Beijing DMY intellectual property law firm

Part A: Introductory Rules

Rule 1 Abbreviated Expressions

1.1 Meaning of Abbreviated Expressions

Rule 2 Interpretation of Certain Words

2.1 “Applicant”

2.2 “Agent”

2.2bis “Common Representative”

2.3 “Signature”

2.4 “Priority Period”

Part B: Rules Concerning Chapter I of the Treaty

Rule 3 The Request (Form)

3.1 Form of Request

3.2 Availability of Forms

3.3 Check List

3.4 Particulars

Rule 4 The Request (Contents)

4.1 Mandatory and Optional Contents; Signature

4.2 The Petition

4.3 Title of the Invention

4.4 Names and Addresses

4.5 The Applicant

4.6 The Inventor

4.7 The Agent

4.8 Common Representative

* Adopted on June 19, 1970, and amended on April 14, 1978, October 3, 1978,
May 1, 1979, June 16, 1980, September 26, 1980, July 3, 1981, September 10, 1982,
October 4, 1983, February 3, 1984, September 28, 1984, October 1, 1985, July 12, 1991,
October 2, 1991, September 29, 1992, September 29, 1993, October 3, 1995, October 1, 1997,
September 15, 1998, September 29, 1999, March 17, 2000, October 3, 2000, October 3, 2001,
October 1, 2002, October 1, 2003, October 5, 2004, October 5, 2005, October 3, 2006,
November 12, 2007, May 15, 2008, September 29, 2008 and October 1, 2009.

** Table of Contents and Editor’s Notes are added for the convenience of the reader; they
do not form part of the Regulations.

4.9 Designation of States; Kinds of Protection; National and
Regional Patents

4.10 Priority Claim

4.11 Reference to Continuation or Continuation-in-Part, or
Parent Application or Grant

4.12 Taking into Account Results of Earlier Search

4.13 [Deleted]

4.14 [Deleted]

4.14bis Choice of International Searching Authority

4.15 Signature

4.16 Transliteration or Translation of Certain Words

4.17 Declarations Relating to National Requirements Referred
to in Rule 51bis.1(a)(i) to (v)

4.18 Statement of Incorporation by Reference

4.19 Additional Matter

Rule 5 The Description

5.1 Manner of the Description

5.2 Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosure

Rule 6 The Claims

6.1 Number and Numbering of Claims

6.2 References to Other Parts of the International
Application

6.3 Manner of Claiming

6.4 Dependent Claims

6.5 Utility Models

Rule 7 The Drawings

7.1 Flow Sheets and Diagrams

7.2 Time Limit

Rule 8 The Abstract

8.1 Contents and Form of the Abstract

8.2 Figure

8.3 Guiding Principles in Drafting

Rule 9 Expressions, Etc., Not to Be Used

9.1 Definition

9.2 Noting of Lack of Compliance

9.3 Reference to Article 21(6)

Rule 10 Terminology and Signs

10.1 Terminology and Signs

10.2 Consistency

Rule 11 Physical Requirements of the International Application

11.1 Number of Copies

11.2 Fitness for Reproduction

11.3 Material to Be Used

11.4 Separate Sheets, Etc.

11.5 Size of Sheets

11.6 Margins

11.7 Numbering of Sheets

11.8 Numbering of Lines

11.9 Writing of Text Matter

11.10 Drawings, Formulae, and Tables, in Text Matter

11.11 Words in Drawings

11.12 Alterations, Etc.

11.13 Special Requirements for Drawings

11.14 Later Documents

Rule 12 Language of the International Application and Translations
for the Purposes of International Search and International
Publication

12.1 Languages Accepted for the Filing of International
Applications

12.1bis Language of Elements and Parts Furnished under
Rule 20.3, 20.5 or 20.6

12.1ter Language of Indications Furnished under Rule 13bis.4

12.2 Language of Changes in the International Application

12.3 Translation for the Purposes of International Search

12.4 Translation for the Purposes of International Publication

Rule 12bis Copy of Results of Earlier Search and of Earlier
Application; Translation

12bis.1 Copy of Results of Earlier Search and of Earlier
Application; Translation

Rule 13 Unity of Invention

13.1 Requirement

13.2 Circumstances in Which the Requirement of Unity of
Invention Is to Be Considered Fulfilled

13.3 Determination of Unity of Invention Not Affected by
Manner of Claiming

13.4 Dependent Claims

13.5 Utility Models

Rule 13bis Inventions Relating to Biological Material

13bis.1 Definition

13bis.2 References (General)

13bis.3 References: Contents; Failure to Include Reference or
Indication

13bis.4 References: Time Limit for Furnishing Indications

13bis.5 References and Indications for the Purposes of One or
More Designated States; Different Deposits for Different
Designated States; Deposits with Depositary Institutions
Other than Those Notified

13bis.6 Furnishing of Samples

13bis.7 National Requirements: Notification and Publication

Rule 13ter Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listings

13ter.1 Procedure before the International Searching Authority

13ter.2 Procedure before the International Preliminary
Examining Authority

13ter.3 Sequence Listing for Designated Office

Rule 14 The Transmittal Fee

14.1 The Transmittal Fee

Rule 15 The International Filing Fee

15.1 The International Filing Fee

15.2 Amount

15.3 Time Limit for Payment; Amount Payable

15.4 Refund

Rule 16 The Search Fee

16.1 Right to Ask for a Fee

16.2 Refund

16.3 Partial Refund

Rule 16bis Extension of Time Limits for Payment of Fees

16bis.1 Invitation by the Receiving Office

16bis.2 Late Payment Fee

Rule 17 The Priority Document

17.1 Obligation to Submit Copy of Earlier National or
International Application

17.2 Availability of Copies

Rule 18 The Applicant

18.1 Residence and Nationality

18.2 [Deleted]

18.3 Two or More Applicants

18.4 Information on Requirements under National Law as to
Applicants

Rule 19 The Competent Receiving Office

19.1 Where to File

19.2 Two or More Applicants

19.3 Publication of Fact of Delegation of Duties of Receiving
Office

19.4 Transmittal to the International Bureau as Receiving
Office

Rule 20 International Filing Date

20.1 Determination under Article 11(1)

20.2 Positive Determination under Article 11(1)

20.3 Defects under Article 11(1)

20.4 Negative Determination under Article 11(1)

20.5 Missing Parts

20.6 Confirmation of Incorporation by Reference of Elements
and Parts

20.7 Time Limit

20.8 Incompatibility with National Laws

Rule 21 Preparation of Copies

21.1 Responsibility of the Receiving Office

21.2 Certified Copy for the Applicant

Rule 22 Transmittal of the Record Copy and Translation

22.1 Procedure

22.2 [Deleted]

22.3 Time Limit under Article 12(3)

Rule 23 Transmittal of the Search Copy, Translation and Sequence
Listing

23.1 Procedure

Rule 24 Receipt of the Record Copy by the International Bureau

24.1 [Deleted]

24.2 Notification of Receipt of the Record Copy

Rule 25 Receipt of the Search Copy by the International Searching
Authority

25.1 Notification of Receipt of the Search Copy

Rule 26 Checking by, and Correcting before, the Receiving Office of
Certain Elements of the International Application

26.1 Invitation under Article 14(1)(b) to Correct

26.2 Time Limit for Correction

26.2bis Checking of Requirements under Article 14(1)(a)(i)
and (ii)

26.3 Checking of Physical Requirements under
Article 14(1)(a)(v)

26.3bis Invitation under Article 14(1)(b) to Correct Defects
under Rule 11

26.3ter Invitation to Correct Defects under Article 3(4)(i)

26.4 Procedure

26.5 Decision of the Receiving Office

Rule 26bis Correction or Addition of Priority Claim

26bis.1 Correction or Addition of Priority Claim

26bis.2 Defects in Priority Claims

26bis.3 Restoration of Right of Priority by Receiving Office

Rule 26ter Correction or Addition of Declarations under Rule 4.17

26ter.1 Correction or Addition of Declarations

26ter.2 Processing of Declarations

Rule 27 Lack of Payment of Fees

27.1 Fees

Rule 28 Defects Noted by the International Bureau

28.1 Note on Certain Defects

Rule 29 International Applications Considered Withdrawn

29.1 Finding by Receiving Office

29.2 [Deleted]

29.3 Calling Certain Facts to the Attention of the Receiving
Office

29.4 Notification of Intent to Make Declaration under
Article 14(4)

Rule 30 Time Limit under Article 14(4)

30.1 Time Limit

Rule 31 Copies Required under Article 13

31.1 Request for Copies

31.2 Preparation of Copies

Rule 32 Extension of Effects of International Application to Certain
Successor States

32.1 Extension of International Application to Successor State

32.2 Effects of Extension to Successor State

Rule 33 Relevant Prior Art for the International Search

33.1 Relevant Prior Art for the International Search

33.2 Fields to Be Covered by the International Search

33.3 Orientation of the International Search

Rule 34 Minimum Documentation

34.1 Definition

Rule 35 The Competent International Searching Authority

35.1 When Only One International Searching Authority Is
Competent

35.2 When Several International Searching Authorities Are
Competent

35.3 When the International Bureau Is Receiving Office under
Rule 19.1(a)(iii)

Rule 36 Minimum Requirements for International Searching
Authorities

36.1 Definition of Minimum Requirements

Rule 37 Missing or Defective Title

37.1 Lack of Title

37.2 Establishment of Title

Rule 38 Missing or Defective Abstract

38.1 Lack of Abstract

38.2 Establishment of Abstract

38.3 Modification of Abstract

Rule 39 Subject Matter under Article 17(2)(a)(i)

39.1 Definition

Rule 40 Lack of Unity of Invention (International Search)

40.1 Invitation to Pay Additional Fees; Time Limit

40.2 Additional Fees

Rule 41 Taking into Account Results of Earlier Search

41.1 Taking into Account Results of Earlier Search

Rule 42 Time Limit for International Search

42.1 Time Limit for International Search

Rule 43 The International Search Report

43.1 Identifications

43.2 Dates

43.3 Classification

43.4 Language

43.5 Citations

43.6 Fields Searched

43.6bis Consideration of Rectifications of Obvious Mistakes

43.7 Remarks Concerning Unity of Invention

43.8 Authorized Officer

43.9 Additional Matter

43.10 Form

Rule 43bis Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority

43bis.1 Written Opinion

Rule 44 Transmittal of the International Search Report, Written
Opinion, Etc.

44.1 Copies of Report or Declaration and Written Opinion

44.2 Title or Abstract

44.3 Copies of Cited Documents

Rule 44bis International Preliminary Report on Patentability by the
International Searching Authority

44bis.1 Issuance of Report; Transmittal to the Applicant

44bis.2 Communication to Designated Offices

44bis.3 Translation for Designated Offices

44bis.4 Observations on the Translation

Rule 44ter Confidential Nature of Written Opinion, Report, Translation
and Observations

44ter.1 Confidential Nature

Rule 45 Translation of the International Search Report

45.1 Languages

Rule 45bis Supplementary International Searches

45bis.1 Supplementary Search Request

45bis.2 Supplementary Search Handling Fee

45bis.3 Supplementary Search Fee

45bis.4 Checking of Supplementary Search Request; Correction
of Defects; Late Payment of Fees; Transmittal to
Authority Specified for Supplementary Search

45bis.5 Start, Basis and Scope of Supplementary International
Search

45bis.6 Unity of Invention

45bis.7 Supplementary International Search Report

45bis.8 Transmittal and Effect of the Supplementary
International Search Report

45bis.9 International Searching Authorities Competent to Carry
Out Supplementary International Search

Rule 46 Amendment of Claims before the International Bureau

46.1 Time Limit

46.2 Where to File

46.3 Language of Amendments

46.4 Statement

46.5 Form of Amendments

Rule 47 Communication to Designated Offices

47.1 Procedure

47.2 Copies

47.3 Languages

47.4 Express Request under Article 23(2) prior to
International Publication

Rule 48 International Publication

48.1 Form and Means

48.2 Contents

48.3 Languages of Publication

48.4 Earlier Publication on the Applicant’s Request

48.5 Notification of National Publication

48.6 Announcing of Certain Facts

Rule 49 Copy, Translation and Fee under Article 22

49.1 Notification

49.2 Languages

49.3 Statements under Article 19; Indications under
Rule 13bis.4

49.4 Use of National Form

49.5 Contents of and Physical Requirements for the
Translation

49.6 Reinstatement of Rights after Failure to Perform the Acts
Referred to in Article 22

Rule 49bis Indications as to Protection Sought for Purposes of National
Processing

49bis.1 Choice of Certain Kinds of Protection

49bis.2 Time of Furnishing Indications

Rule 49ter Effect of Restoration of Right of Priority by Receiving
Office; Restoration of Right of Priority by Designated
Office

49ter.1 Effect of Restoration of Right of Priority by Receiving
Office

49ter.2 Restoration of Right of Priority by Designated Office

Rule 50 Faculty under Article 22(3)

50.1 Exercise of Faculty

Rule 51 Review by Designated Offices

51.1 Time Limit for Presenting the Request to Send Copies

51.2 Copy of the Notification

51.3 Time Limit for Paying National Fee and Furnishing
Translation

Rule 51bis Certain National Requirements Allowed under Article 27

51bis.1 Certain National Requirements Allowed

51bis.2 Certain Circumstances in Which Documents or Evidence
May Not Be Required

51bis.3 Opportunity to Comply with National Requirements

Rule 52 Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the
Drawings, before Designated Offices

52.1 Time Limit

Part C: Rules Concerning Chapter II of the Treaty

Rule 53 The Demand

53.1 Form

53.2 Contents

53.3 The Petition

53.4 The Applicant

53.5 Agent or Common Representative

53.6 Identification of the International Application

53.7 Election of States

53.8 Signature

53.9 Statement Concerning Amendments

Rule 54 The Applicant Entitled to Make a Demand

54.1 Residence and Nationality

54.2 Right to Make a Demand

54.3 International Applications Filed with the International
Bureau as Receiving Office

54.4 Applicant Not Entitled to Make a Demand

Rule 54bis Time Limit for Making a Demand

54bis.1 Time Limit for Making a Demand

Rule 55 Languages (International Preliminary Examination)

55.1 Language of Demand

55.2 Translation of International Application

55.3 Translation of Amendments

Rule 56 [Deleted]

Rule 57 The Handling Fee

57.1 Requirement to Pay

57.2 Amount

57.3 Time Limit for Payment; Amount Payable

57.4 Refund

Rule 58 The Preliminary Examination Fee

58.1 Right to Ask for a Fee

58.2 [Deleted]

58.3 Refund

Rule 58bis Extension of Time Limits for Payment of Fees

58bis.1 Invitation by the International Preliminary Examining
Authority

58bis.2 Late Payment Fee

Rule 59 The Competent International Preliminary Examining
Authority

59.1 Demands under Article 31(2)(a)

59.2 Demands under Article 31(2)(b)

59.3 Transmittal of the Demand to the Competent
International Preliminary Examining Authority

Rule 60 Certain Defects in the Demand

60.1 Defects in the Demand

Rule 61 Notification of the Demand and Elections

61.1 Notification to the International Bureau and the
Applicant

61.2 Notification to the Elected Offices

61.3 Information for the Applicant

61.4 Publication in the Gazette

Rule 62 Copy of the Written Opinion by the International Searching
Authority and of Amendments under Article 19 for the
International Preliminary Examining Authority

62.1 Copy of Written Opinion by International Searching
Authority and of Amendments Made before the Demand
Is Filed

62.2 Amendments Made after the Demand Is Filed

Rule 62bis Translation for the International Preliminary Examining
Authority of the Written Opinion of the International
Searching Authority

62bis.1 Translation and Observations

Rule 63 Minimum Requirements for International Preliminary
Examining Authorities

63.1 Definition of Minimum Requirements

Rule 64 Prior Art for International Preliminary Examination

64.1 Prior Art

64.2 Non-Written Disclosures

64.3 Certain Published Documents

Rule 65 Inventive Step or Non-Obviousness

65.1 Approach to Prior Art

65.2 Relevant Date

Rule 66 Procedure before the International Preliminary Examining
Authority

66.1 Basis of the International Preliminary Examination

66.1bis Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority

66.2 Written Opinion of the International Preliminary
Examining Authority

66.3 Formal Response to the International Preliminary
Examining Authority

66.4 Additional Opportunity for Submitting Amendments or
Arguments

66.4bis Consideration of Amendments, Arguments and
Rectifications of Obvious Mistakes

66.5 Amendment

66.6 Informal Communications with the Applicant

66.7 Copy and Translation of Earlier Application Whose
Priority Is Claimed

66.8 Form of Amendments

66.9 Language of Amendments

Rule 67 Subject Matter under Article 34(4)(a)(i)

67.1 Definition

Rule 68 Lack of Unity of Invention (International Preliminary
Examination)

68.1 No Invitation to Restrict or Pay

68.2 Invitation to Restrict or Pay

68.3 Additional Fees

68.4 Procedure in the Case of Insufficient Restriction of the
Claims

68.5 Main Invention

Rule 69 Start of and Time Limit for International Preliminary
Examination

69.1 Start of International Preliminary Examination

69.2 Time Limit for International Preliminary Examination

Rule 70 International Preliminary Report on Patentability by the
International Preliminary Examining Authority
(International Preliminary Examination Report)

70.1 Definition

70.2 Basis of the Report

70.3 Identifications

70.4 Dates

70.5 Classification

70.6 Statement under Article 35(2)

70.7 Citations under Article 35(2)

70.8 Explanations under Article 35(2)

70.9 Non-Written Disclosures

70.10 Certain Published Documents

70.11 Mention of Amendments

70.12 Mention of Certain Defects and Other Matters

70.13 Remarks Concerning Unity of Invention

70.14 Authorized Officer

70.15 Form; Title

70.16 Annexes to the Report

70.17 Languages of the Report and the Annexes

Rule 71 Transmittal of the International Preliminary Examination
Report

71.1 Recipients

71.2 Copies of Cited Documents

Rule 72 Translation of the International Preliminary Examination
Report and of the Written Opinion of the International
Searching Authority

