members of the Assembly at the time it adopted the amendment.

Any amendment to the said Articles thus accepted shall bind all the States which are members of the Assembly at the time the amendment enters into force, provided that any amendment increasing the financial obligations of the Contracting States shall bind only those States which have notified their acceptance of such amendment.

Any amendment accepted in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (a) shall bind all States which become members of the Assembly after the date on which the amendment entered into force in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (a).

signature followed by the deposit of an instrument of ratification, or

(ii) deposit of an instrument of accession.

Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), this Treaty shall enter into force three months after eight States have deposited their instruments of ratification of accession, provided that at least four of those States each fulfill any of the following conditions:

For the purposes of this paragraph, the term applications does not include applications for utility models.

Any State may declare that it shall not be bound by the provisions of Chapter II.

States making a declaration under subparagraph (a) shall not be bound by the provisions of Chapter II and the corresponding provisions of the Regulations.

Any State not having made a declaration under paragraph (1)(a) may declare that:

States making such a declaration shall be bound accordingly.

Any State may declare that, as far as it is concerned, international publication of international applications is not required.

Where, at the expiration of 18 months from the priority date, the international application contains the designation only of such State as have made declarations under subparagraph (a), the international application shall not be published by virtue of Article 21(2).

Where the provisions of subparagraph (b) apply, the international application shall nevertheless be published by the International Bureau:

Any State whose national law provides for prior art effect of its patents as from a date before publication, but does not equate for prior art purposes the priority date claimed under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property to the actual filing date in that State, may declare that the filing outside that State of an international application designating that State is not equated to an actual filing in that State for prior art purposes.

Any State making a declaration under subparagraph (a) shall to that extent not be bound by the provisions of Article 11(3).

Any State making a declaration under subparagraph (a) shall, at the same time, state in writing the date from which, and the conditions under which, the prior art effect of any international application designating that State becomes effective in that State. This statement may be modified at any time by notification addressed to the Director General.

Any declaration made under this Article shall be made in writing. It may be made at the time of signing this Treaty, at the time of depositing the instrument of ratification or accession, or, except in the case referred to in paragraph (5), at any later time by notification addressed to the Director General. In the case of the said notification, the declaration shall take effect six months after the day on which the Director General has received the notification, and shall not affect international applications filed prior to the expiration of the said six-month period.

Any declaration made under this Article may be withdrawn at any time by notification addressed to the Director General. Such withdrawal shall take effect three months after the day on which the Director General has received the notification and, in the case of the withdrawal of a declaration made under paragraph (3), shall not affect international applications filed prior the expiration of the said three-month period.

This Treaty shall be signed in a single original in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Official texts shall be established by the Director General, after consultation with the interested Governments, in the German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish languages, and such other languages as the Assembly may designate.

signatures under Article 62,

deposits of instruments of ratification or accession under Article 62,

the date of entry into force of this Treaty and the date from which Chapter II is applicable in accordance with Article 63(3),

any declarations made under Article 64(1) to (5),

withdrawals of any declarations made under Article 64(6)(b),

denunciations received under Article 66, and

any declarations made under Article 31(4).

In these Regulations, the word “Treaty” means the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

In these Regulations, the words “Chapter” and “Article” refer to the specified Chapter or Article of the Treaty.

The request shall contain a list indicating:

The list shall be completed by the applicant, failing which the receiving Office shall make the necessary indications, except that the number referred to in paragraph (a)(iii) shall not be indicated by the receiving Office.

The request shall contain:

The request shall, where applicable, contain:

The request may contain:

The request shall be signed.

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).

Names of legal entities shall be indicated by their full, official designations.

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.

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.

The request shall indicate the name, address, nationality and residence of the applicant or, if there are several applicants, of each of them.

The applicant’s nationality shall be indicated by the name of the State of which he is a national.

The applicant’s residence shall be indicated by the name of the State of which he is a resident.

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.

Where Rule 4.1(a)(v) applies, the request shall indicate the name and address of the inventor or, if there are several inventors, of each of them.

If the applicant is the inventor, the request, in lieu of the indication under paragraph (a), shall contain a statement to that effect.

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.