72.1 Languages

72.2 Copy of Translation for the Applicant

72.2bis Translation of the Written Opinion of the International
Searching Authority Established under Rule 43bis.1

72.3 Observations on the Translation

Rule 73 Communication of the International Preliminary
Examination Report or the Written Opinion of the
International Searching Authority

73.1 Preparation of Copies

73.2 Communication to Elected Offices

Rule 74 Translations of Annexes of the International Preliminary
Examination Report and Transmittal Thereof

74.1 Contents of Translation and Time Limit for Transmittal
Thereof

Rule 75 [Deleted]

Rule 76 Translation of Priority Document; Application of Certain
Rules to Procedures before Elected Offices

76.1 [Deleted]

76.2 [Deleted]

76.3 [Deleted]

76.4 Time Limit for Translation of Priority Document

76.5 Application of Certain Rules to Procedures before
Elected Offices

Rule 77 Faculty under Article 39(1)(b)

77.1 Exercise of Faculty

Rule 78 Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the
Drawings, before Elected Offices

78.1 Time Limit

78.2 [Deleted]

78.3 Utility Models

Part D: Rules Concerning Chapter III of the Treaty

Rule 79 Calendar

79.1 Expressing Dates

Rule 80 Computation of Time Limits

80.1 Periods Expressed in Years

80.2 Periods Expressed in Months

80.3 Periods Expressed in Days

80.4 Local Dates

80.5 Expiration on a Non-Working Day or Official Holiday

80.6 Date of Documents

80.7 End of Working Day

Rule 81 Modification of Time Limits Fixed in the Treaty

81.1 Proposal

81.2 Decision by the Assembly

81.3 Voting by Correspondence

Rule 82 Irregularities in the Mail Service

82.1 Delay or Loss in Mail

82.2 Interruption in the Mail Service

Rule 82bis Excuse by the Designated or Elected State of Delays in
Meeting Certain Time Limits

82bis.1 Meaning of “Time Limit” in Article 48(2)

82bis.2 Reinstatement of Rights and Other Provisions to Which
Article 48(2) Applies

Rule 82ter Rectification of Errors Made by the Receiving Office or by
the International Bureau

82ter.1 Errors Concerning the International Filing Date and the
Priority Claim

Rule 83 Right to Practice before International Authorities

83.1 Proof of Right

83.1bis Where the International Bureau Is the Receiving Office

83.2 Information

Part E: Rules Concerning Chapter V of the Treaty

Rule 84 Expenses of Delegations

84.1 Expenses Borne by Governments

Rule 85 Absence of Quorum in the Assembly

85.1 Voting by Correspondence

Rule 86 The Gazette

86.1 Contents

86.2 Languages; Form and Means of Publication; Timing

86.3 Frequency

86.4 Sale

86.5 Title

86.6 Further Details

Rule 87 Communication of Publications

87.1 Communication of Publications on Request

Rule 88 Amendment of the Regulations

88.1 Requirement of Unanimity

88.2 [Deleted]

88.3 Requirement of Absence of Opposition by Certain States

88.4 Procedure

Rule 89 Administrative Instructions

89.1 Scope

89.2 Source

89.3 Publication and Entry into Force

Part F: Rules Concerning Several Chapters of the Treaty

Rule 89bis Filing, Processing and Communication of International
Applications and Other Documents in Electronic Form or by
Electronic Means

89bis.1 International Applications

89bis.2 Other Documents

89bis.3 Communication between Offices

Rule 89ter Copies in Electronic Form of Documents Filed on Paper

89ter.1 Copies in Electronic Form of Documents Filed on Paper

Rule 90 Agents and Common Representatives

90.1 Appointment as Agent

90.2 Common Representative

90.3 Effects of Acts by or in Relation to Agents and Common
Representatives

90.4 Manner of Appointment of Agent or Common
Representative

90.5 General Power of Attorney

90.6 Revocation and Renunciation

Rule 90bis Withdrawals

90bis.1 Withdrawal of the International Application

90bis.2 Withdrawal of Designations

90bis.3 Withdrawal of Priority Claims

90bis.3bis Withdrawal of Supplementary Search Request

90bis.4 Withdrawal of the Demand, or of Elections

90bis.5 Signature

90bis.6 Effect of Withdrawal

90bis.7 Faculty under Article 37(4)(b)

Rule 91 Rectification of Obvious Mistakes in the International
Application and Other Documents

91.1 Rectification of Obvious Mistakes

91.2 Requests for Rectification

91.3 Authorization and Effect of Rectifications

Rule 92 Correspondence

92.1 Need for Letter and for Signature

92.2 Languages

92.3 Mailings by National Offices and Intergovernmental
Organizations

92.4 Use of Telegraph, Teleprinter, Facsimile Machine, Etc.

Rule 92bis Recording of Changes in Certain Indications in the Request
or the Demand

92bis.1 Recording of Changes by the International Bureau

Rule 93 Keeping of Records and Files

93.1 The Receiving Office

93.2 The International Bureau

93.3 The International Searching and Preliminary Examining
Authorities

93.4 Reproductions

Rule 93bis Manner of Communication of Documents

93bis.1 Communication on Request; Communication via Digital
Library

Rule 94 Access to Files

94.1 Access to the File Held by the International Bureau

94.2 Access to the File Held by the International Preliminary
Examining Authority

94.3 Access to the File Held by the Elected Office

Rule 95 Availability of Translations

95.1 Furnishing of Copies of Translations

Rule 96 The Schedule of Fees

96.1 Schedule of Fees Annexed to Regulations

Schedule of Fees

PART A
INTRODUCTORY RULES

Rule 1
Abbreviated Expressions

1.1 Meaning of Abbreviated Expressions

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

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

Rule 2
Interpretation of Certain Words

2.1 “Applicant”

Whenever the word “applicant” is used, it shall be construed as meaning
also the agent or other representative of the applicant, except where the contrary
clearly follows from the wording or the nature of the provision, or the context in
which the word is used, such as, in particular, where the provision refers to the
residence or nationality of the applicant.

2.2 “Agent”

Whenever the word “agent” is used, it shall be construed as meaning an
agent appointed under Rule 90.1, unless the contrary clearly follows from the
wording or the nature of the provision, or the context in which the word is used.

2.2bis “Common Representative”

Whenever the expression “common representative” is used, it shall be
construed as meaning an applicant appointed as, or considered to be, the
common representative under Rule 90.2.

2.3 “Signature”

Whenever the word “signature” is used, it shall be understood that, if the
national law applied by the receiving Office or the competent International
Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority requires the use of a seal instead
of a signature, the word, for the purposes of that Office or Authority, shall mean
seal.

2.4 “Priority Period”

(a) Whenever the term “priority period” is used in relation to a priority
claim, it shall be construed as meaning the period of 12 months from the filing

date of the earlier application whose priority is so claimed. The day of filing of
the earlier application shall not be included in that period.

(b) Rule 80.5 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the priority period.

PART B
RULES CONCERNING CHAPTER I OF THE TREATY

Rule 3
The Request (Form)

3.1 Form of Request

The request shall be made on a printed form or be presented as a computer
print-out.

3.2 Availability of Forms

Copies of the printed form shall be furnished free of charge to the applicants
by the receiving Office, or, if the receiving Office so desires, by the
International Bureau.

3.3 Check List

(a) The request shall contain a list indicating:

(i) the total number of sheets constituting the international application
and the number of the sheets of each element of the international application:
request, description (separately indicating the number of sheets of any sequence
listing part of the description), claims, drawings, abstract;

(ii) where applicable, that the international application as filed is
accompanied by a power of attorney (i.e., a document appointing an agent or a
common representative), a copy of a general power of attorney, a priority
document, a sequence listing in electronic form, a document relating to the
payment of fees, or any other document (to be specified in the check list);

(iii) the number of that figure of the drawings which the applicant
suggests should accompany the abstract when the abstract is published; in
exceptional cases, the applicant may suggest more than one figure.

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

3.4 Particulars

Subject to Rule 3.3, particulars of the printed request form and of a request
presented as a computer print-out shall be prescribed by the Administrative
Instructions.

Rule 4
The Request (Contents)

4.1 Mandatory and Optional Contents; Signature

(a) The request shall contain:

(i) a petition,

(ii) the title of the invention,

(iii) indications concerning the applicant and the agent, if there is an
agent,

(iv) indications concerning the inventor where the national law of at least
one of the designated States requires that the name of the inventor be furnished
at the time of filing a national application.

(b) The request shall, where applicable, contain:

(i) a priority claim,

(ii) indications relating to an earlier search as provided in Rules 4.12(i)
and 12bis.1(c) and (f),

(iii) a reference to a parent application or parent patent,

(iv) an indication of the applicant’s choice of competent International
Searching Authority.

(i) indications concerning the inventor where the national law of none of
the designated States requires that the name of the inventor be furnished at the
time of filing a national application,

(ii) a request to the receiving Office to prepare and transmit the priority
document to the International Bureau where the application whose priority is
claimed was filed with the national Office or intergovernmental authority which
is the receiving Office,

(iii) declarations as provided in Rule 4.17,

(iv) a statement as provided in Rule 4.18,

(v) a request for restoration of the right of priority,

(vi) a statement as provided in Rule 4.12(ii).

(d) The request shall be signed.

4.2 The Petition

The petition shall be to the following effect and shall preferably be worded
as follows: “The undersigned requests that the present international application
be processed according to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.”

4.3 Title of the Invention

The title of the invention shall be short (preferably from two to seven words
when in English or translated into English) and precise.

4.4 Names and Addresses

(a) Names of natural persons shall be indicated by the person’s family name
and given name(s), the family name being indicated before the given name(s).

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

(c) Addresses shall be indicated in such a way as to satisfy the customary
requirements for prompt postal delivery at the indicated address and, in any
case, shall consist of all the relevant administrative units up to, and including,
the house number, if any. Where the national law of the designated State does
not require the indication of the house number, failure to indicate such number
shall have no effect in that State. In order to allow rapid communication with
the applicant, it is recommended to indicate any teleprinter address, telephone
and facsimile machine numbers, or corresponding data for other like means of
communication, of the applicant or, where applicable, the agent or the common
representative.

(d) For each applicant, inventor, or agent, only one address may be
indicated, except that, if no agent has been appointed to represent the applicant,
or all of them if more than one, the applicant or, if there is more than one
applicant, the common representative, may indicate, in addition to any other
address given in the request, an address to which notifications shall be sent.

4.5 The Applicant

(a) The request shall indicate:

(i) the name,

(ii) the address, and

(iii) the nationality and residence

of the applicant or, if there are several applicants, of each of them.

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

(d) The request may, for different designated States, indicate different
applicants. In such a case, the request shall indicate the applicant or applicants
for each designated State or group of designated States.

(e) Where the applicant is registered with the national Office that is acting
as receiving Office, the request may indicate the number or other indication
under which the applicant is so registered.

4.6 The Inventor

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

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

(c) The request may, for different designated States, indicate different
persons as inventors where, in this respect, the requirements of the national laws
of the designated States are not the same. In such a case, the request shall
contain a separate statement for each designated State or group of States in
which a particular person, or the same person, is to be considered the inventor,
or in which particular persons, or the same persons, are to be considered the
inventors.

4.7 The Agent

(a) If an agent is appointed, the request shall so indicate, and shall state the
agent’s name and address.

(b) Where the agent is registered with the national Office that is acting as
receiving Office, the request may indicate the number or other indication under
which the agent is so registered.

4.8 Common Representative

If a common representative is appointed, the request shall so indicate.

4.9 Designation of States; Kinds of Protection; National and Regional
Patents

(a) The filing of a request shall constitute:

(i) the designation of all Contracting States that are bound by the Treaty
on the international filing date;

(ii) an indication that the international application is, in respect of each
designated State to which Article 43 or 44 applies, for the grant of every kind of
protection which is available by way of the designation of that State;

(iii) an indication that the international application is, in respect of each
designated State to which Article 45(1) applies, for the grant of a regional patent
and also, unless Article 45(2) applies, a national patent.

1 Editor’s Note: This information is also published on the WIPO website at:
www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/res_incomp.html.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a)(i), if, on October 5, 2005, the national
law of a Contracting State provides that the filing of an international application
which contains the designation of that State and claims the priority of an earlier
national application having effect in that State shall have the result that the
earlier national application ceases to have effect with the same consequences as
the withdrawal of the earlier national application, any request in which the
priority of an earlier national application filed in that State is claimed may
contain an indication that the designation of that State is not made, provided that
the designated Office notifies the International Bureau by January 5, 2006, that
this paragraph shall apply in respect of designations of that State and that the
notification is still in force on the international filing date. The information
received shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in the

Gazette.1

4.10 Priority Claim
(a) Any declaration referred to in Article 8(1) (“priority claim”) may claim
the priority of one or more earlier applications filed either in or for any country
party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or in or
for any Member of the World Trade Organization that is not party to that
Convention. Any priority claim shall be made in the request; it shall consist of
a statement to t

shall indicate:

(i) the date on which the earlier applicatio

(ii) the number of the earlier application;
(iii) where the earlier application is a national application, the country
party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or the
Member of the Wor

which it was filed;
(iv) where the earlier application is a regional application, the authority
entrusted with

patent treaty;
(v) where the earlier application

receiving Office with which it was filed.

) In addition to any indication required under paragraph (a)(iv) or (v):
(i) where the earlier application is a regional application or an

party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property for which
that earlier application was filed;

(ii) where the earlier application is a regional application and at least one
of the countries party to the regional patent treaty is neither party to the Paris
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property nor a Member of the World
Trade Organization, the priority claim shall indicate at least one country party to
that Convention or one Member of that Organization for which that earlier
application was filed.

(d) If, on September 29, 1999, paragraphs (a) and (b) as amended with
effect from January 1, 2000, are not compatible with the national law applied by
a designated Office, those paragraphs as in force until December 31, 1999, shall
continue to apply after that date in respect of that designated Office for as long
as the said paragraphs as amended continue not to be compatible with that law,
provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau accordingly by
October 31, 1999. The information received shall be promptly published by the
International Bureau in the Gazette.

4.11 Reference to Continuation or Continuation-in-Part, or Parent Application
or Grant

(a) If:

(i) the applicant intends to make an indication under Rule 49bis.1(a)
or (b) of the wish that the international application be treated, in any
designated State, as an application for a patent of addition, certificate
of addition, inventor’s certificate of addition or utility certificate of
addition; or

(ii) the applicant intends to make an indication under Rule 49bis.1(d) of
the wish that the international application be treated, in any
designated State, as an application for a continuation or a
continuation-in-part of an earlier application;

the request shall so indicate and shall indicate the relevant parent application or
parent patent or other parent grant.

(b) The inclusion in the request of an indication under paragraph (a) shall
have no effect on the operation of Rule 4.9.

4.12 Taking into Account Results of Earlier Search

If the applicant wishes the International Searching Authority to take into
account, in carrying out the international search, the results of an earlier
international, international-type or national search carried out by the same or

another International Searching Authority or by a national Office (“earlier
search”):

(i) the request shall so indicate and shall specify the Authority or Office
concerned and the application in respect of which the earlier search was carried
out;

(ii) the request may, where applicable, contain a statement to the effect
that the international application is the same, or substantially the same, as the
application in respect of which the earlier search was carried out, or that the
international application is the same, or substantially the same, as that earlier
application except that it is filed in a different language.

4.13 and 4.14 [Deleted]

4.14bis Choice of International Searching Authority

If two or more International Searching Authorities are competent for the
searching of the international application, the applicant shall indicate his choice
of International Searching Authority in the request.

4.15 Signature

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

(b) Where two or more applicants file an international application which
designates a State whose national law requires that national applications be filed
by the inventor and where an applicant for that designated State who is an
inventor refused to sign the request or could not be found or reached after
diligent effort, the request need not be signed by that applicant if it is signed by
at least one applicant and a statement is furnished explaining, to the satisfaction
of the receiving Office, the lack of the signature concerned.

4.16 Transliteration or Translation of Certain Words

(a) Where any name or address is written in characters other than those of
the Latin alphabet, the same shall also be indicated in characters of the Latin
alphabet either as a mere transliteration or through translation into English. The
applicant shall decide which words will be merely transliterated and which
words will be so translated.

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

4.17 Declarations Relating to National Requirements Referred to in
Rule 51bis.1(a)(i) to (v)

The request may, for the purposes of the national law applicable in one or
more designated States, contain one or more of the following declarations,
worded as prescribed by the Administrative Instructions:

(i) a declaration as to the identity of the inventor, as referred to in
Rule 51bis.1(a)(i);

(ii) a declaration as to the applicant’s entitlement, as at the international
filing date, to apply for and be granted a patent, as referred to in
Rule 51bis.1(a)(ii);

(iii) a declaration as to the applicant’s entitlement, as at the international
filing date, to claim priority of the earlier application, as referred to in
Rule 51bis.1(a)(iii);

(iv) a declaration of inventorship, as referred to in Rule 51bis.1(a)(iv),
which shall be signed as prescribed by the Administrative Instructions;

(v) a declaration as to non-prejudicial disclosures or exceptions to lack of
novelty, as referred to in Rule 51bis.1(a)(v).

4.18 Statement of Incorporation by Reference

Where the international application, on the date on which one or more
elements referred to in Article 11(1)(iii) were first received by the receiving
Office, claims the priority of an earlier application, the request may contain a
statement that, where an element of the international application referred to in
Article 11(1)(iii)(d) or (e) or a part of the description, claims or drawings
referred to in Rule 20.5(a) is not otherwise contained in the international
application but is completely contained in the earlier application, that element or
part is, subject to confirmation under Rule 20.6, incorporated by reference in the
international application for the purposes of Rule 20.6. Such a statement, if not
contained in the request on that date, may be added to the request if, and only if,
it was otherwise contained in, or submitted with, the international application on
that date.

4.19 Additional Matter

(a) The request shall contain no matter other than that specified in Rules 4.1
to 4.18, provided that the Administrative Instructions may permit, but cannot
make mandatory, the inclusion in the request of any additional matter specified
in the Administrative Instructions.