Contracting States shall be designated in the request:

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:

The confirmation of any designation made under paragraph (b) shall be effected by

The declaration referred to in Article 8(1) shall 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:

If the request does not indicate both

the priority claim shall, for the purposes of the procedure under the Treaty, be considered not to have been made. However, where, resulting from an obvious error, the indication of the said country or the said date is missing or is erroneous, the receiving Office may, at the request of the applicant, make the necessary correction. The error shall be considered as an obvious error whenever the correction is obvious from a comparison with the earlier application. Where the error consists of the omission of the indication of the said date, the correction can only be made before the transmittal of the record copy to the International Bureau. In the case of any other error relating to the indication of the said date or in the case of any error relating to the indication of the said country, the correction can only be made before the expiration of the time limit under Rule 17.1(a) computed on the basis of the correct priority date.

If the application number of the earlier application is not indicated in the request but is furnished by the applicant to the International Bureau or to the receiving Office before the expiration of the 16th month from the priority date, it shall be considered by all designated States to have been furnished in time.

If the filing date of the earlier application as indicated in the request does not fall within the period of one year preceding the international filing date, the receiving Office, or, if the receiving Office has failed to do so, the International Bureau, shall invite the applicant to ask either for the cancellation of the declaration made under Article 8(1) or, if the date of the earlier application was indicated erroneously, for the correction of the date so indicated. If the applicant fails to act accordingly within one month from the date of the invitation, the declaration made under Article 8(1) shall be cancelled ex officio.

Where the priorities of several earlier applications are claimed, the provisions of paragraphs (a) to (d) shall apply to each of them.

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.

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.

Subject to paragraph (b), the request shall be signed by the applicant or, if there is more than one applicant, by all of them.

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.

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 into English. The applicant shall decide which words will be merely transliterated and which words will be so translated.

The name of any country written in characters other than those of the Latin alphabet shall also be indicated in English.

The request shall contain no matter other than that specified in Rules 4.1 to 4.16, 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.

If the request contains matter other than that specified in Rules 4.1 to 4.16 or permitted under paragraph (a) by the Administrative Instructions, the receiving Office shall ex officio delete the additional matter.

The description shall first state the title of the invention as appearing in the request and shall:

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.

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.

The number of the claims shall be reasonable in consideration of the nature of the invention claimed.

If there are several claims, they shall be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals.

The method of numbering in the case of the amendment of claims shall be governed by the Administrative Instructions.

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.”

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 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.

The definition of the matter for which protection is sought shall be in terms of the technical features of the invention.

Whenever appropriate, claims shall contain:

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

The abstract shall consist of the following:

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).

The abstract shall not contain statements on the alleged merits or value of the claimed invention or on its speculative application.

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.

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.

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).

expressions or drawings contrary to morality;

expressions or drawings contrary to public order;

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);

any statement or other matter obviously irrelevant or unnecessary under the circumstances.

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.

Temperatures shall be expressed in degrees Celsius, or also expressed in degrees Celsius, if first expressed in a different manner.

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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.

In general, only such technical terms, signs and symbols should be used as are generally accepted in the art.

When the international application or its translation is in 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 English or Japanese, it shall be marked by a comma.

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.

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.

All elements of the international application (ie, 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.

All sheets shall be free from creases and cracks; they shall not be folded.

Only one side of each sheet shall be used.

Subject to Rule 11.10(d) and Rule 11.13(j), each sheet shall be used in an upright position (ie, the short sides at the top and bottom).

Each element (request, description, claims, drawings, abstract) of the international application shall commence on a new sheet.

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.

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

The recommended maximum, for the margins provided for in paragraph (a), is as follows:

• • -

  top: 4cm

• • -

  left side: 4 cm

• • -

  right side: 3 cm

• • -

  bottom: 3 cm

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: 1.0 cm

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.

Subject to paragraph (f) and to Rule 11.8(b), the margins of the international application, when submitted, must be completely blank.

The top margin may contain in the left-hand comer 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.

All the sheets contained in the international application shall be numbered in consecutive Arabic numerals.

The numbers shall be centred at the top or bottom of the sheet, but shall not be placed in the margin.

It is strongly recommended to number every fifth line of each sheet of the description, and of each sheet of claims.

The numbers should appear in the right half of the left margin.

The request, the description, the claims and the abstract shall be typed or printed.