(b) If the request contains matter other than that specified in Rules 4.1
to 4.18 or permitted under paragraph (a) by the Administrative Instructions, the
receiving Office shall ex officio delete the additional matter.

Rule 5
The Description

5.1 Manner of the Description

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

(i) specify the technical field to which the invention relates;

(ii) indicate the background art which, as far as known to the applicant,
can be regarded as useful for the understanding, searching and examination of
the invention, and, preferably, cite the documents reflecting such art;

(iii) disclose the invention, as claimed, in such terms that the technical
problem (even if not expressly stated as such) and its solution can be
understood, and state the advantageous effects, if any, of the invention with
reference to the background art;

(iv) briefly describe the figures in the drawings, if any;

(v) set forth at least the best mode contemplated by the applicant for
carrying out the invention claimed; this shall be done in terms of examples,
where appropriate, and with reference to the drawings, if any; where the
national law of the designated State does not require the description of the best
mode but is satisfied with the description of any mode (whether it is the best
contemplated or not), failure to describe the best mode contemplated shall have
no effect in that State;

(vi) indicate explicitly, when it is not obvious from the description or
nature of the invention, the way in which the invention is capable of exploitation
in industry and the way in which it can be made and used, or, if it can only be
used, the way in which it can be used; the term “industry” is to be understood in
its broadest sense as in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property.

(b) The manner and order specified in paragraph (a) shall be followed
except when, because of the nature of the invention, a different manner or a
different order would result in a better understanding and a more economic
presentation.

(c) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), each of the parts referred to
in paragraph (a) shall preferably be preceded by an appropriate heading as
suggested in the Administrative Instructions.

5.2 Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosure

(a) Where the international application contains disclosure of one or more
nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences, the description shall contain a sequence
listing complying with the standard provided for in the Administrative

Instructions and presented as a separate part of the description in accordance
with that standard.

(b) Where the sequence listing part of the description contains any free text
as defined in the standard provided for in the Administrative Instructions, that
free text shall also appear in the main part of the description in the language
thereof.

Rule 6
The Claims

6.1 Number and Numbering of Claims

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

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

6.2 References to Other Parts of the International Application

(a) Claims shall not, except where absolutely necessary, rely, in respect of
the technical features of the invention, on references to the description or
drawings. In particular, they shall not rely on such references as: “as described
in part ... of the description,” or “as illustrated in figure ... of the drawings.”

(b) Where the international application contains drawings, the technical
features mentioned in the claims shall preferably be followed by the reference
signs relating to such features. When used, the reference signs shall preferably
be placed between parentheses. If inclusion of reference signs does not
particularly facilitate quicker understanding of a claim, it should not be made.
Reference signs may be removed by a designated Office for the purposes of
publication by such Office.

6.3 Manner of Claiming

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

(b) Whenever appropriate, claims shall contain:

(i) a statement indicating those technical features of the invention which
are necessary for the definition of the claimed subject matter but which, in
combination, are part of the prior art,

(ii) a characterizing portion – preceded by the words “characterized in
that,” “characterized by,” “wherein the improvement comprises,” or any other

words to the same effect – stating concisely the technical features which, in
combination with the features stated under (i), it is desired to protect.

(c) Where the national law of the designated State does not require the
manner of claiming provided for in paragraph (b), failure to use that manner of
claiming shall have no effect in that State provided the manner of claiming
actually used satisfies the national law of that State.

6.4 Dependent Claims

(a) Any claim which includes all the features of one or more other claims
(claim in dependent form, hereinafter referred to as “dependent claim”) shall do
so by a reference, if possible at the beginning, to the other claim or claims and
shall then state the additional features claimed. Any dependent claim which
refers to more than one other claim (“multiple dependent claim”) shall refer to
such claims in the alternative only. Multiple dependent claims shall not serve as
a basis for any other multiple dependent claim. Where the national law of the
national Office acting as International Searching Authority does not allow
multiple dependent claims to be drafted in a manner different from that provided
for in the preceding two sentences, failure to use that manner of claiming may
result in an indication under Article 17(2)(b) in the international search report.
Failure to use the said manner of claiming shall have no effect in a designated
State if the manner of claiming actually used satisfies the national law of that
State.

(b) Any dependent claim shall be construed as including all the limitations
contained in the claim to which it refers or, if the dependent claim is a multiple
dependent claim, all the limitations contained in the particular claim in relation
to which it is considered.

(c) All dependent claims referring back to a single previous claim, and all
dependent claims referring back to several previous claims, shall be grouped
together to the extent and in the most practical way possible.

6.5 Utility Models

Any designated State in which the grant of a utility model is sought on the
basis of an international application may, instead of Rules 6.1 to 6.4, apply in
respect of the matters regulated in those Rules the provisions of its national law
concerning utility models once the processing of the international application
has started in that State, provided that the applicant shall be allowed at least two
months from the expiration of the time limit applicable under Article 22 to adapt
his application to the requirements of the said provisions of the national law.

Rule 7
The Drawings

7.1 Flow Sheets and Diagrams

Flow sheets and diagrams are considered drawings.

7.2 Time Limit

The time limit referred to in Article 7(2)(ii) shall be reasonable under the
circumstances of the case and shall, in no case, be shorter than two months from
the date of the written invitation requiring the filing of drawings or additional
drawings under the said provision.

Rule 8
The Abstract

8.1 Contents and Form of the Abstract

(a) The abstract shall consist of the following:

(i) a summary of the disclosure as contained in the description, the
claims, and any drawings; the summary shall indicate the technical field to
which the invention pertains and shall be drafted in a way which allows the clear
understanding of the technical problem, the gist of the solution of that problem
through the invention, and the principal use or uses of the invention;

(ii) where applicable, the chemical formula which, among all the
formulae contained in the international application, best characterizes the
invention.

(b) The abstract shall be as concise as the disclosure permits (preferably 50
to 150 words if it is in English or when translated into English).

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

(d) Each main technical feature mentioned in the abstract and illustrated by
a drawing in the international application shall be followed by a reference sign,
placed between parentheses.

8.2 Figure

(a) If the applicant fails to make the indication referred to in Rule 3.3(a)(iii),
or if the International Searching Authority finds that a figure or figures other
than that figure or those figures suggested by the applicant would, among all the
figures of all the drawings, better characterize the invention, it shall, subject to
paragraph (b), indicate the figure or figures which should accompany the
abstract when the latter is published by the International Bureau. In such case,
the abstract shall be accompanied by the figure or figures so indicated by the

International Searching Authority. Otherwise, the abstract shall, subject to
paragraph (b), be accompanied by the figure or figures suggested by the
applicant.

(b) If the International Searching Authority finds that none of the figures of
the drawings is useful for the understanding of the abstract, it shall notify the
International Bureau accordingly. In such case, the abstract, when published by
the International Bureau, shall not be accompanied by any figure of the
drawings even where the applicant has made a suggestion under Rule 3.3(a)(iii).

8.3 Guiding Principles in Drafting

The abstract shall be so drafted that it can efficiently serve as a scanning tool
for purposes of searching in the particular art, especially by assisting the
scientist, engineer or researcher in formulating an opinion on whether there is a
need for consulting the international application itself.

Rule 9
Expressions, Etc., Not to Be Used

9.1 Definition

The international application shall not contain:

(i) expressions or drawings contrary to morality;

(ii) expressions or drawings contrary to public order;

(iii) statements disparaging the products or processes of any particular
person other than the applicant, or the merits or validity of applications or
patents of any such person (mere comparisons with the prior art shall not be
considered disparaging per se);

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

9.2 Noting of Lack of Compliance

The receiving Office and the International Searching Authority may note
lack of compliance with the prescriptions of Rule 9.1 and may suggest to the
applicant that he voluntarily correct his international application accordingly. If
the lack of compliance was noted by the receiving Office, that Office shall
inform the competent International Searching Authority and the International
Bureau; if the lack of compliance was noted by the International Searching
Authority, that Authority shall inform the receiving Office and the International
Bureau.

9.3 Reference to Article 21(6)

“Disparaging statements,” referred to in Article 21(6), shall have the
meaning as defined in Rule 9.1(iii).

Rule 10
Terminology and Signs

10.1 Terminology and Signs

(a) Units of weights and measures shall be expressed in terms of the metric
system, or also expressed in such terms if first expressed in terms of a different
system.

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

(d) For indications of heat, energy, light, sound, and magnetism, as well as
for mathematical formulae and electrical units, the rules of international practice
shall be observed; for chemical formulae, the symbols, atomic weights, and
molecular formulae, in general use, shall be employed.

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

(f) When the international application or its translation is in Chinese,
English or Japanese, the beginning of any decimal fraction shall be marked by a
period, whereas, when the international application or its translation is in a
language other than Chinese, English or Japanese, it shall be marked by a
comma.

10.2 Consistency

The terminology and the signs shall be consistent throughout the
international application.

Rule 11
Physical Requirements of the International Application

11.1 Number of Copies

(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), the international application
and each of the documents referred to in the check list (Rule 3.3(a)(ii)) shall be
filed in one copy.

(b) Any receiving Office may require that the international application and
any of the documents referred to in the check list (Rule 3.3(a)(ii)), except the
receipt for the fees paid or the check for the payment of the fees, be filed in two
or three copies. In that case, the receiving Office shall be responsible for
verifying the identity of the second and the third copies with the record copy.

11.2 Fitness for Reproduction

(a) All elements of the international application (i.e., the request, the
description, the claims, the drawings, and the abstract) shall be so presented as
to admit of direct reproduction by photography, electrostatic processes, photo
offset, and microfilming, in any number of copies.

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

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

11.3 Material to Be Used

All elements of the international application shall be on paper which shall be
flexible, strong, white, smooth, non-shiny, and durable.

11.4 Separate Sheets, Etc.

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

(b) All sheets of the international application shall be so connected that they
can be easily turned when consulted, and easily separated and joined again if
they have been separated for reproduction purposes.

11.5 Size of Sheets

The size of the sheets shall be A4 (29.7 cm x 21 cm). However, any
receiving Office may accept international applications on sheets of other sizes
provided that the record copy, as transmitted to the International Bureau, and, if
the competent International Searching Authority so desires, the search copy,
shall be of A4 size.

11.6 Margins

(a) The minimum margins of the sheets containing the description, the
claims, and the abstract, shall be as follows:

– top: 2 cm
– left side: 2.5 cm
– right side: 2 cm
– bottom: 2 cm.

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

– top: 4 cm
– left side: 4 cm

– right side: 3 cm
– bottom: 3 cm.

(c) On sheets containing drawings, the surface usable shall not exceed
26.2 cm x 17.0 cm. The sheets shall not contain frames around the usable or
used surface. The minimum margins shall be as follows:

– top: 2.5 cm
– left side: 2.5 cm
– right side: 1.5 cm
– bottom: 1 cm.

(d) The margins referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c) apply to A4-size sheets,
so that, even if the receiving Office accepts other sizes, the A4-size record copy
and, when so required, the A4-size search copy shall leave the aforesaid
margins.

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

(f) The top margin may contain in the left-hand corner an indication of the
applicant’s file reference, provided that the reference appears within 1.5 cm
from the top of the sheet. The number of characters in the applicant’s file
reference shall not exceed the maximum fixed by the Administrative
Instructions.

11.7 Numbering of Sheets

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

(b) The numbers shall be centered at the top or bottom of the sheet, but
shall not be placed in the margin.

11.8 Numbering of Lines

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

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

11.9 Writing of Text Matter

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

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

(d) All text matter shall be in characters the capital letters of which are not
less than 0.28 cm high, and shall be in a dark, indelible color, satisfying the
requirements specified in Rule 11.2, provided that any text matter in the request
may be in characters the capital letters of which are not less than 0.21 cm high.

(e) As far as the spacing of the typing and the size of the characters are
concerned, paragraphs (c) and (d) shall not apply to texts in the Chinese or
Japanese language.

11.10 Drawings, Formulae, and Tables, in Text Matter

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

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

(c) The description and the abstract may contain tables; any claim may
contain tables only if the subject matter of the claim makes the use of tables
desirable.

(d) Tables and chemical or mathematical formulae may be placed sideways
on the sheet if they cannot be presented satisfactorily in an upright position
thereon; sheets on which tables or chemical or mathematical formulae are
presented sideways shall be so presented that the tops of the tables or formulae
are at the left side of the sheet.

11.11 Words in Drawings

(a) The drawings shall not contain text matter, except a single word or
words, when absolutely indispensable, such as “water,” “steam,” “open,”
“closed,” “section on AB,” and, in the case of electric circuits and block
schematic or flow sheet diagrams, a few short catchwords indispensable for
understanding.

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

11.12 Alterations, Etc.

Each sheet shall be reasonably free from erasures and shall be free from
alterations, overwritings, and interlineations. Non-compliance with this Rule
may be authorized if the authenticity of the content is not in question and the
requirements for good reproduction are not in jeopardy.

11.13 Special Requirements for Drawings

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

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

(c) The scale of the drawings and the distinctness of their graphical
execution shall be such that a photographic reproduction with a linear reduction
in size to two-thirds would enable all details to be distinguished without
difficulty.

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

(e) All numbers, letters and reference lines, appearing on the drawings,
shall be simple and clear. Brackets, circles or inverted commas shall not be used
in association with numbers and letters.

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

(g) Each element of each figure shall be in proper proportion to each of the
other elements in the figure, except where the use of a different proportion is
indispensable for the clarity of the figure.

(h) The height of the numbers and letters shall not be less than 0.32 cm.
For the lettering of drawings, the Latin and, where customary, the Greek
alphabets shall be used.

(i) The same sheet of drawings may contain several figures. Where figures
on two or more sheets form in effect a single complete figure, the figures on the
several sheets shall be so arranged that the complete figure can be assembled
without concealing any part of any of the figures appearing on the various
sheets.

(j) The different figures shall be arranged on a sheet or sheets without
wasting space, preferably in an upright position, clearly separated from one
another. Where the figures are not arranged in an upright position, they shall be
presented sideways with the top of the figures at the left side of the sheet.

(k) The different figures shall be numbered in Arabic numerals
consecutively and independently of the numbering of the sheets.

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

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

(n) If the drawings contain a large number of reference signs, it is strongly
recommended to attach a separate sheet listing all reference signs and the
features denoted by them.

11.14 Later Documents

Rules 10, and 11.1 to 11.13, also apply to any document – for example,
replacement sheets, amended claims, translations – submitted after the filing of
the international application.

Rule 12
Language of the International Application
and Translations for the Purposes of International Search
and International Publication

12.1 Languages Accepted for the Filing of International Applications

(a) An international application shall be filed in any language which the
receiving Office accepts for that purpose.

(b) Each receiving Office shall, for the filing of international applications,
accept at least one language which is both:

(i) a language accepted by the International Searching Authority, or, if
applicable, by at least one of the International Searching Authorities, competent
for the international searching of international applications filed with that
receiving Office, and

(ii) a language of publication.

(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the request shall be filed in any language
of publication which the receiving Office accepts for the purposes of this
paragraph.

(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), any text matter contained in the
sequence listing part of the description referred to in Rule 5.2(a) shall be
presented in accordance with the standard provided for in the Administrative
Instructions.

12.1bis Language of Elements and Parts Furnished under Rule 20.3, 20.5
or 20.6

An element referred to in Article 11(1)(iii)(d) or (e) furnished by the
applicant under Rule 20.3(b) or 20.6(a) and a part of the description, claims or
drawings furnished by the applicant under Rule 20.5(b) or 20.6(a) shall be in the
language of the international application as filed or, where a translation of the
application is required under Rule 12.3(a) or 12.4(a), in both the language of the
application as filed and the language of that translation.

12.1ter Language of Indications Furnished under Rule 13bis.4

Any indication in relation to deposited biological material furnished under
Rule 13bis.4 shall be in the language in which the international application is
filed, provided that, where a translation of the international application is

required under Rule 12.3(a) or 12.4(a), any such indication shall be furnished in
both the language in which the application is filed and the language of that
translation.

12.2 Language of Changes in the International Application

(a) Any amendment of the international application shall, subject to
Rules 46.3, 55.3 and 66.9, be in the language in which the application is filed.

(b) Any rectification under Rule 91.1 of an obvious mistake in the
international application shall be in the language in which the application is
filed, provided that:

(i) where a translation of the international application is required under
Rule 12.3(a), 12.4(a) or 55.2(a), rectifications referred to in Rule 91.1(b)(ii)
and (iii) shall be filed in both the language of the application and the language of
that translation;

(ii) where a translation of the request is required under Rule 26.3ter(c),
rectifications referred to in Rule 91.1(b)(i) need only be filed in the language of
that translation.

(c) Any correction under Rule 26 of a defect in the international application
shall be in the language in which the international application is filed. Any
correction under Rule 26 of a defect in a translation of the international
application furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4, any correction under Rule 55.2(c)
of a defect in a translation furnished under Rule 55.2(a), or any correction of a
defect in a translation of the request furnished under Rule 26.3ter(c), shall be in
the language of the translation.

12.3 Translation for the Purposes of International Search

(a) Where the language in which the international application is filed is not
accepted by the International Searching Authority that is to carry out the
international search, the applicant shall, within one month from the date of
receipt of the international application by the receiving Office, furnish to that
Office a translation of the international application into a language which is all
of the following:

(i) a language accepted by that Authority, and

(ii) a language of publication, and

(iii) a language accepted by the receiving Office under Rule 12.1(a),
unless the international application is filed in a language of publication.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to the request nor to any sequence listing
part of the description.

(c) Where, by the time the receiving Office sends to the applicant the
notification under Rule 20.2(c), the applicant has not furnished a translation
required under paragraph (a), the receiving Office shall, preferably together with
that notification, invite the applicant:

(i) to furnish the required translation within the time limit under
paragraph (a);

(ii) in the event that the required translation is not furnished within the
time limit under paragraph (a), to furnish it and to pay, where applicable, the late
furnishing fee referred to in paragraph (e), within one month from the date of the
invitation or two months from the date of receipt of the international application
by the receiving Office, whichever expires later.

(d) Where the receiving Office has sent to the applicant an invitation under
paragraph (c) and the applicant has not, within the applicable time limit under
paragraph (c)(ii), furnished the required translation and paid any required late
furnishing fee, the international application shall be considered withdrawn and
the receiving Office shall so declare. Any translation and any payment received
by the receiving Office before that Office makes the declaration under the
previous sentence and before the expiration of 15 months from the priority date
shall be considered to have been received before the expiration of that time
limit.

(e) The furnishing of a translation after the expiration of the time limit
under paragraph (a) may be subjected by the receiving Office to the payment to
it, for its own benefit, of a late furnishing fee equal to 25% of the international
filing fee referred to in item 1 of the Schedule of Fees, not taking into account
any fee for each sheet of the international application in excess of 30 sheets.

12.4 Translation for the Purposes of International Publication

(a) Where the language in which the international application is filed is not
a language of publication and no translation is required under Rule 12.3(a), the
applicant shall, within 14 months from the priority date, furnish to the receiving
Office a translation of the international application into any language of
publication which the receiving Office accepts for the purposes of this
paragraph.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to the request nor to any sequence listing
part of the description.

(c) Where the applicant has not, within the time limit referred to in
paragraph (a), furnished a translation required under that paragraph, the
receiving Office shall invite the applicant to furnish the required translation, and
to pay, where applicable, the late furnishing fee required under paragraph (e),
within 16 months from the priority date. Any translation received by the

receiving Office before that Office sends the invitation under the previous
sentence shall be considered to have been received before the expiration of the
time limit under paragraph (a).

(d) Where the applicant has not, within the time limit under paragraph (c),
furnished the required translation and paid any required late furnishing fee, the
international application shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office
shall so declare. Any translation and any payment received by the receiving
Office before that Office makes the declaration under the previous sentence and
before the expiration of 17 months from the priority date shall be considered to
have been received before the expiration of that time limit.

Rule 12bis
Copy of Results of Earlier Search
and of Earlier Application; Translation

12bis.1 Copy of Results of Earlier Search and of Earlier Application;
Translation

(a) Where the applicant has, under Rule 4.12, requested the International
Searching Authority to take into account the results of an earlier search carried
out by the same or another International Searching Authority or by a national
Office, the applicant shall, subject to paragraphs (c) to (f), submit to the
receiving Office, together with the international application, a copy of the results
of the earlier search, in whatever form (for example, in the form of a search
report, a listing of cited prior art or an examination report) they are presented by
the Authority or Office concerned.

(b) The International Searching Authority may, subject to paragraphs (c)
to (f), invite the applicant to furnish to it, within a time limit which shall be
reasonable under the circumstances:

(i) a copy of the earlier application concerned;

(ii) where the earlier application is in a language which is not accepted by
the International Searching Authority, a translation of the earlier application into
a language which is accepted by that Authority;

(iii) where the results of the earlier search are in a language which is not
accepted by the International Searching Authority, a translation of those results
into a language which is accepted by that Authority;

(iv) a copy of any document cited in the results of the earlier search.

(c) Where the earlier search was carried out by the same Office as that
which is acting as the receiving Office, the applicant may, instead of submitting
the copies referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b)(i) and (iv), indicate the wish that
the receiving Office prepare and transmit them to the International Searching
Authority. Such request shall be made in the request and may be subjected by
the receiving Office to the payment to it, for its own benefit, of a fee.

(d) Where the earlier search was carried out by the same International
Searching Authority, or by the same Office as that which is acting as the
International Searching Authority, no copy or translation referred to in
paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be required to be submitted under those paragraphs.

(e) Where the request contains a statement under Rule 4.12(ii) to the effect
that the international application is the same, or substantially the same, as the
application in respect of which the earlier search was carried out, or that the
international application is the same, or substantially the same, as that earlier
application except that it is filed in a different language, no copy or translation
referred to in paragraphs (b)(i) and (ii) shall be required to be submitted under
those paragraphs.

(f) Where a copy or translation referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) is
available to the International Searching Authority in a form and manner
acceptable to it, for example, from a digital library or in the form of the priority
document, and the applicant so indicates in the request, no copy or translation
shall be required to be submitted under those paragraphs.

Rule 13
Unity of Invention

13.1 Requirement

The international application shall relate to one invention only or to a group
of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept
(“requirement of unity of invention”).

13.2 Circumstances in Which the Requirement of Unity of Invention Is to Be
Considered Fulfilled

Where a group of inventions is claimed in one and the same international
application, the requirement of unity of invention referred to in Rule 13.1 shall
be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship among those inventions
involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features.
The expression “special technical features” shall mean those technical features
that define a contribution which each of the claimed inventions, considered as a
whole, makes over the prior art.

13.3 Determination of Unity of Invention Not Affected by Manner of Claiming

The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a
single general inventive concept shall be made without regard to whether the
inventions are claimed in separate claims or as alternatives within a single claim.

13.4 Dependent Claims

Subject to Rule 13.1, it shall be permitted to include in the same
international application a reasonable number of dependent claims, claiming
specific forms of the invention claimed in an independent claim, even where the
features of any dependent claim could be considered as constituting in
themselves an invention.

13.5 Utility Models

Any designated State in which the grant of a utility model is sought on the
basis of an international application may, instead of Rules 13.1 to 13.4, apply in
respect of the matters regulated in those Rules the provisions of its national law
concerning utility models once the processing of the international application
has started in that State, provided that the applicant shall be allowed at least two
months from the expiration of the time limit applicable under Article 22 to adapt
his application to the requirements of the said provisions of the national law.

Rule 13bis
Inventions Relating to Biological Material

13bis.1 Definition

For the purposes of this Rule, “reference to deposited biological material”
means particulars given in an international application with respect to the
deposit of biological material with a depositary institution or to the biological
material so deposited.

13bis.2 References (General)

Any reference to deposited biological material shall be made in accordance
with this Rule and, if so made, shall be considered as satisfying the requirements
of the national law of each designated State.

13bis.3 References: Contents; Failure to Include Reference or Indication

(a) A reference to deposited biological material shall indicate:

(i) the name and the address of the depositary institution with which the
deposit was made;

(ii) the date of deposit of the biological material with that institution;

(iii) the accession number given to the deposit by that institution; and

(iv) any additional matter of which the International Bureau has been
notified pursuant to Rule 13bis.7(a)(i), provided that the requirement to indicate
that matter was published in the Gazette in accordance with Rule 13bis.7(c) at
least two months before the filing of the international application.

(b) Failure to include a reference to deposited biological material or failure
to include, in a reference to deposited biological material, an indication in
accordance with paragraph (a), shall have no consequence in any designated
State whose national law does not require such reference or such indication in a
national application.

13bis.4 References: Time Limit for Furnishing Indications

(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), if any of the indications referred to in
Rule 13bis.3(a) is not included in a reference to deposited biological material in
the international application as filed but is furnished to the International Bureau:

(i) within 16 months from the priority date, the indication shall be
considered by any designated Office to have been furnished in time;

(ii) after the expiration of 16 months from the priority date, the indication
shall be considered by any designated Office to have been furnished on the last
day of that time limit if it reaches the International Bureau before the technical
preparations for international publication have been completed.

(b) If the national law applicable by a designated Office so requires in
respect of national applications, that Office may require that any of the
indications referred to in Rule 13bis.3(a) be furnished earlier than 16 months
from the priority date, provided that the International Bureau has been notified
of such requirement pursuant to Rule 13bis.7(a)(ii) and has published such
requirement in the Gazette in accordance with Rule 13bis.7(c) at least two
months before the filing of the international application.

(c) Where the applicant makes a request for early publication under
Article 21(2)(b), any designated Office may consider any indication not
furnished before the technical preparations for international publication have
been completed as not having been furnished in time.

(d) The International Bureau shall notify the applicant of the date on which
it received any indication furnished under paragraph (a), and:

(i) if the indication was received before the technical preparations for
international publication have been completed, publish the indication furnished
under paragraph (a), and an indication of the date of receipt, together with the
international application;

(ii) if the indication was received after the technical preparations for
international publication have been completed, notify that date and the relevant
data from the indication to the designated Offices.

13bis.5 References and Indications for the Purposes of One or More
Designated States; Different Deposits for Different Designated States;
Deposits with Depositary Institutions Other than Those Notified

(a) A reference to deposited biological material shall be considered to be
made for the purposes of all designated States, unless it is expressly made for
the purposes of certain of the designated States only; the same applies to the
indications included in the reference.

(b) References to different deposits of the biological material may be made
for different designated States.

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

13bis.6 Furnishing of Samples

Pursuant to Articles 23 and 40, no furnishing of samples of the deposited
biological material to which a reference is made in an international application
shall, except with the authorization of the applicant, take place before the
expiration of the applicable time limits after which national processing may start
under the said Articles. However, where the applicant performs the acts referred
to in Articles 22 or 39 after international publication but before the expiration of
the said time limits, the furnishing of samples of the deposited biological
material may take place, once the said acts have been performed.
Notwithstanding the previous provision, the furnishing of samples of the
deposited biological material may take place under the national law applicable
by any designated Office as soon as, under that law, the international publication
has the effects of the compulsory national publication of an unexamined national
application.

13bis.7 National Requirements: Notification and Publication

(a) Any national Office may notify the International Bureau of any
requirement of the national law:

(i) that any matter specified in the notification, in addition to those
referred to in Rule 13bis.3(a)(i), (ii) and (iii), is required to be included in a
reference to deposited biological material in a national application;

(ii) that one or more of the indications referred to in Rule 13bis.3(a) are
required to be included in a national application as filed or are required to be
furnished at a time specified in the notification which is earlier than 16 months
from the priority date.

(b) Each national Office shall notify the International Bureau of the
depositary institutions with which the national law permits deposits of biological
materials to be made for the purposes of patent procedure before that Office or,
if the national law does not provide for or permit such deposits, of that fact.

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

Rule 13ter
Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listings

13ter.1 Procedure before the International Searching Authority

(a) Where the international application contains disclosure of one or more
nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences, the International Searching Authority
may invite the applicant to furnish to it, for the purposes of the international
search, a sequence listing in electronic form complying with the standard
provided for in the Administrative Instructions, unless such listing in electronic
form is already available to it in a form and manner acceptable to it, and to pay
to it, where applicable, the late furnishing fee referred to in paragraph (c), within
a time limit fixed in the invitation.

(b) Where at least part of the international application is filed on paper and
the International Searching Authority finds that the description does not comply
with Rule 5.2(a), it may invite the applicant to furnish, for the purposes of the
international search, a sequence listing in paper form complying with the
standard provided for in the Administrative Instructions, unless such listing in
paper form is already available to it in a form and manner acceptable to it,
whether or not the furnishing of a sequence listing in electronic form is invited
under paragraph (a), and to pay, where applicable, the late furnishing fee
referred to in paragraph (c), within a time limit fixed in the invitation.

(c) The furnishing of a sequence listing in response to an invitation under
paragraph (a) or (b) may be subjected by the International Searching Authority
to the payment to it, for its own benefit, of a late furnishing fee whose amount
shall be determined by the International Searching Authority but shall not
exceed 25% of the international filing fee referred to in item 1 of the Schedule
of Fees, not taking into account any fee for each sheet of the international
application in excess of 30 sheets, provided that a late furnishing fee may be
required under either paragraph (a) or (b) but not both.

(d) If the applicant does not, within the time limit fixed in the invitation
under paragraph (a) or (b), furnish the required sequence listing and pay any
required late furnishing fee, the International Searching Authority shall only be

required to search the international application to the extent that a meaningful
search can be carried out without the sequence listing.

(e) Any sequence listing not contained in the international application as
filed, whether furnished in response to an invitation under paragraph (a) or (b) or
otherwise, shall not form part of the international application, but this paragraph
shall not prevent the applicant from amending the description in relation to a
sequence listing pursuant to Article 34(2)(b).

(f) Where the International Searching Authority finds that the description
does not comply with Rule 5.2(b), it shall invite the applicant to submit the
required correction. Rule 26.4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to any correction
offered by the applicant. The International Searching Authority shall transmit
the correction to the receiving Office and to the International Bureau.

13ter.2 Procedure before the International Preliminary Examining Authority

Rule 13ter.1 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the procedure before the
International Preliminary Examining Authority.

13ter.3 Sequence Listing for Designated Office

No designated Office shall require the applicant to furnish to it a sequence
listing other than a sequence listing complying with the standard provided for in
the Administrative Instructions.

Rule 14
The Transmittal Fee

14.1 The Transmittal Fee

(a) Any receiving Office may require that the applicant pay a fee to it, for
its own benefit, for receiving the international application, transmitting copies to
the International Bureau and the competent International Searching Authority,
and performing all the other tasks which it must perform in connection with the
international application in its capacity of receiving Office (“transmittal fee”).

(b) The amount of the transmittal fee, if any, shall be fixed by the receiving
Office.

(c) The transmittal fee shall be paid within one month from the date of
receipt of the international application. The amount payable shall be the amount
applicable on that date of receipt.

Rule 15
The International Filing Fee

15.1 The International Filing Fee

Each international application shall be subject to the payment of a fee for the
benefit of the International Bureau (“international filing fee”) to be collected by
the receiving Office.

15.2 Amount

(a) The amount of the international filing fee is as set out in the Schedule of
Fees.

(b) The international filing fee shall be payable in the currency or one of the
currencies prescribed by the receiving Office (“prescribed currency”).

(c) Where the prescribed currency is the Swiss franc, the receiving Office
shall promptly transfer the said fee to the International Bureau in Swiss francs.

(d) Where the prescribed currency is a currency other than the Swiss franc
and that currency:

(i) is freely convertible into Swiss francs, the Director General shall
establish, for each receiving Office which prescribes such a currency for the
payment of the international filing fee, an equivalent amount of that fee in the
prescribed currency according to directives given by the Assembly, and the
amount in that currency shall promptly be transferred by the receiving Office to
the International Bureau;

(ii) is not freely convertible into Swiss francs, the receiving Office shall
be responsible for the conversion of the international filing fee from the
prescribed currency into Swiss francs and shall promptly transfer that fee in
Swiss francs, in the amount set out in the Schedule of Fees, to the International
Bureau. Alternatively, if the receiving Office so wishes, it may convert the
international filing fee from the prescribed currency into euros or US dollars and
promptly transfer the equivalent amount of that fee in euros or US dollars, as
established by the Director General according to directives given by the
Assembly as referred to in item (i), to the International Bureau.

15.3 Time Limit for Payment; Amount Payable

The international filing fee shall be paid to the receiving Office within one
month from the date of receipt of the international application. The amount
payable shall be the amount applicable on that date of receipt.

15.4 Refund

The receiving Office shall refund the international filing fee to the applicant:

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

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

(iii) if, due to prescriptions concerning national security, the international
application is not treated as such.

Rule 16
The Search Fee

16.1 Right to Ask for a Fee

(a) Each International Searching Authority may require that the applicant
pay a fee (“search fee”) for its own benefit for carrying out the international
search and for performing all other tasks entrusted to International Searching
Authorities by the Treaty and these Regulations.

(b) The search fee shall be collected by the receiving Office. The said fee
shall be payable in the currency prescribed by that Office (“prescribed
currency”).

(c) Where the prescribed currency is the currency in which the International
Searching Authority has fixed the said fee (“fixed currency”), the receiving
Office shall promptly transfer the said fee to that Authority in that currency.

(d) Where the prescribed currency is not the fixed currency and that
currency:

(i) is freely convertible into the fixed currency, the Director General
shall establish, for each receiving Office which prescribes such a currency for
the payment of the search fee, an equivalent amount of that fee in the prescribed
currency according to directives given by the Assembly, and the amount in that
currency shall promptly be transferred by the receiving Office to the
International Searching Authority;

(ii) is not freely convertible into the fixed currency, the receiving Office
shall be responsible for the conversion of the search fee from the prescribed
currency into the fixed currency and shall promptly transfer that fee in the fixed
currency, in the amount fixed by the International Searching Authority, to the
International Searching Authority.

(e) Where, in respect of the payment of the search fee in a prescribed
currency, other than the fixed currency, the amount actually received under
paragraph (d)(i) of this Rule by the International Searching Authority in the
prescribed currency is, when converted by it into the fixed currency, less than
that fixed by it, the difference will be paid to the International Searching
Authority by the International Bureau, whereas, if the amount actually received
is more, the difference will belong to the International Bureau.

(f) As to the time limit for payment of the search fee and the amount
payable, the provisions of Rule 15.3 relating to the international filing fee shall
apply mutatis mutandis.

16.2 Refund

The receiving Office shall refund the search fee to the applicant:

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

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

(iii) if, due to prescriptions concerning national security, the international
application is not treated as such.

16.3 Partial Refund

Where the International Searching Authority takes into account, under
Rule 41.1, the results of an earlier search in carrying out the international search,
that Authority shall refund the search fee paid in connection with the
international application to the extent and under the conditions provided for in
the agreement under Article 16(3)(b).

Rule 16bis
Extension of Time Limits for Payment of Fees

16bis.1 Invitation by the Receiving Office

(a) Where, by the time they are due under Rules 14.1(c), 15.3 and 16.1(f),
the receiving Office finds that no fees were paid to it, or that the amount paid to
it is insufficient to cover the transmittal fee, the international filing fee and the
search fee, the receiving Office shall, subject to paragraph (d), invite the
applicant to pay to it the amount required to cover those fees, together with,
where applicable, the late payment fee under Rule 16bis.2, within a time limit of
one month from the date of the invitation.

(b) [Deleted]

(c) Where the receiving Office has sent to the applicant an invitation under
paragraph (a) and the applicant has not, within the time limit referred to in that
paragraph, paid in full the amount due, including, where applicable, the late
payment fee under Rule 16bis.2, the receiving Office shall, subject to
paragraph (e):

(i) make the applicable declaration under Article 14(3), and

(ii) proceed as provided in Rule 29.