Only graphic symbols and characters, chemical or mathematical formulae, and certain characters in the Japanese language may, when necessary, be written by hand or drawn.

The typing shall be 1/2-spaced.

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.

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 Japanese language.

The request, the description, the claims and the abstract shall not contain drawings.

The description, the claims and the abstract may contain chemical or mathematical formulae.

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.

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.

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.

Any words used shall be so placed that, if translated, they may be pasted over without interfering with any lines of the drawings.

Drawings shall be executed in durable, black, sufficiently dense and dark, uniformly thick and well-defined, lines and strokes without colorings.

Cross-sections shall be indicated by oblique hatching which should not impede the clear reading of the reference signs and leading lines.

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.

When, in exceptional cases, the scale is given on a drawing, it shall be represented graphically.

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.

All lines in the drawings shall, ordinarily, be drawn with the aid of drafting instruments.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The different figures shall be numbered in arabic numerals consecutively and independently of the numbering of the sheets.

Reference signs not mentioned in the description shall not appear in the drawings, and vice versa.

The same features, when denoted by reference signs, shall, throughout the international application, be denoted by the same signs.

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.

Any international application shall be filed in the language, or one of the languages, specified in the agreement concluded between the International Bureau and the International Searching Authority competent for the international searching of that application, provided that, if the agreement specifies several languages, the receiving Office may prescribe among the specified languages that language in which or those languages in one of which the international application must be filed.

Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the request, any text matter of the drawings, and the abstract need not be in the same language as other elements of the international application, provided that:

Subject to paragraph (d), where the official language of the receiving Office is one of the languages referred to in Rule 48.3(a) but is a language not specified in the agreement referred to in paragraph (a), the international application may be filed in the said official language. If the international application is filed in the said official language, the search copy transmitted to the International Searching Authority under Rule 23.1 shall be accompanied by a translation into the language, or one of the languages, specified in the agreement referred to in paragraph (a); such translation shall be prepared under the responsibility of the receiving Office.

Paragraph (c) shall apply only where the International Searching Authority has declared, in a notification addressed to the International Bureau, that it accepts to search international applications on the basis of the translation referred to in paragraph (c).

A reference to a deposited microorganism shall indicate,

Failure to include a reference to a deposited microorganism or failure to include, in a reference to a deposited microorganism, 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.

A reference to a deposited microorganism 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.

References to different deposits of the microorganism may be made for different designated States.

Any designated Office shall be entitled to disregard a deposit made with a depositary institution other than one notified by it under Rule 13 bis.7(b).

Where the international application contains a reference to a deposited microorganism, the applicant shall, upon the request of the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority, authorize and assure the furnishing of a sample of that microorganism by the depositary institution to the said Authority, provided that the said Authority has notified the International Bureau that it may require the furnishing of samples and that such samples will be used solely for the purposes of international search or international preliminary examination, as the case may be, and such notification has been published in the Gazette.

Pursuant to Articles 23 and 40, no furnishing of samples of the deposited microorganism 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 microorganism may take place, once the said acts have been performed. Notwithstanding the previous provision, the furnishing of samples of the deposited microorganism may take place under the national law applicable for 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.

Any national Office may notify the International Bureau of any requirement of the national law,

Each national Office shall notify the International Bureau of the depositary institutions with which the national law permits deposits of microorganisms 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.

The International Bureau shall promptly publish in the Gazette requirements notified to it under paragraph (a) and information notified to it under paragraph (b).

If the International Searching Authority finds that a nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence listing does not comply with the standard prescribed in the Administrative Instructions under Rule 5.2, and/or is not in a machine readable form provided for in those Instructions, it may invite the applicant, within a time limit fixed in the invitation, as the case may be:

Any sequence listing furnished under paragraph (a) shall be accompanied by a statement to the effect that the listing does not include matter which goes beyond the disclosure in the international application as filed.

If the applicant does not comply with the invitation 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.

If the International Searching Authority chooses, under paragraph (a)(ii), to transcribe the sequence listing into a machine readable form, it shall send a copy of such transcription in machine readable form to the applicant.

The International Searching Authority shall, upon request, make available to the International Preliminary Examining Authority a copy of any sequence listing furnished to it, or as transcribed by it, under paragraph (a).