(d) Any payment received by the receiving Office before that Office sends
the invitation under paragraph (a) shall be considered to have been received
before the expiration of the time limit under Rule 14.1(c), 15.3 or 16.1(f), as the
case may be.

(e) Any payment received by the receiving Office before that Office makes
the applicable declaration under Article 14(3) shall be considered to have been
received before the expiration of the time limit referred to in paragraph (a).

16bis.2 Late Payment Fee

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

(i) 50% of the amount of unpaid fees which is specified in the invitation,
or,

(ii) if the amount calculated under item (i) is less than the transmittal fee,
an amount equal to the transmittal fee.

(b) The amount of the late payment fee shall not, however, exceed the
amount of 50% of the international filing fee referred to in item 1 of the
Schedule of Fees, not taking into account any fee for each sheet of the
international application in excess of 30 sheets.

Rule 17
The Priority Document

17.1 Obligation to Submit Copy of Earlier National or International
Application

(a) Where the priority of an earlier national or international application is
claimed under Article 8, a copy of that earlier application, certified by the
authority with which it was filed (“the priority document”), shall, unless that
priority document has already been filed with the receiving Office together with
the international application in which the priority claim is made, and subject to
paragraphs (b) and (b-bis), be submitted by the applicant to the International
Bureau or to the receiving Office not later than 16 months after the priority date,
provided that any copy of the said earlier application which is received by the
International Bureau after the expiration of that time limit shall be considered to
have been received by that Bureau on the last day of that time limit if it reaches
it before the date of international publication of the international application.

(b) Where the priority document is issued by the receiving Office, the
applicant may, instead of submitting the priority document, request the receiving
Office to prepare and transmit the priority document to the International Bureau.

Such request shall be made not later than 16 months after the priority date and
may be subjected by the receiving Office to the payment of a fee.

(b-bis) Where the priority document is, in accordance with the
Administrative Instructions, available to the receiving Office or to the
International Bureau from a digital library, the applicant may, as the case may
be, instead of submitting the priority document:

(i) request the receiving Office to obtain the priority document from such
digital library and transmit it to the International Bureau; or

(ii) request the International Bureau to obtain the priority document from
such digital library.

Such request shall be made not later than 16 months after the priority date and
may be subjected by the receiving Office or the International Bureau to the
payment of a fee.

(c) If the requirements of none of the three preceding paragraphs are
complied with, any designated Office may, subject to paragraph (d), disregard
the priority claim, provided that no designated Office shall disregard the priority
claim before giving the applicant an opportunity to furnish the priority document
within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances.

(d) No designated Office shall disregard the priority claim under
paragraph (c) if the earlier application referred to in paragraph (a) was filed with
it in its capacity as national Office or if the priority document is, in accordance
with the Administrative Instructions, available to it from a digital library.

17.2 Availability of Copies

(a) Where the applicant has complied with Rule 17.1(a), (b) or (b-bis), the
International Bureau shall, at the specific request of the designated Office,
promptly but not prior to the international publication of the international
application, furnish a copy of the priority document to that Office. No such
Office shall ask the applicant himself to furnish it with a copy. The applicant
shall not be required to furnish a translation to the designated Office before the
expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 22. Where the applicant
makes an express request to the designated Office under Article 23(2) prior to
the international publication of the international application, the International
Bureau shall, at the specific request of the designated Office, furnish a copy of
the priority document to that Office promptly after receiving it.

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

(c) Where the international application has been published under Article 21,
the International Bureau shall furnish a copy of the priority document to any
person upon request and subject to reimbursement of the cost unless, prior to
that publication:

(i) the international application was withdrawn,

(ii) the relevant priority claim was withdrawn or considered, under
Rule 26bis.2(b), not to have been made.

Rule 18
The Applicant

18.1 Residence and Nationality

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

(b) In any case,

(i) possession of a real and effective industrial or commercial
establishment in a Contracting State shall be considered residence in that State,
and

(ii) a legal entity constituted according to the national law of a
Contracting State shall be considered a national of that State.

(c) Where the international application is filed with the International Bureau
as receiving Office, the International Bureau shall, in the circumstances
specified in the Administrative Instructions, request the national Office of, or
acting for, the Contracting State concerned to decide the question referred to in
paragraph (a). The International Bureau shall inform the applicant of any such
request. The applicant shall have an opportunity to submit arguments directly to
the national Office. The national Office shall decide the said question promptly.

18.2 [Deleted]

18.3 Two or More Applicants

If there are two or more applicants, the right to file an international
application shall exist if at least one of them is entitled to file an international
application according to Article 9.

18.4 Information on Requirements under National Law as to Applicants

(a) and (b) [Deleted]

(c) The International Bureau shall, from time to time, publish information
on the various national laws in respect of the question who is qualified (inventor,

successor in title of the inventor, owner of the invention, or other) to file a
national application and shall accompany such information by a warning that the
effect of the international application in any designated State may depend on
whether the person designated in the international application as applicant for
the purposes of that State is a person who, under the national law of that State, is
qualified to file a national application.

Rule 19
The Competent Receiving Office

19.1 Where to File

(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), the international application
shall be filed, at the option of the applicant,

(i) with the national Office of or acting for the Contracting State of
which the applicant is a resident,

(ii) with the national Office of or acting for the Contracting State of
which the applicant is a national, or

(iii) irrespective of the Contracting State of which the applicant is a
resident or national, with the International Bureau.

(b) Any Contracting State may agree with another Contracting State or any
intergovernmental organization that the national Office of the latter State or the
intergovernmental organization shall, for all or some purposes, act instead of the
national Office of the former State as receiving Office for applicants who are
residents or nationals of that former State. Notwithstanding such agreement, the
national Office of the former State shall be considered the competent receiving
Office for the purposes of Article 15(5).

(c) In connection with any decision made under Article 9(2), the Assembly
shall appoint the national Office or the intergovernmental organization which
will act as receiving Office for applications of residents or nationals of States
specified by the Assembly. Such appointment shall require the previous consent
of the said national Office or intergovernmental organization.

19.2 Two or More Applicants

If there are two or more applicants:

(i) the requirements of Rule 19.1 shall be considered to be met if the
national Office with which the international application is filed is the national
Office of or acting for a Contracting State of which at least one of the applicants
is a resident or national;

(ii) the international application may be filed with the International
Bureau under Rule 19.1(a)(iii) if at least one of the applicants is a resident or
national of a Contracting State.

19.3 Publication of Fact of Delegation of Duties of Receiving Office

(a) Any agreement referred to in Rule 19.1(b) shall be promptly notified to
the International Bureau by the Contracting State which delegates the duties of
the receiving Office to the national Office of or acting for another Contracting
State or an intergovernmental organization.

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

19.4 Transmittal to the International Bureau as Receiving Office

(a) Where an international application is filed with a national Office which
acts as a receiving Office under the Treaty but

(i) that national Office is not competent under Rule 19.1 or 19.2 to
receive that international application, or

(ii) that international application is not in a language accepted under
Rule 12.1(a) by that national Office but is in a language accepted
under that Rule by the International Bureau as receiving Office, or

(iii) that national Office and the International Bureau agree, for any reason
other than those specified under items (i) and (ii), and with the
authorization of the applicant, that the procedure under this Rule
should apply,

that international application shall, subject to paragraph (b), be considered to
have been received by that Office on behalf of the International Bureau as
receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii).

(b) Where, pursuant to paragraph (a), an international application is
received by a national Office on behalf of the International Bureau as receiving
Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii), that national Office shall, unless prescriptions
concerning national security prevent the international application from being so
transmitted, promptly transmit it to the International Bureau. Such transmittal
may be subjected by the national Office to the payment of a fee, for its own
benefit, equal to the transmittal fee charged by that Office under Rule 14. The
international application so transmitted shall be considered to have been
received by the International Bureau as receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii)
on the date of receipt of the international application by that national Office.

(c) For the purposes of Rules 14.1(c), 15.3 and 16.1(f), where the
international application was transmitted to the International Bureau under
paragraph (b), the date of receipt of the international application shall be

2 Editor’s Note: This information is also published on the WIPO website at:
www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/res_incomp.html.

considered to be the date on which the international application was actually
received by the International Bureau. For the purposes of this paragraph, the
last sentence of paragraph (b) shall not apply.

Rule 20
International Filing Date

20.1 Determination under Article 11(1)

(a) Promptly after receipt of the papers purporting to be an international
application, the receiving Office shall determine whether the papers fulfill the
requirements of Article 11(1).

(b) For the purposes of Article 11(1)(iii)(c), it shall be sufficient to indicate
the name of the applicant in a way which allows the identity of the applicant to
be established even if the name is misspelled, the given names are not fully
indicated, or, in the case of legal entities, the indication of the name is
abbreviated or incomplete.

(c) For the purposes of Article 11(1)(ii), it shall be sufficient that the part
which appears to be a description (other than any sequence listing part thereof)
and the part which appears to be a claim or claims be in a language accepted by
the receiving Office under Rule 12.1(a).

(d) If, on October 1, 1997, paragraph (c) is not compatible with the national
law applied by the receiving Office, paragraph (c) shall not apply to that
receiving Office for as long as it continues not to be compatible with that law,
provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau accordingly by
December 31, 1997. The information received shall be promptly published by
the International Bureau in the Gazette.2

20.2 Positive Determination under Article 11(1)

(a) If the receiving Office determines that, at the time of receipt of the
papers purporting to be an international application, the requirements of
Article 11(1) were fulfilled, the receiving Office shall accord as the international
filing date the date of receipt of the international application.

(b) The receiving Office shall stamp the request of the international
application which it has accorded an international filing date as prescribed by
the Administrative Instructions. The copy whose request has been so stamped
shall be the record copy of the international application.

(c) The receiving Office shall promptly notify the applicant of the
international application number and the international filing date. At the same
time, it shall send to the International Bureau a copy of the notification sent to
the applicant, except where it has already sent, or is sending at the same time,
the record copy to the International Bureau under Rule 22.1(a).

20.3 Defects under Article 11(1)

(a) Where, in determining whether the papers purporting to be an
international application fulfill the requirements of Article 11(1), the receiving
Office finds that any of the requirements of Article 11(1) are not, or appear not
to be, fulfilled, it shall promptly invite the applicant, at the applicant’s option:

(i) to furnish the required correction under Article 11(2); or

(ii) where the requirements concerned are those relating to an element
referred to in Article 11(1)(iii)(d) or (e), to confirm in accordance
with Rule 20.6(a) that the element is incorporated by reference under
Rule 4.18;

and to make observations, if any, within the applicable time limit under
Rule 20.7. If that time limit expires after the expiration of 12 months from the
filing date of any application whose priority is claimed, the receiving Office
shall call that circumstance to the attention of the applicant.

(b) Where, following an invitation under paragraph (a) or otherwise:

(i) the applicant furnishes to the receiving Office the required correction
under Article 11(2) after the date of receipt of the purported international
application but on a later date falling within the applicable time limit under
Rule 20.7, the receiving Office shall accord that later date as the international
filing date and proceed as provided in Rule 20.2(b) and (c);

(ii) an element referred to in Article 11(1)(iii)(d) or (e) is, under
Rule 20.6(b), considered to have been contained in the international application
on the date on which one or more elements referred to in Article 11(1)(iii) were
first received by the receiving Office, the receiving Office shall accord as the
international filing date the date on which all of the requirements of
Article 11(1) are fulfilled and proceed as provided in Rule 20.2(b) and (c).

(c) If the receiving Office later discovers, or on the basis of the applicant’s
reply realizes, that it has erred in issuing an invitation under paragraph (a) since
the requirements of Article 11(1) were fulfilled when the papers were received,
it shall proceed as provided in Rule 20.2.

20.4 Negative Determination under Article 11(1)

If the receiving Office does not receive, within the applicable time limit
under Rule 20.7, a correction or confirmation referred to in Rule 20.3(a), or if a

correction or confirmation has been received but the application still does not
fulfill the requirements of Article 11(1), the receiving Office shall:

(i) promptly notify the applicant that the application is not and will not
be treated as an international application and shall indicate the reasons therefor;

(ii) notify the International Bureau that the number it has marked on the
papers will not be used as an international application number;

(iii) keep the papers constituting the purported international application
and any correspondence relating thereto as provided in Rule 93.1; and

(iv) send a copy of the said papers to the International Bureau where,
pursuant to a request by the applicant under Article 25(1), the International
Bureau needs such a copy and specially asks for it.

20.5 Missing Parts

(a) Where, in determining whether the papers purporting to be an
international application fulfill the requirements of Article 11(1), the receiving
Office finds that a part of the description, claims or drawings is or appears to be
missing, including the case where all of the drawings are or appear to be missing
but not including the case where an entire element referred to in
Article 11(1)(iii)(d) or (e) is or appears to be missing, it shall promptly invite the
applicant, at the applicant’s option:

(i) to complete the purported international application by furnishing the
missing part; or

(ii) to confirm, in accordance with Rule 20.6(a), that the part was
incorporated by reference under Rule 4.18;

(b) Where, following an invitation under paragraph (a) or otherwise, the
applicant furnishes to the receiving Office, on or before the date on which all of
the requirements of Article 11(1) are fulfilled but within the applicable time
limit under Rule 20.7, a missing part referred to in paragraph (a) so as to
complete the international application, that part shall be included in the
application and the receiving Office shall accord as the international filing date
the date on which all of the requirements of Article 11(1) are fulfilled and
proceed as provided in Rule 20.2(b) and (c).

(c) Where, following an invitation under paragraph (a) or otherwise, the
applicant furnishes to the receiving Office, after the date on which all of the
requirements of Article 11(1) were fulfilled but within the applicable time limit
under Rule 20.7, a missing part referred to in paragraph (a) so as to complete the

international application, that part shall be included in the application, and the
receiving Office shall correct the international filing date to the date on which
the receiving Office received that part, notify the applicant accordingly and
proceed as provided for in the Administrative Instructions.

(d) Where, following an invitation under paragraph (a) or otherwise, a part
referred to in paragraph (a) is, under Rule 20.6(b), considered to have been
contained in the purported international application on the date on which one or
more elements referred to in Article 11(1)(iii) were first received by the
receiving Office, the receiving Office shall accord as the international filing date
the date on which all of the requirements of Article 11(1) are fulfilled and
proceed as provided in Rule 20.2(b) and (c).

(e) Where the international filing date has been corrected under
paragraph (c), the applicant may, in a notice submitted to the receiving Office
within one month from the date of the notification under paragraph (c), request
that the missing part concerned be disregarded, in which case the missing part
shall be considered not to have been furnished and the correction of the
international filing date under that paragraph shall be considered not to have
been made, and the receiving Office shall proceed as provided for in the
Administrative Instructions.

20.6 Confirmation of Incorporation by Reference of Elements and Parts

(a) The applicant may submit to the receiving Office, within the applicable
time limit under Rule 20.7, a written notice confirming that an element or part is
incorporated by reference in the international application under Rule 4.18,
accompanied by:

(i) a sheet or sheets embodying the entire element as contained in the
earlier application or embodying the part concerned;

(ii) where the applicant has not already complied with Rule 17.1(a), (b)
or (b-bis) in relation to the priority document, a copy of the earlier application as
filed;

(iii) where the earlier application is not in the language in which the
international application is filed, a translation of the earlier application into that
language or, where a translation of the international application is required under
Rule 12.3(a) or 12.4(a), a translation of the earlier application into both the
language in which the international application is filed and the language of that
translation; and

(iv) in the case of a part of the description, claims or drawings, an
indication as to where that part is contained in the earlier application and, where
applicable, in any translation referred to in item (iii).

3 Editor’s Note: This information is also published on the WIPO website at:
www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/res_incomp.html.

(b) Where the receiving Office finds that the requirements of Rule 4.18 and
paragraph (a) have been complied with and that the element or part referred to in
paragraph (a) is completely contained in the earlier application concerned, that
element or part shall be considered to have been contained in the purported
international application on the date on which one or more elements referred to
in Article 11(1)(iii) were first received by the receiving Office.

(c) Where the receiving Office finds that a requirement under Rule 4.18 or
paragraph (a) has not been complied with or that the element or part referred to
in paragraph (a) is not completely contained in the earlier application concerned,
the receiving Office shall proceed as provided for in Rule 20.3(b)(i), 20.5(b)
or 20.5(c), as the case may be.

20.7 Time Limit

(a) The applicable time limit referred to in Rules 20.3(a) and (b), 20.4,
20.5(a), (b) and (c), and 20.6(a) shall be:

(i) where an invitation under Rule 20.3(a) or 20.5(a), as applicable, was
sent to the applicant, two months from the date of the invitation;

(ii) where no such invitation was sent to the applicant, two months from
the date on which one or more elements referred to in Article 11(1)(iii) were
first received by the receiving Office.

(b) Where a correction under Article 11(2) or a notice under Rule 20.6(a)
confirming the incorporation by reference of an element referred to in
Article 11(1)(iii)(d) or (e) is received by the receiving Office after the expiration
of the applicable time limit under paragraph (a) but before that Office sends a
notification to the applicant under Rule 20.4(i), that correction or notice shall be
considered to have been received within that time limit.

20.8 Incompatibility with National Laws

(a) If, on October 5, 2005, any of Rules 20.3(a)(ii) and (b)(ii), 20.5(a)(ii)
and (d), and 20.6 are not compatible with the national law applied by the
receiving Office, the Rules concerned shall not apply to an international
application filed with that receiving Office for as long as they continue not to be
compatible with that law, provided that the said Office informs the International
Bureau accordingly by April 5, 2006. The information received shall be
promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.3

(a-bis) Where a missing element or part cannot be incorporated by reference
in the international application under Rules 4.18 and 20.6 because of the

4 Editor’s Note: This information is also published on the WIPO website at:
www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/res_incomp.html.

operation of paragraph (a) of this Rule, the receiving Office shall proceed as
provided for in Rule 20.3(b)(i), 20.5(b) or 20.5(c), as the case may be. Where
the receiving Office proceeds as provided for in Rule 20.5(c), the applicant may
proceed as provided for in Rule 20.5(e).

(b) If, on October 5, 2005, any of Rules 20.3(a)(ii) and (b)(ii), 20.5(a)(ii)
and (d), and 20.6 are not compatible with the national law applied by the
designated Office, the Rules concerned shall not apply in respect of that Office
in relation to an international application in respect of which the acts referred to
in Article 22 have been performed before that Office for as long as they continue
not to be compatible with that law, provided that the said Office informs the
International Bureau accordingly by April 5, 2006. The information received
shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.4

(c) Where an element or part is considered to have been incorporated by
reference in the international application by virtue of a finding of the receiving
Office under Rule 20.6(b), but that incorporation by reference does not apply to
the international application for the purposes of the procedure before a
designated Office because of the operation of paragraph (b) of this Rule, the
designated Office may treat the application as if the international filing date had
been accorded under Rule 20.3(b)(i) or 20.5(b), or corrected under Rule 20.5(c),
as the case may be, provided that Rule 82ter.1(c) and (d) shall apply mutatis
mutandis.

Rule 21
Preparation of Copies

21.1 Responsibility of the Receiving Office

(a) Where the international application is required to be filed in one copy,
the receiving Office shall be responsible for preparing the home copy and the
search copy required under Article 12(1).

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

(c) If the international application is filed in less than the number of copies
required under Rule 11.1(b), the receiving Office shall be responsible for the
prompt preparation of the number of copies required, and shall have the right to
fix a fee for performing that task and to collect such fee from the applicant.

21.2 Certified Copy for the Applicant

Against payment of a fee, the receiving Office shall furnish to the applicant,
on request, certified copies of the international application as filed and of any
corrections thereto.

Rule 22
Transmittal of the Record Copy and Translation

22.1 Procedure

(a) If the determination under Article 11(1) is positive, and unless
prescriptions concerning national security prevent the international application
from being treated as such, the receiving Office shall transmit the record copy to
the International Bureau. Such transmittal shall be effected promptly after
receipt of the international application or, if a check to preserve national security
must be performed, as soon as the necessary clearance has been obtained. In
any case, the receiving Office shall transmit the record copy in time for it to
reach the International Bureau by the expiration of the 13th month from the
priority date. If the transmittal is effected by mail, the receiving Office shall
mail the record copy not later than five days prior to the expiration of the
13th month from the priority date.

(b) If the International Bureau has received a copy of the notification under
Rule 20.2(c) but is not, by the expiration of 13 months from the priority date, in
possession of the record copy, it shall remind the receiving Office that it should
transmit the record copy to the International Bureau promptly.

(c) If the International Bureau has received a copy of the notification under
Rule 20.2(c) but is not, by the expiration of 14 months from the priority date, in
possession of the record copy, it shall notify the applicant and the receiving
Office accordingly.

(d) After the expiration of 14 months from the priority date, the applicant
may request the receiving Office to certify a copy of his international application
as being identical with the international application as filed and may transmit
such certified copy to the International Bureau.

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

(i) the copy which the receiving Office has been requested to certify is
not identical with the international application as filed;

(ii) prescriptions concerning national security prevent the international
application from being treated as such;

(iii) the receiving Office has already transmitted the record copy to the
International Bureau and that Bureau has informed the receiving Office that it
has received the record copy.

(f) Unless the International Bureau has received the record copy, or until it
receives the record copy, the copy certified under paragraph (e) and received by
the International Bureau shall be considered to be the record copy.

(g) If, by the expiration of the time limit applicable under Article 22, the
applicant has performed the acts referred to in that Article but the designated
Office has not been informed by the International Bureau of the receipt of the
record copy, the designated Office shall inform the International Bureau. If the
International Bureau is not in possession of the record copy, it shall promptly
notify the applicant and the receiving Office unless it has already notified them
under paragraph (c).

(h) Where the international application is to be published in the language of
a translation furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4, that translation shall be
transmitted by the receiving Office to the International Bureau together with the
record copy under paragraph (a) or, if the receiving Office has already
transmitted the record copy to the International Bureau under that paragraph,
promptly after receipt of the translation.

22.2 [Deleted]

22.3 Time Limit under Article 12(3)

The time limit referred to in Article 12(3) shall be three months from the
date of the notification sent by the International Bureau to the applicant under
Rule 22.1(c) or (g).

Rule 23
Transmittal of the Search Copy, Translation and Sequence Listing

23.1 Procedure

(a) Where no translation of the international application is required under
Rule 12.3(a), the search copy shall be transmitted by the receiving Office to the
International Searching Authority at the latest on the same day as the record
copy is transmitted to the International Bureau unless no search fee has been
paid. In the latter case, it shall be transmitted promptly after payment of the
search fee.

(b) Where a translation of the international application is furnished under
Rule 12.3, a copy of that translation and of the request, which together shall be
considered to be the search copy under Article 12(1), shall be transmitted by the
receiving Office to the International Searching Authority, unless no search fee

has been paid. In the latter case, a copy of the said translation and of the request
shall be transmitted promptly after payment of the search fee.

(c) Any sequence listing in electronic form which is furnished for the
purposes of Rule 13ter but submitted to the receiving Office instead of the
International Searching Authority shall be promptly transmitted by that Office to
that Authority.

Rule 24
Receipt of the Record Copy by the International Bureau

24.1 [Deleted]

24.2 Notification of Receipt of the Record Copy

(a) The International Bureau shall promptly notify:

(i) the applicant,

(ii) the receiving Office, and

(iii) the International Searching Authority (unless it has informed the
International Bureau that it wishes not to be so notified),

of the fact and the date of receipt of the record copy. The notification shall
identify the international application by its number, the international filing date
and the name of the applicant, and shall indicate the filing date of any earlier
application whose priority is claimed. The notification sent to the applicant
shall also contain a list of the designated Offices and, in the case of a designated
Office which is responsible for granting regional patents, of the Contracting
States designated for such regional patent.

(b) [Deleted]

(c) If the record copy is received after the expiration of the time limit fixed
in Rule 22.3, the International Bureau shall promptly notify the applicant, the
receiving Office, and the International Searching Authority, accordingly.

Rule 25
Receipt of the Search Copy
by the International Searching Authority

25.1 Notification of Receipt of the Search Copy

The International Searching Authority shall promptly notify the
International Bureau, the applicant, and – unless the International Searching
Authority is the same as the receiving Office – the receiving Office, of the fact
and the date of receipt of the search copy.

Rule 26
Checking by, and Correcting before, the Receiving Office
of Certain Elements of the International Application

26.1 Invitation under Article 14(1)(b) to Correct

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. In the invitation, the receiving Office
shall invite the applicant to furnish the required correction, and give the
applicant the opportunity to make observations, within the time limit under
Rule 26.2.

26.2 Time Limit for Correction

The time limit referred to in Rule 26.1 shall be two months from the date of
the invitation to correct. It may be extended by the receiving Office at any time
before a decision is taken.

26.2bis Checking of Requirements under Article 14(1)(a)(i) and (ii)

(a) For the purposes of Article 14(1)(a)(i), if there is more than one
applicant, it shall be sufficient that the request be signed by one of them.

(b) For the purposes of Article 14(1)(a)(ii), if there is more than one
applicant, it shall be sufficient that the indications required under Rule 4.5(a)(ii)
and (iii) be provided in respect of one of them who is entitled according to
Rule 19.1 to file the international application with the receiving Office.

26.3 Checking of Physical Requirements under Article 14(1)(a)(v)

(a) Where the international application is filed in a language of publication,
the receiving Office shall check:

(i) the international application for compliance with the physical
requirements referred to in Rule 11 only to the extent that compliance therewith
is necessary for the purpose of reasonably uniform international publication;

(ii) any translation furnished under Rule 12.3 for compliance with the
physical requirements referred to in Rule 11 to the extent that compliance
therewith is necessary for the purpose of satisfactory reproduction.

(b) Where the international application is filed in a language which is not a
language of publication, the receiving Office shall check:

(ii) any translation furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4 and the drawings
for compliance with the physical requirements referred to in Rule 11 to the

5 Editor’s Note: This information is also published on the WIPO website at:
www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/res_incomp.html.

extent that compliance therewith is necessary for the purpose of reasonably
uniform international publication.

26.3bis Invitation under Article 14(1)(b) to Correct Defects under Rule 11

The receiving Office shall not be required to issue the invitation under
Article 14(1)(b) to correct a defect under Rule 11 where the physical
requirements referred to in that Rule are complied with to the extent required
under Rule 26.3.

26.3ter Invitation to Correct Defects under Article 3(4)(i)

(a) Where the abstract or any text matter of the drawings is filed in a
language which is different from the language of the description and the claims,
the receiving Office shall, unless

(i) a translation of the international application is required under
Rule 12.3(a), or

(ii) the abstract or the text matter of the drawings is in the language in
which the international application is to be published,

invite the applicant to furnish a translation of the abstract or the text matter of
the drawings into the language in which the international application is to be
published. Rules 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.3bis, 26.5 and 29.1 shall apply mutatis
mutandis.

(b) If, on October 1, 1997, paragraph (a) is not compatible with the national
law applied by the receiving Office, paragraph (a) shall not apply to that
receiving Office for as long as it continues not to be compatible with that law,
provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau accordingly by
December 31, 1997. The information received shall be promptly published by
the International Bureau in the Gazette.5

(c) Where the request does not comply with Rule 12.1(c), the receiving
Office shall invite the applicant to file a translation so as to comply with that
Rule. Rules 3, 26.1, 26.2, 26.5 and 29.1 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

26.4 Procedure

A correction of the request 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 request without adversely affecting the clarity
and the direct reproducibility of the sheet on to which the correction is to be
transferred; otherwise, and in the case of a correction of any element of the
international application other than the request, 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.

26.5 Decision of the Receiving Office

The receiving Office shall decide whether the applicant has submitted the
correction within the applicable time limit under Rule 26.2, and, if the correction
has been submitted within that time limit, whether the international application
so corrected is or is not to be considered withdrawn, provided that no
international application shall be considered withdrawn for lack of compliance
with the physical requirements referred to in Rule 11 if it complies with those
requirements to the extent necessary for the purpose of reasonably uniform
international publication.

26.6 [Deleted]

Rule 26bis
Correction or Addition of Priority Claim

26bis.1 Correction or Addition of Priority Claim

(a) The applicant may correct a priority claim or add a priority claim to the
request by a notice submitted to the receiving Office or the International Bureau
within a time limit of 16 months from the priority date or, where the correction
or addition would cause a change in the priority date, 16 months from the
priority date as so changed, whichever 16-month period expires first, provided
that such a notice may be submitted until the expiration of four months from the
international filing date. The correction of a priority claim may include the
addition of any indication referred to in Rule 4.10.

(b) Any notice referred to in paragraph (a) received by the receiving Office
or the International Bureau after the applicant has made a request for early
publication under Article 21(2)(b) shall be considered not to have been
submitted, unless that request is withdrawn before the technical preparations for
international publication have been completed.

(c) Where the correction or addition of a priority claim causes a change in
the priority date, any time limit which is computed from the previously

applicable priority date and which has not already expired shall be computed
from the priority date as so changed.

26bis.2 Defects in Priority Claims

(a) Where the receiving Office or, if the receiving Office fails to do so, the
International Bureau, finds in relation to a priority claim:

(i) that the international application has an international filing date which
is later than the date on which the priority period expired and that a
request for restoration of the right of priority under Rule 26bis.3 has
not been submitted;

(ii) that the priority claim does not comply with the requirements of
Rule 4.10; or

(iii) that any indication in the priority claim is inconsistent with the
corresponding indication appearing in the priority document;

the receiving Office or the International Bureau, as the case may be, shall invite
the applicant to correct the priority claim. In the case referred to in item (i),
where the international filing date is within two months from the date on which
the priority period expired, the receiving Office or the International Bureau, as
the case may be, shall also notify the applicant of the possibility of submitting a
request for the restoration of the right of priority in accordance with
Rule 26bis.3, unless the receiving Office has notified the International Bureau
under Rule 26bis.3(j) of the incompatibility of Rule 26bis.3(a) to (i) with the
national law applied by that Office.

(b) If the applicant does not, before the expiration of the time limit under
Rule 26bis.1(a), submit a notice correcting the priority claim, that priority claim
shall, subject to paragraph (c), for the purposes of the procedure under the
Treaty, be considered not to have been made (“considered void”) and the
receiving Office or the International Bureau, as the case may be, shall so declare
and shall inform the applicant accordingly. Any notice correcting the priority
claim which is received before the receiving Office or the International Bureau,
as the case may be, so declares and not later than one month after the expiration
of that time limit shall be considered to have been received before the expiration
of that time limit.

(i) the indication of the number of the earlier application referred to in
Rule 4.10(a)(ii) is missing;

(ii) an indication in the priority claim is inconsistent with the
corresponding indication appearing in the priority document; or

(iii) the international application has an international filing date which is
later than the date on which the priority period expired, provided that the
international filing date is within the period of two months from that date.

(d) Where the receiving Office or the International Bureau has made a
declaration under paragraph (b) or where the priority claim has not been
considered void only because paragraph (c) applies, the International Bureau
shall publish, together with the international application, information concerning
the priority claim as prescribed by the Administrative Instructions, as well as
any information submitted by the applicant concerning such priority claim
which is received by the International Bureau prior to the completion of the
technical preparations for international publication. Such information shall be
included in the communication under Article 20 where the international
application is not published by virtue of Article 64(3).

(e) Where the applicant wishes to correct or add a priority claim but the
time limit under Rule 26bis.1 has expired, the applicant may, prior to the
expiration of 30 months from the priority date and subject to the payment of a
special fee whose amount shall be fixed in the Administrative Instructions,
request the International Bureau to publish information concerning the matter,
and the International Bureau shall promptly publish such information.

26bis.3 Restoration of Right of Priority by Receiving Office

(a) Where the international application has an international filing date
which is later than the date on which the priority period expired but within the
period of two months from that date, the receiving Office shall, on the request of
the applicant, and subject to paragraphs (b) to (g) of this Rule, restore the right
of priority if the Office finds that a criterion applied by it (“criterion for
restoration”) is satisfied, namely, that the failure to file the international
application within the priority period:

(i) occurred in spite of due care required by the circumstances having
been taken; or

(ii) was unintentional.

Each receiving Office shall apply at least one of those criteria and may apply
both of them.

(b) A request under paragraph (a) shall:

(i) be filed with the receiving Office within the time limit applicable
under paragraph (e);

(ii) state the reasons for the failure to file the international application
within the priority period; and

(iii) preferably be accompanied by any declaration or other evidence
required under paragraph (f).

(c) Where a priority claim in respect of the earlier application is not
contained in the international application, the applicant shall submit, within the
time limit applicable under paragraph (e), a notice under Rule 26bis.1(a) adding
the priority claim.

(d) The submission of a request under paragraph (a) may be subjected by
the receiving Office to the payment to it, for its own benefit, of a fee for
requesting restoration, payable within the time limit applicable under
paragraph (e). The amount of that fee, if any, shall be fixed by the receiving
Office. The time limit for payment of the fee may be extended, at the option of
the receiving Office, for a period of up to two months from the expiration of the
time limit applicable under paragraph (e).

(e) The time limit referred to in paragraphs (b)(i), (c) and (d) shall be two
months from the date on which the priority period expired, provided that, where
the applicant makes a request for early publication under Article 21(2)(b), any
request under paragraph (a) or any notice referred to in paragraph (c) submitted,
or any fee referred to in paragraph (d) paid, after the technical preparations for
international publication have been completed shall be considered as not having
been submitted or paid in time.

(f) The receiving Office may require that a declaration or other evidence in
support of the statement of reasons referred to in paragraph (b)(iii) be filed with
it within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances. The
applicant may furnish to the International Bureau a copy of any such declaration
or other evidence filed with the receiving Office, in which case the International
Bureau shall include such copy in its files.

(g) The receiving Office shall not refuse, totally or in part, a request under
paragraph (a) without giving the applicant the opportunity to make observations
on the intended refusal within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the
circumstances. Such notice of intended refusal by the receiving Office may be
sent to the applicant together with any invitation to file a declaration or other
evidence under paragraph (f).

(h) The receiving Office shall promptly:

(i) notify the International Bureau of the receipt of a request under
paragraph (a);

(ii) make a decision upon the request;

(iii) notify the applicant and the International Bureau of its decision and
the criterion for restoration upon which the decision was based.

6 Editor’s Note: This information is also published on the WIPO website at:
www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/res_incomp.html.

(i) Each receiving Office shall inform the International Bureau of which of
the criteria for restoration it applies and of any subsequent changes in that
respect. The International Bureau shall promptly publish such information in
the Gazette.

(j) If, on October 5, 2005, paragraphs (a) to (i) are not compatible with the
national law applied by the receiving Office, those paragraphs shall not apply in
respect of that Office for as long as they continue not to be compatible with that
law, provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau accordingly
by April 5, 2006. The information received shall be promptly published by the
International Bureau in the Gazette.6

Rule 26ter
Correction or Addition of Declarations under Rule 4.17

26ter.1 Correction or Addition of Declarations

The applicant may correct or add to the request any declaration referred to in
Rule 4.17 by a notice submitted to the International Bureau within a time limit
of 16 months from the priority date, provided that any notice which is received
by the International Bureau after the expiration of that time limit shall be
considered to have been received on the last day of that time limit if it reaches it
before the technical preparations for international publication have been
completed.

26ter.2 Processing of Declarations

(a) Where the receiving Office or the International Bureau finds that any
declaration referred to in Rule 4.17 is not worded as required or, in the case of
the declaration of inventorship referred to in Rule 4.17(iv), is not signed as
required, the receiving Office or the International Bureau, as the case may be,
may invite the applicant to correct the declaration within a time limit of
16 months from the priority date.

(b) Where the International Bureau receives any declaration or correction
under Rule 26ter.1 after the expiration of the time limit under Rule 26ter.1, the
International Bureau shall notify the applicant accordingly and shall proceed as
provided for in the Administrative Instructions.