A sequence listing furnished to the International Searching Authority, or as transcribed by it, under paragraph (a) shall not form part of the international application.

Once the processing of the international application has started before a designated Office, that Office may require the applicant to furnish to it a copy of any sequence listing furnished to the International Searching Authority, or as transcribed by that Authority, under Rule 13 ter.1(a).

If a designated Office finds that a nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence listing does not comply with the standard prescribed in the Administrative Instructions under Rule 5.2, and/or is not in a machine readable form provided for in those Instructions, and/or no listing of the sequence was furnished to the International Searching Authority, or transcribed by that Authority, under Rule 13 ter.1(a), that Office may require the applicant;

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 component 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”).

The amount and the due date of the transmittal fee, if any, shall be fixed by the receiving Office.

a “basic fee,” and

as many “designation fees” as there are national patents and regional patents sought under Rule 4.9(a) by the applicant in the international application, except that, where Article 44 applies in respect of a designation, only one designation fee shall be due for that designation.

The amounts of the basic fee and of the designation fee are as set out in the Schedule of Fees.

The amounts of the basic fee and of the designation fee shall be established, for each receiving Office which, under Rule 15.3, prescribes the payment of those fees in a currency or currencies other than Swiss currency, by the Director General after consultation with that Office and in the currency or currencies prescribed by that Office (“prescribed currency”). The amounts in each prescribed currency shall be the equivalent, in round figures, of the amounts in Swiss currency set out in the Schedule of Fees. They shall be published in the Gazette.

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.

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 interested Office 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 for that Office from that date.

The basic fee shall be paid within one month from the date of receipt of the international application.

The designation fee shall be paid:

Where the basic fee or the designation fee is paid later than the date on which the international application was received and where the amount of that fee is, in the currency in which it is payable, higher on the date of payment (“the higher amount”) than it was on the date on which the international application was received (“the lower amount”),

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), as set out in the Schedule of Fees.

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.

if the determination under Article 11(1) is negative, or

if, before the transmittal of the record copy to the International Bureau, the international application is withdrawn or considered withdrawn.

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.

The search fee shall be collected by the receiving Office. The said fee shall be payable in the currency or currencies prescribed by that Office (“the 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 (“the fixed currency or currencies”), 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 (“the headquarters currency”). The amount of the search fee in any receiving Office currency, other than the fixed currency or currencies, shall be established by the Director General after consultation with that Office. 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 published in the Gazette.

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.

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 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 interested receiving Office 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.

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.

As to the time of payment of the search fee, the provisions of Rule 15.4 relating to the basic fee shall apply.

if the determination under Article 11(1) is negative, or

if, before the transmittal of the search copy to the International Searching Authority, the international application is withdrawn or considered withdrawn.

Where, by the time they are due under Rule 14.1(b), Rule 15.4(a) and Rule 16.1(f), the receiving Office finds that in respect of an international application no fees were paid to it by the applicant, or that the amount paid to it by the applicant is less than what is necessary to cover the transmittal fee, the basic fee and 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 16 bis.2, within one month from the date of the invitation.

Where, by the time they are due under Rule 15.4(b), the receiving Office finds that in respect of an international application the payment made by the applicant 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 16 bis.2, within one month from the date of the invitation.

Where the receiving Office has sent to the applicant an invitation under paragraph (a) or (b) and the applicant has not, within one month from the date of the invitation, paid in full the amount due, including, where applicable, the late payment fee under Rule 16 bis.2, the receiving Office shall:

The payment of fees in response to an invitation under Rule 16 bis.1(a) or (b) may be subjected by the receiving Office to the payment to it of a late payment fee. The amount of that fee shall be:

Where the priority of an earlier national application is claimed under Article 8 in the international application, a copy of the said national 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, be submitted by the applicant to the International Bureau or to the receiving Office not later than 16 months after the priority date or, in the case referred to in Article 23(2), not later than at the time the processing or examination is requested.

Where the priority document is issued by the receiving Office, the applicant may, instead of submitting the priority document, request the receiving Office to transmit the priority document to the International Bureau. Such request shall be made not later than the expiration of the applicable time limit referred to under paragraph (a) and may be subjected by the receiving Office to the payment of a fee.