Rule 27
Lack of Payment of Fees

27.1 Fees

(a) For the purposes of Article 14(3)(a), “fees prescribed under
Article 3(4)(iv)” means: the transmittal fee (Rule 14), the international filing fee
(Rule 15.1), the search fee (Rule 16), and, where required, the late payment fee
(Rule 16bis.2).

(b) For the purposes of Article 14(3)(a) and (b), “the fee prescribed under
Article 4(2)” means the international filing fee (Rule 15.1) and, where required,
the late payment fee (Rule 16bis.2).

Rule 28
Defects Noted by the International Bureau

28.1 Note on Certain Defects

(a) If, in the opinion of the International Bureau, the international
application contains any of the defects referred to in Article 14(1)(a)(i), (ii)
or (v), the International Bureau shall bring such defects to the attention of the
receiving Office.

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

Rule 29
International Applications Considered Withdrawn

29.1 Finding by Receiving Office

If the receiving Office declares, under Article 14(1)(b) and Rule 26.5
(failure to correct certain defects), or under Article 14(3)(a) (failure to pay the
prescribed fees under Rule 27.1(a)), or under Article 14(4) (later finding of
non-compliance with the requirements listed in items (i) to (iii) of Article 11(1)),
or under Rule 12.3(d) or 12.4(d) (failure to furnish a required translation or,
where applicable, to pay a late furnishing fee), or under Rule 92.4(g)(i) (failure
to furnish the original of a document), that the international application is
considered withdrawn:

(i) the receiving Office shall transmit the record copy (unless already
transmitted), and any correction offered by the applicant, to the International
Bureau;

(ii) the receiving Office shall promptly notify both the applicant and the
International Bureau of the said declaration, and the International Bureau shall
in turn notify each designated Office which has already been notified of its
designation;

(iii) the receiving Office shall not transmit the search copy as provided in
Rule 23, or, if such copy has already been transmitted, it shall notify the
International Searching Authority of the said declaration;

(iv) the International Bureau shall not be required to notify the applicant
of the receipt of the record copy;

(v) no international publication of the international application shall be
effected if the notification of the said declaration transmitted by the receiving
Office reaches the International Bureau before the technical preparations for
international publication have been completed.

29.2 [Deleted]

29.3 Calling Certain Facts to the Attention of the Receiving Office

If the International Bureau or the International Searching Authority
considers that the receiving Office should make a finding under Article 14(4), it
shall call the relevant facts to the attention of the receiving Office.

29.4 Notification of Intent to Make Declaration under Article 14(4)

(a) Before the receiving Office issues any declaration under Article 14(4), it
shall notify the applicant of its intent to issue such declaration and the reasons
therefor. The applicant may, if he disagrees with the tentative finding of the
receiving Office, submit arguments to that effect within two months from the
date of the notification.

(b) Where the receiving Office intends to issue a declaration under
Article 14(4) in respect of an element mentioned in Article 11(1)(iii)(d) or (e),
the receiving Office shall, in the notification referred to in paragraph (a) of this
Rule, invite the applicant to confirm in accordance with Rule 20.6(a) that the
element is incorporated by reference under Rule 4.18. For the purposes of
Rule 20.7(a)(i), the invitation sent to the applicant under this paragraph shall be
considered to be an invitation under Rule 20.3(a)(ii).

(c) Paragraph (b) shall not apply where the receiving Office has informed
the International Bureau in accordance with Rule 20.8(a) of the incompatibility
of Rules 20.3(a)(ii) and (b)(ii) and 20.6 with the national law applied by that
Office.

Rule 30
Time Limit under Article 14(4)

30.1 Time Limit

The time limit referred to in Article 14(4) shall be four months from the
international filing date.

Rule 31
Copies Required under Article 13

31.1 Request for Copies

(a) Requests under Article 13(1) may relate to all, some kinds of, or
individual international applications in which the national Office making the
request is designated. Requests for all or some kinds of such international
applications must be renewed for each year by means of a notification addressed
by that Office before November 30 of the preceding year to the International
Bureau.

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

31.2 Preparation of Copies

The preparation of copies required under Article 13 shall be the
responsibility of the International Bureau.

Rule 32
Extension of Effects of International Application
to Certain Successor States

32.1 Extension of International Application to Successor State

(a) The effects of any international application whose international filing
date falls in the period defined in paragraph (b) are extended to a State (“the
successor State”) whose territory was, before the independence of that State,
part of the territory of a Contracting State designated in the international
application which subsequently ceased to exist (“the predecessor State”),
provided that the successor State has become a Contracting State through the
deposit, with the Director General, of a declaration of continuation the effect of
which is that the Treaty is applied by the successor State.

(b) The period referred to in paragraph (a) starts on the day following the
last day of the existence of the predecessor State and ends two months after the
date on which the declaration referred to in paragraph (a) was notified by the
Director General to the Governments of the States party to the Paris Convention
for the Protection of Industrial Property. However, where the date of
independence of the successor State is earlier than the date of the day following
the last day of the existence of the predecessor State, the successor State may
declare that the said period starts on the date of its independence; such a
declaration shall be made together with the declaration referred to in
paragraph (a) and shall specify the date of independence.

(c) Information on any international application whose filing date falls
within the applicable period under paragraph (b) and whose effect is extended to
the successor State shall be published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.

32.2 Effects of Extension to Successor State

(a) Where the effects of the international application are extended to the
successor State in accordance with Rule 32.1,

(i) the successor State shall be considered as having been designated in
the international application, and

(ii) the applicable time limit under Article 22 or 39(1) in relation to that
State shall be extended until the expiration of at least six months from the date
of the publication of the information under Rule 32.1(c).

(b) The successor State may fix a time limit which expires later than that
provided in paragraph (a)(ii). The International Bureau shall publish
information on such time limits in the Gazette.

Rule 33
Relevant Prior Art for the International Search

33.1 Relevant Prior Art for the International Search

(a) For the purposes of Article 15(2), relevant prior art shall consist of
everything which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world
by means of written disclosure (including drawings and other illustrations) and
which is capable of being of assistance in determining that the claimed invention
is or is not new and that it does or does not involve an inventive step (i.e., that it
is or is not obvious), provided that the making available to the public occurred
prior to the international filing date.

(b) When any written disclosure refers to an oral disclosure, use, exhibition,
or other means whereby the contents of the written disclosure were made
available to the public, and such making available to the public occurred on a
date prior to the international filing date, the international search report shall
separately mention that fact and the date on which it occurred if the making
available to the public of the written disclosure occurred on a date which is the
same as, or later than, the international filing date.

(c) Any published application or any patent whose publication date is the
same as, or later than, but whose filing date, or, where applicable, claimed
priority date, is earlier than the international filing date of the international
application searched, and which would constitute relevant prior art for the
purposes of Article 15(2) had it been published prior to the international filing
date, shall be specially mentioned in the international search report.

33.2 Fields to Be Covered by the International Search

(a) The international search shall cover all those technical fields, and shall
be carried out on the basis of all those search files, which may contain material
pertinent to the invention.

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

(c) The question what arts are, in any given case, to be regarded as
analogous shall be considered in the light of what appears to be the necessary
essential function or use of the invention and not only the specific functions
expressly indicated in the international application.

(d) The international search shall embrace all subject matter that is
generally recognized as equivalent to the subject matter of the claimed invention
for all or certain of its features, even though, in its specifics, the invention as
described in the international application is different.

33.3 Orientation of the International Search

(a) International search shall be made on the basis of the claims, with due
regard to the description and the drawings (if any) and with particular emphasis
on the inventive concept towards which the claims are directed.

(b) In so far as possible and reasonable, the international search shall cover
the entire subject matter to which the claims are directed or to which they might
reasonably be expected to be directed after they have been amended.

Rule 34
Minimum Documentation

34.1 Definition

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

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

(i) the “national patent documents” as specified in paragraph (c),

(ii) the published international (PCT) applications, the published regional
applications for patents and inventors’ certificates, and the published regional
patents and inventors’ certificates,

(iii) such other published items of non-patent literature as the International
Searching Authorities shall agree upon and which shall be published in a list by
the International Bureau when agreed upon for the first time and whenever
changed.

(i) the patents issued in and after 1920 by France, the former
Reichspatentamt of Germany, Japan, the former Soviet Union, Switzerland (in
the French and German languages only), the United Kingdom, and the United
States of America,

(ii) the patents issued by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic
of Korea and the Russian Federation,

(iii) the patent applications, if any, published in and after 1920 in the
countries referred to in items (i) and (ii),

(iv) the inventors’ certificates issued by the former Soviet Union,

(v) the utility certificates issued by, and the published applications for
utility certificates of, France,

(vi) such patents issued by, and such patent applications published in, any
other country after 1920 as are in the English, French, German or Spanish
language and in which no priority is claimed, provided that the national Office
of the interested country sorts out these documents and places them at the
disposal of each International Searching Authority.

(d) Where an application is republished once (for example, an
Offenlegungsschrift as an Auslegeschrift) or more than once, no International
Searching Authority shall be obliged to keep all versions in its documentation;
consequently, each such Authority shall be entitled not to keep more than one
version. Furthermore, where an application is granted and is issued in the form
of a patent or a utility certificate (France), no International Searching Authority
shall be obliged to keep both the application and the patent or utility certificate
(France) in its documentation; consequently, each such Authority shall be
entitled to keep either the application only or the patent or utility certificate
(France) only.

(e) Any International Searching Authority whose official language, or one
of whose official languages, is not Japanese, Korean, Russian or Spanish is
entitled not to include in its documentation those patent documents of Japan, the
Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union as well
as those patent documents in the Spanish language, respectively, for which no
abstracts in the English language are generally available. English abstracts
becoming generally available after the date of entry into force of these
Regulations shall require the inclusion of the patent documents to which the
abstracts refer no later than six months after such abstracts become generally
available. In case of the interruption of abstracting services in English in
technical fields in which English abstracts were formerly generally available, the

Assembly shall take appropriate measures to provide for the prompt restoration
of such services in the said fields.

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

Rule 35
The Competent International Searching Authority

35.1 When Only One International Searching Authority Is Competent

Each receiving Office shall, in accordance with the terms of the applicable
agreement referred to in Article 16(3)(b), inform the International Bureau which
International Searching Authority is competent for the searching of the
international applications filed with it, and the International Bureau shall
promptly publish such information.

35.2 When Several International Searching Authorities Are Competent

(a) Any receiving Office may, in accordance with the terms of the
applicable agreement referred to in Article 16(3)(b), specify several
International Searching Authorities:

(i) by declaring all of them competent for any international application
filed with it, and leaving the choice to the applicant, or

(ii) by declaring one or more competent for certain kinds of international
applications filed with it, and declaring one or more others competent for other
kinds of international applications filed with it, provided that, for those kinds of
international applications for which several International Searching Authorities
are declared to be competent, the choice shall be left to the applicant.

(b) Any receiving Office availing itself of the faculty provided in
paragraph (a) shall promptly inform the International Bureau, and the
International Bureau shall promptly publish such information.

35.3 When the International Bureau Is Receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii)

(a) Where the international application is filed with the International Bureau
as receiving Office under Rule 19.1(a)(iii), an International Searching Authority
shall be competent for the searching of that international application if it would
have been competent had that international application been filed with a
receiving Office competent under Rule 19.1(a)(i) or (ii), (b) or (c) or
Rule 19.2(i).

(b) Where two or more International Searching Authorities are competent
under paragraph (a), the choice shall be left to the applicant.

Rule 36
Minimum Requirements for International Searching Authorities

36.1 Definition of Minimum Requirements

The minimum requirements referred to in Article 16(3)(c) shall be the
following:

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

(ii) that Office or organization must have in its possession, or have access
to, at least the minimum documentation referred to in Rule 34, properly arranged
for search purposes, on paper, in microform or stored on electronic media;

(iii) that Office or organization must have a staff which is capable of
searching the required technical fields and which has the language facilities to
understand at least those languages in which the minimum documentation
referred to in Rule 34 is written or is translated;

(iv) that Office or organization must have in place a quality management
system and internal review arrangements in accordance with the common rules
of international search;

(v) that Office or organization must hold an appointment as an
International Preliminary Examining Authority.

Rule 37
Missing or Defective Title

37.1 Lack of Title

If the international application does not contain a title and the receiving
Office has notified the International Searching Authority that it has invited the
applicant to correct such defect, the International Searching Authority shall
proceed with the international search unless and until it receives notification that
the said application is considered withdrawn.

37.2 Establishment of Title

If the international application does not contain a title and the International
Searching Authority has not received a notification from the receiving Office to
the effect that the applicant has been invited to furnish a title, or if the said
Authority finds that the title does not comply with Rule 4.3, it shall itself
establish a title. Such title shall be established in the language in which the
international application is to be published or, if a translation into another
language was transmitted under Rule 23.1(b) and the International Searching
Authority so wishes, in the language of that translation.

Rule 38
Missing or Defective Abstract

38.1 Lack of Abstract

If the international application does not contain an abstract and the receiving
Office has notified the International Searching Authority that it has invited the
applicant to correct such defect, the International Searching Authority shall
proceed with the international search unless and until it receives notification that
the said application is considered withdrawn.

38.2 Establishment of Abstract

If the international application does not contain an abstract and the
International Searching Authority has not received a notification from the
receiving Office to the effect that the applicant has been invited to furnish an
abstract, or if the said Authority finds that the abstract does not comply with
Rule 8, it shall itself establish an abstract. Such abstract shall be established in
the language in which the international application is to be published or, if a
translation into another language was transmitted under Rule 23.1(b) and the
International Searching Authority so wishes, in the language of that translation.

38.3 Modification of Abstract

The applicant may, until the expiration of one month from the date of
mailing of the international search report, submit to the International Searching
Authority:

(i) proposed modifications of the abstract; or

(ii) where the abstract has been established by the Authority, proposed
modifications of, or comments on, that abstract, or both modifications
and comments;

and the Authority shall decide whether to modify the abstract accordingly.
Where the Authority modifies the abstract, it shall notify the modification to the
International Bureau.

Rule 39
Subject Matter under Article 17(2)(a)(i)

39.1 Definition

No International Searching Authority shall be required to search an
international application if, and to the extent to which, its subject matter is any
of the following:

(i) scientific and mathematical theories,

(ii) plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the
production of plants and animals, other than microbiological processes and the
products of such processes,

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

(iv) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or
therapy, as well as diagnostic methods,

(v) mere presentations of information,

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

Rule 40
Lack of Unity of Invention (International Search)

40.1 Invitation to Pay Additional Fees; Time Limit

The invitation to pay additional fees provided for in Article 17(3)(a) shall:

(i) specify the reasons for which the international application is not
considered as complying with the requirement of unity of invention;

(ii) invite the applicant to pay the additional fees within one month from
the date of the invitation, and indicate the amount of those fees to be paid; and

(iii) invite the applicant to pay, where applicable, the protest fee referred
to in Rule 40.2(e) within one month from the date of the invitation, and indicate
the amount to be paid.

40.2 Additional Fees

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

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

(c) Any applicant may pay the additional fees 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 fees is excessive. Such protest shall be
examined by a review body constituted in the framework of the International
Searching Authority, which, to the extent that it finds the protest justified, shall
order the total or partial reimbursement to the applicant of the additional fees.
On the request of the applicant, the text of both the protest and the decision
thereon shall be notified to the designated Offices together with the international
search report. The applicant shall submit any translation thereof with the

furnishing of the translation of the international application required under
Article 22.

(d) The membership of the review body referred to in paragraph (c) may
include, but shall not be limited to, the person who made the decision which is
the subject of the protest.

(e) The examination of a protest referred to in paragraph (c) may be
subjected by the International Searching Authority to the payment to it, for its
own benefit, of a protest fee. Where the applicant has not, within the time limit
under Rule 40.1(iii), paid any required protest fee, the protest shall be
considered not to have been made and the International Searching Authority
shall so declare. The protest fee shall be refunded to the applicant where the
review body referred to in paragraph (c) finds that the protest was entirely
justified.

Rule 41
Taking into Account Results of Earlier Search

41.1 Taking into Account Results of Earlier Search

Where the applicant has, under Rule 4.12, requested the International
Searching Authority to take into account the results of an earlier search and has
complied with Rule 12bis.1 and:

(i) the earlier search was carried out by the same International Searching
Authority, or by the same Office as that which is acting as the International
Searching Authority, the International Searching Authority shall, to the extent
possible, take those results into account in carrying out the international search;

(ii) the earlier search was carried out by another International Searching
Authority, or by an Office other than that which is acting as the International
Searching Authority, the International Searching Authority may take those
results into account in carrying out the international search.

Rule 42
Time Limit for International Search

42.1 Time Limit for International Search

The time limit for establishing the international search report or the
declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a) shall be three months from the receipt
of the search copy by the International Searching Authority, or nine months
from the priority date, whichever time limit expires later.

Rule 43
The International Search Report

43.1 Identifications

The international search report shall identify the International Searching
Authority which established it by indicating the name of such Authority, and the
international application by indicating the international application number, the
name of the applicant, and the international filing date.

43.2 Dates

The international search report shall be dated and shall indicate the date on
which the international search was actually completed. It shall also indicate the
filing date of any earlier application whose priority is claimed or, if the priority
of more than one earlier application is claimed, the filing date of the earliest
among them.

43.3 Classification

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

(b) Such classification shall be effected by the International Searching
Authority.

43.4 Language

Every international search report and any declaration made under
Article 17(2)(a) shall be in the language in which the international application to
which it relates is to be published, provided that:

(i) if a translation of the international application into another language
was transmitted under Rule 23.1(b) and the International Searching Authority so
wishes, the international search report and any declaration made under
Article 17(2)(a) may be in the language of that translation;

(ii) if the international application is to be published in the language of a
translation furnished under Rule 12.4 which is not accepted by the International
Searching Authority and that Authority so wishes, the international search report
and any declaration made under Article 17(2)(a) may be in a language which is
both a language accepted by that Authority and a language of publication
referred to in Rule 48.3(a).