If the requirements of neither of the two preceding paragraphs are complied with, any designated State may disregard the priority claim.

The International Bureau shall, at the specific request of the designated Office, promptly but not before the expiration of the time limit fixed in Rule 17.1(a), furnish a copy of the priority document to that Office. No such Office shall ask the applicant himself to furnish it with a copy, except where it requires the furnishing of a copy of the priority document together with a certified translation thereof. The applicant shall not be required to furnish a certified translation to the designated Office before the expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 22.

The International Bureau shall not make copies of the priority document available to the public prior to the international publication of the international application.

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:

Paragraphs (a) to (c) shall apply also to any earlier international application whose priority is claimed in the subsequent international application.

Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), the question whether an applicant is a resident of the Contracting State of which he claims to be a resident shall depend on the national law of that State and shall be decided by the receiving Office.

In any case, possession of a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in a Contracting State shall be considered residence in that State.

Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), the question whether an applicant is a national of the Contracting State of which he claims to be a national shall depend on the national law of that State and shall be decided by the receiving Office.

In any case, a legal entity constituted according to the national law of a Contracting State shall be considered a national of that State.

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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 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.

Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), the international application shall be filed, at the option of the applicant, with the national Office of or acting for the Contracting State of which the applicant is a resident or with the national Office of or acting for the Contracting State of which the applicant is a national.

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).

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.

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.

The International Bureau shall, promptly upon receipt, publish the notification in the Gazette.

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.

The place on each sheet where the date or number shall be marked, and other details, shall be specified in the Administrative Instructions.

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

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.

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).

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.

For the purposes of Article 11(1)(ii), it shall be sufficient that the elements referred to in Article 11(1)(iii)(d) and (e) be in a language admitted under Rule 12.1(a) or (c).

If, on July 12, 1991, 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, 1991. The information received shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.

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.

The copy whose request has been so stamped shall be the record copy of the international application.

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).

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.

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.

promptly notify the applicant that his application is not and will not be treated as an international application and shall indicate the reasons therefor,

notify the International Bureau that the number it has marked on the papers will not be used as an international application number,

keep the papers constituting the purported international application and any correspondence relating thereto as provided in Rule 93.1, and

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.

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).

Where the international application is required to be filed in two copies, the receiving Office shall be responsible for preparing the home copy.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Any certification under paragraph (d) shall be free of charge and may be refused only on any of the following grounds:

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.

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).

The search copy shall be transmitted by the receiving Office to the International Searching Authority at the latest on the same 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.

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The International Bureau shall promptly notify:

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).

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:

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.

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.

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.

Where any element of the international application, other than those referred to in Article 11(1)(iii)(d) and (e), does not comply with Rule 12.1, the receiving Office shall invite the applicant to file the required correction. Rules 26.1(a), 26.2, 26.5 and 29.1 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

If, on July 12, 1991, 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, 1991. The information received shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.

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.

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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.

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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.

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).

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 16 bis.2).

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 16 bis.2).

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.

The receiving Office shall, unless it disagrees with the said opinion, proceed as provided in Article 14(1)(b) and Rule 26.

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)), that the international application is considered withdrawn:

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.

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 notification addressed by that Office before November 30 of the preceding year to the International Bureau.

Requests under Article 13(2)(b) shall be subject to the payment of a fee covering the cost of preparing and mailing the copy.

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 that the claimed invention is or is not new and that it does or does not involve an inventive step (ie that it is or is not obvious), provided that the making available to the public occurred prior to the international filing date.

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.

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.

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.

Consequently, not only shall the art in which the invention is classifiable be searched but also analogous arts regardless of where classified.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The definitions contained in Article 2(i) and (ii) shall not apply for the purposes of this Rule.

The documentation referred to in Article 15(4) (“minimum documentation”) shall consist of:

Subject to paragraphs (d) and (e), the “national patent documents” shall be the following:

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.

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 and the 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.

For the purposes of this Rule, applications which have only been laid open for public inspection are not considered published applications.

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:

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.

the national Office or intergovernmental organization must have at least 100 full-time employees with sufficient technical qualifications to carry out searches;

that Office or organisation 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;

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.

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 (in the language in which the international application is published).

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.

scientific and mathematical theories,

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,

schemes, rules or methods of doing business, performing purely mental acts or playing games,

methods of treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods,

mere presentations of information,

computer programs to the extent that the International Searching Authority is not equipped to search prior art concerning such programs.

The amount of the additional fee due for searching under Article 17(3)(a) shall be determined by the competent International Searching Authority.

The additional fee due for searching under Article 17(3)(a) shall be payable direct to the International Searching Authority.

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.

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.

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.

The international search report shall contain the classification of the subject matter at least according to the International Patent Classification.

Such classification shall be effected by the International Searching Authority.

The international search report shall contain the citations of the documents considered to be relevant.

The method of identifying any cited document shall be regulated by the Administrative Instructions.

Citations of particular relevance shall be specially indicated.

Citations which are not relevant to all the claims shall be cited in relation to the claim or claims to which they are relevant.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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Any International Searching Authority may perform the obligations referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) through another agency responsible to it.

The statement referred to in Article 19(1) shall be in the language in which the international application is published and shall not exceed 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.

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.

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.

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The communication provided for in Article 20 shall be effected by the International Bureau.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

The copies required for communication shall be prepared by the International Bureau.

They shall be on sheets of A4 size.

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.

The international application shall be published in the form of a pamphlet.

The particulars regarding the form of the pamphlet and the method of reproduction shall be governed by the Administrative Instructions.

The pamphlet shall contain:

Subject to paragraph (c), the front page shall include:

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.

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.

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 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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

If the international application is filed in English, French, German, Japanese, Russian or Spanish, that application shall be published in the language in which it was filed.

If the international application is filed in a language other than English, French, German, Japanese, Russian or Spanish, that application shall be published in English translation. The translation shall be prepared under the responsibility of the International Searching Authority, which shall be obliged to have it ready in time to permit international publication by the prescribed date, or, where Article 64(3)(b) applies, to permit the communication under Article 20 by the end of the 19th month after the priority date. Notwithstanding Rule 16.1(a), the International Searching Authority may charge a fee for the translation to the applicant. The International Searching Authority shall give the applicant an opportunity to comment on the draft translation. The International Searching Authority shall fix a time limit reasonable under the circumstances of the case for such comments. If there is no time to take the comments of the applicant into account before the translation is communicated or if there is a difference of opinion between the applicant and the said Authority as to the correct translation, the applicant may send a copy of his comments, or what remains of them, to the International Bureau and each designated Office to which the translation was communicated. The International Bureau shall publish the essence of the comments together with the translation of the International Searching Authority or subsequently to the publication of such translation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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If the international application, the designation of any designated State or the priority claim is withdrawn under Rule 90 bis after the technical preparations for international publication have been completed, notice of the withdrawal shall be published in the Gazette.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

For the purposes of Article 22, the translation of the international application shall contain the description, the 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),

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.

Where the applicant did not furnish a translation of any statement made under Article 19(1), the designated Office may disregard such statement.

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.

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.

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.

The expression “Fig.” does not require translation into any language.

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.

Where the applicant did not furnish a translation of the abstract or of any indication furnished under Rule 13 bis.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.

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.

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.

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.

If, on July 12, 1991, paragraph (c bis) or paragraph (k) is not compatible with the national law applied by the designated Office, the 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.

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.

Any notification received by the International Bureau under paragraph (a) shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette

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.

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.

The documents referred to in Article 27(2)(ii), or the evidence referred to in Article 27(6), which the applicant may be required to furnish under the national law applicable by the designated Office include, in particular:

The national law applicable by the designated Office may, in accordance with Article 27(7), require that

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.

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 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.

Where any of the requirements referred to in Rule 51 bis.1, or any other requirement of the national law applicable by the designated Office which that Office may apply under Article 27(1), (2), (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.

The national law applicable by the designated Office may, in accordance with Article 27(2)(ii), require that the applicant, upon invitation by the designated Office, furnish a certification of the translation of the international application by a public authority or a sworn translator, if the designated Office deems such certification to be necessary under the circumstances, within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation.

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.

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).

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 presented as a computer print-out shall be prescribed by the Administrative Instructions.

Copies of printed demand forms shall be furnished free of charge by the receiving Office or by the International Preliminary Examining Authority.

The demand shall contain:

The demand shall be signed.