43.5 Citations

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

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

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

(e) If only certain passages of the cited document are relevant or
particularly relevant, they shall be identified, for example, by indicating the
page, the column, or the lines, where the passage appears. If the entire
document is relevant but some passages are of particular relevance, such
passages shall be identified unless such identification is not practicable.

43.6 Fields Searched

(a) The international search report shall list the classification identification
of the fields searched. If that identification is effected on the basis of a
classification other than the International Patent Classification, the International
Searching Authority shall publish the classification used.

(b) If the international search extended to patents, inventors’ certificates,
utility certificates, utility models, patents or certificates of addition, inventors’
certificates of addition, utility certificates of addition, or published applications
for any of those kinds of protection, of States, periods, or languages, not
included in the minimum documentation as defined in Rule 34, the international
search report shall, when practicable, identify the kinds of documents, the
States, the periods, and the languages to which it extended. For the purposes of
this paragraph, Article 2(ii) shall not apply.

(c) If the international search was based on, or was extended to, any
electronic data base, the international search report may indicate the name of the
data base and, where considered useful to others and practicable, the search
terms used.

43.6bis Consideration of Rectifications of Obvious Mistakes

(a) A rectification of an obvious mistake that is authorized under Rule 91.1
shall, subject to paragraph (b), be taken into account by the International
Searching Authority for the purposes of the international search and the
international search report shall so indicate.

(b) A rectification of an obvious mistake need not be taken into account by
the International Searching Authority for the purposes of the international search
if it is authorized by or notified to that Authority, as applicable, after it has
begun to draw up the international search report, in which case the report shall,
if possible, so indicate, failing which the International Searching Authority shall
notify the International Bureau accordingly and the International Bureau shall
proceed as provided for in the Administrative Instructions.

43.7 Remarks Concerning Unity of Invention

If the applicant paid additional fees for the international search, the
international search report shall so indicate. Furthermore, where the
international search was made on the main invention only or on less than all the
inventions (Article 17(3)(a)), the international search report shall indicate what
parts of the international application were and what parts were not searched.

43.8 Authorized Officer

The international search report shall indicate the name of the officer of the
International Searching Authority responsible for that report.

43.9 Additional Matter

The international search report shall contain no matter other than that
specified in Rules 33.1(b) and (c), 43.1 to 43.3, 43.5 to 43.8, and 44.2, and the
indication referred to in Article 17(2)(b), provided that the Administrative
Instructions may permit the inclusion in the international search report of any
additional matter specified in the Administrative Instructions. The international
search report shall not contain, and the Administrative Instructions shall not
permit the inclusion of, any expressions of opinion, reasoning, arguments, or
explanations.

43.10 Form

The physical requirements as to the form of the international search report
shall be prescribed by the Administrative Instructions.

Rule 43bis
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority

43bis.1 Written Opinion

(a) Subject to Rule 69.1(b-bis), the International Searching Authority shall,
at the same time as it establishes the international search report or the
declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a), establish a written opinion as to:

(i) whether the claimed invention appears to be novel, to involve an
inventive step (to be non-obvious), and to be industrially applicable;

(ii) whether the international application complies with the requirements
of the Treaty and these Regulations in so far as checked by the
International Searching Authority.

The written opinion shall also be accompanied by such other observations as
these Regulations provide for.

(b) For the purposes of establishing the written opinion, Articles 33(2)
to (6) and 35(2) and (3) and Rules 43.4, 43.6bis, 64, 65, 66.1(e), 66.7, 67,

70.2(b) and (d), 70.3, 70.4(ii), 70.5(a), 70.6 to 70.10, 70.12, 70.14 and 70.15(a)
shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(c) The written opinion shall contain a notification informing the applicant
that, if a demand for international preliminary examination is made, the written
opinion shall, under Rule 66.1bis(a) but subject to Rule 66.1bis(b), be
considered to be a written opinion of the International Preliminary Examining
Authority for the purposes of Rule 66.2(a), in which case the applicant is invited
to submit to that Authority, before the expiration of the time limit under
Rule 54bis.1(a), a written reply together, where appropriate, with amendments.

Rule 44
Transmittal of the International
Search Report, Written Opinion, Etc.

44.1 Copies of Report or Declaration and Written Opinion

The International Searching Authority shall, on the same day, transmit one
copy of the international search report or of the declaration referred to in
Article 17(2)(a), and one copy of the written opinion established under
Rule 43bis.1 to the International Bureau and one copy to the applicant.

44.2 Title or Abstract

The international search report shall either state that the International
Searching Authority approves the title and the abstract as submitted by the
applicant or be accompanied by the text of the title and/or abstract as established
by the International Searching Authority under Rules 37 and 38.

44.3 Copies of Cited Documents

(a) The request referred to in Article 20(3) may be presented any time
during seven years from the international filing date of the international
application to which the international search report relates.

(b) The International Searching Authority may require that the party
(applicant or designated Office) presenting the request pay to it the cost of
preparing and mailing the copies. The level of the cost of preparing copies shall
be provided for in the agreements referred to in Article 16(3)(b) between the
International Searching Authorities and the International Bureau.

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

Rule 44bis
International Preliminary Report on Patentability
by the International Searching Authority

44bis.1 Issuance of Report; Transmittal to the Applicant

(a) Unless an international preliminary examination report has been or is to
be established, the International Bureau shall issue a report on behalf of the
International Searching Authority (in this Rule referred to as “the report”) as to
the matters referred to in Rule 43bis.1(a). The report shall have the same
contents as the written opinion established under Rule 43bis.1.

(b) The report shall bear the title “international preliminary report on
patentability (Chapter I of the Patent Cooperation Treaty)” together with an
indication that it is issued under this Rule by the International Bureau on behalf
of the International Searching Authority.

44bis.2 Communication to Designated Offices

(a) Where a report has been issued under Rule 44bis.1, the International
Bureau shall communicate it to each designated Office in accordance with
Rule 93bis.1 but not before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date.

(b) Where the applicant makes an express request to a designated Office
under Article 23(2), the International Bureau shall communicate a copy of the
written opinion established by the International Searching Authority under
Rule 43bis.1 to that Office promptly upon the request of that Office or of the
applicant.

44bis.3 Translation for Designated Offices

(a) Any designated State may, where a report has been issued under
Rule 44bis.1 in a language other than the official language, or one of the official
languages, of its national Office, require a translation of the report into English.
Any such requirement shall be notified to the International Bureau, which shall
promptly publish it in the Gazette.

(b) If a translation is required under paragraph (a), it shall be prepared by or
under the responsibility of the International Bureau.

(c) The International Bureau shall transmit a copy of the translation to any
interested designated Office and to the applicant at the same time as it
communicates the report to that Office.

(d) In the case referred to in Rule 44bis.2(b), the written opinion established
under Rule 43bis.1 shall, upon request of the designated Office concerned, be

translated into English by or under the responsibility of the International Bureau.
The International Bureau shall transmit a copy of the translation to the
designated Office concerned within two months from the date of receipt of the
request for translation, and shall at the same time transmit a copy to the
applicant.

44bis.4 Observations on the Translation

The applicant may make written observations as to the correctness of the
translation referred to in Rule 44bis.3(b) or (d) and shall send a copy of the
observations to each of the interested designated Offices and to the International
Bureau.

Rule 44ter
Confidential Nature of Written Opinion,
Report, Translation and Observations

44ter.1 Confidential Nature

(a) The International Bureau and the International Searching Authority shall
not, unless requested or authorized by the applicant, allow access by any person
or authority before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date:

(i) to the written opinion established under Rule 43bis.1, to any
translation thereof prepared under Rule 44bis.3(d) or to any written observations
on such translation sent by the applicant under Rule 44bis.4;

(ii) if a report is issued under Rule 44bis.1, to that report, to any
translation of it prepared under Rule 44bis.3(b) or to any written observations on
that translation sent by the applicant under Rule 44bis.4.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), the term “access” covers any means
by which third parties may acquire cognizance, including individual
communication and general publication.

Rule 45
Translation of the International Search Report

45.1 Languages

International search reports and declarations referred to in Article 17(2)(a)
shall, when not in English, be translated into English.

Rule 45bis
Supplementary International Searches

45bis.1 Supplementary Search Request

(a) The applicant may, at any time prior to the expiration of 19 months from
the priority date, request that a supplementary international search be carried out
in respect of the international application by an International Searching
Authority that is competent to do so under Rule 45bis.9. Such requests may be
made in respect of more than one such Authority.

(b) A request under paragraph (a) (“supplementary search request”) shall be
submitted to the International Bureau and shall indicate:

(i) the name and address of the applicant and of the agent (if any), the
title of the invention, the international filing date and the international
application number;

(ii) the International Searching Authority that is requested to carry out the
supplementary international search (“Authority specified for supplementary
search”); and

(iii) where the international application was filed in a language which is
not accepted by that Authority, whether any translation furnished to the
receiving Office under Rule 12.3 or 12.4 is to form the basis of the
supplementary international search.

(i) where neither the language in which the international application was
filed nor that in which a translation (if any) has been furnished under Rule 12.3
or 12.4 is accepted by the Authority specified for supplementary search, a
translation of the international application into a language which is accepted by
that Authority;

(ii) preferably, a copy of a sequence listing in electronic form complying
with the standard provided for in the Administrative Instructions, if required by
the Authority specified for supplementary search.

(d) Where the International Searching Authority has found that the
international application does not comply with the requirement of unity of
invention, the supplementary search request may contain an indication of the
wish of the applicant to restrict the supplementary international search to one of
the inventions as identified by the International Searching Authority other than
the main invention referred to in Article 17(3)(a).

(e) The supplementary search request shall be considered not to have been
submitted, and the International Bureau shall so declare:

(i) if it is received after the expiration of the time limit referred to in
paragraph (a); or

(ii) if the Authority specified for supplementary search has not stated, in
the applicable agreement under Article 16(3)(b), its preparedness to carry out
such searches or is not competent to do so under Rule 45bis.9(b).

45bis.2 Supplementary Search Handling Fee

(a) The supplementary search request shall be subject to the payment of a
fee for the benefit of the International Bureau (“supplementary search handling
fee”) as set out in the Schedule of Fees.

(b) The supplementary search handling fee shall be paid in the currency in
which the fee is set out in the Schedule of Fees or in any other currency
prescribed by the International Bureau. The amount in such other currency shall
be the equivalent, in round figures, as established by the International Bureau, of
the amount as set out in the Schedule of Fees, and shall be published in the
Gazette.

(c) The supplementary search handling fee shall be paid to the International
Bureau within one month from the date of receipt of the supplementary search
request. The amount payable shall be the amount applicable on the date of
payment.

(d) The International Bureau shall refund the supplementary search
handling fee to the applicant if, before the documents referred to in
Rule 45bis.4(e)(i) to (iv) are transmitted to the Authority specified for
supplementary search, the international application is withdrawn or considered
withdrawn, or the supplementary search request is withdrawn or is considered
not to have been submitted under Rule 45bis.1(e).

45bis.3 Supplementary Search Fee

(a) Each International Searching Authority carrying out supplementary
international searches may require that the applicant pay a fee (“supplementary
search fee”) for its own benefit for carrying out such a search.

(b) The supplementary search fee shall be collected by the International
Bureau. Rules 16.1(b) to (e) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(c) As to the time limit for payment of the supplementary search fee and the
amount payable, the provisions of Rule 45bis.2(c) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(d) The International Bureau shall refund the supplementary search fee to
the applicant if, before the documents referred to in Rule 45bis.4(e)(i) to (iv) are
transmitted to the Authority specified for supplementary search, the international
application is withdrawn or considered withdrawn, or the supplementary search

request is withdrawn or is considered not to have been submitted under
Rules 45bis.1(e) or 45bis.4(d).

(e) The Authority specified for supplementary search shall, to the extent
and under the conditions provided for in the applicable agreement under
Article 16(3)(b), refund the supplementary search fee if, before it has started the
supplementary international search in accordance with Rule 45bis.5(a), the
supplementary search request is considered not to have been submitted under
Rule 45bis.5(g).

45bis.4 Checking of Supplementary Search Request; Correction of Defects;
Late Payment of Fees; Transmittal to Authority Specified for
Supplementary Search

(a) Promptly after receipt of a supplementary search request, the
International Bureau shall check whether it complies with the requirements of
Rule 45bis.1(b) and (c)(i) and shall invite the applicant to correct any defects
within a time limit of one month from the date of the invitation.

(b) Where, by the time they are due under Rules 45bis.2(c) and 45bis.3(c),
the International Bureau finds that the supplementary search handling fee and
the supplementary search fee have not been paid in full, it shall invite the
applicant to pay to it the amount required to cover those fees, together with the
late payment fee under paragraph (c), within a time limit of one month from the
date of the invitation.

(c) The payment of fees in response to an invitation under paragraph (b)
shall be subject to the payment to the International Bureau, for its own benefit,
of a late payment fee whose amount shall be 50% of the supplementary search
handling fee.

(d) If the applicant does not furnish the required correction or does not pay
the amount in full of the fees due, including the late payment fee, before the
expiration of the time limit applicable under paragraph (a) or (b), respectively,
the supplementary search request shall be considered not to have been submitted
and the International Bureau shall so declare and shall inform the applicant
accordingly.

(e) On finding that the requirements of Rule 45bis.1(b) and (c)(i), 45bis.2(c)
and 45bis.3(c) have been complied with, the International Bureau shall
promptly, but not before the date of receipt by it of the international search
report or the expiration of 17 months from the priority date, whichever occurs
first, transmit to the Authority specified for supplementary search a copy of each
of the following:

(i) the supplementary search request;

(ii) the international application;

(iii) any sequence listing furnished under Rule 45bis.1(c)(ii); and

(iv) any translation furnished under Rule 12.3, 12.4 or 45bis.1(c)(i) which
is to be used as the basis of the supplementary international search;

and, at the same time, or promptly after their later receipt by the International
Bureau:

(v) the international search report and the written opinion established
under Rule 43bis.1;

(vi) any invitation by the International Searching Authority to pay
additional fees referred to in Article 17(3)(a); and

(vii) any protest by the applicant under Rule 40.2(c) and the decision
thereon by the review body constituted in the framework of the
International Searching Authority.

(f) Upon request of the Authority specified for supplementary search, the
written opinion referred to in paragraph (e)(v) shall, when not in English or in a
language accepted by that Authority, be translated into English by or under the
responsibility of the International Bureau. The International Bureau shall
transmit a copy of the translation to that Authority within two months from the
date of receipt of the request for translation, and shall at the same time transmit a
copy to the applicant.

45bis.5 Start, Basis and Scope of Supplementary International Search

(a) The Authority specified for supplementary search shall start the
supplementary international search promptly after receipt of the documents
specified in Rule 45bis.4(e)(i) to (iv), provided that the Authority may, at its
option, delay the start of the search until it has also received the documents
specified in Rule 45bis.4(e)(v) or until the expiration of 22 months from the
priority date, whichever occurs first.

(b) The supplementary international search shall be carried out on the basis
of the international application as filed or of a translation referred to in
Rule 45bis.1(b)(iii) or 45bis.1(c)(i), taking due account of the international
search report and the written opinion established under Rule 43bis.1 where they
are available to the Authority specified for supplementary search before it starts
the search. Where the supplementary search request contains an indication
under Rule 45bis.1(d), the supplementary international search may be restricted
to the invention specified by the applicant under Rule 45bis.1(d) and those parts
of the international application which relate to that invention.

(c) For the purposes of the supplementary international search, Article 17(2)
and Rules 13ter.1, 33 and 39 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(d) Where the international search report is available to the Authority
specified for supplementary search before it starts the search under
paragraph (a), that Authority may exclude from the supplementary search any
claims which were not the subject of the international search.

(e) Where the International Searching Authority has made the declaration
referred to in Article 17(2)(a) and that declaration is available to the Authority
specified for supplementary search before it starts the search under
paragraph (a), that Authority may decide not to establish a supplementary
international search report, in which case it shall so declare and promptly notify
the applicant and the International Bureau accordingly.

(f) The supplementary international search shall cover at least the
documentation indicated for that purpose in the applicable agreement under
Article 16(3)(b).

(g) If the Authority specified for supplementary search finds that carrying
out the search is entirely excluded by a limitation or condition referred to in
Rule 45bis.9(a), other than a limitation under Article 17(2) as applicable by
virtue of Rule 45bis.5(c), the supplementary search request shall be considered
not to have been submitted, and the Authority shall so declare and shall
promptly notify the applicant and the International Bureau accordingly.

(h) The Authority specified for supplementary search may, in accordance
with a limitation or condition referred to in Rule 45bis.9(a), decide to restrict the
search to certain claims only, in which case the supplementary international
search report shall so indicate.

45bis.6 Unity of Invention

(a) If the Authority specified for supplementary search finds that the
international application does not comply with the requirement of unity of
invention, it shall:

(i) establish the supplementary international search report on those parts
of the international application which relate to the invention first mentioned in
the claims (“main invention”);

(ii) notify the applicant of its opinion that the international application
does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention and specify the
reasons for that opinion; and

(iii) inform the applicant of the possibility of requesting, within the time
limit referred to in paragraph (c), a review of the opinion.

(b) In considering whether the international application complies with the
requirement of unity of invention, the Authority shall take due account of any

documents received by it under Rule 45bis.4(e)(vi) and (vii) before it starts the
supplementary international search.

(c) The applicant may, within one month from the date of the notification
under paragraph (a)(ii), request the Authority to review the opinion referred to in
paragraph (a). The request for review may be subjected by the Authority to the
payment to it, for its own benefit, of a review fee whose amount shall be fixed
by it.

(d) If the applicant, within the time limit under paragraph (c), requests a
review of the opinion by the Authority and pays any required review fee, the
opinion shall be reviewed by the Authority. The review shall not be carried out
only by the person who made the decision which is the subject of the review.
Where the Authority:

(i) finds that the opinion was entirely justified, it shall notify the
applicant accordingly;

(ii) finds that the opinion was partially unjustified but still considers that
the international application does not comply with the requirement of unity of
invention, it shall notify the applicant accordingly and, where necessary,
proceed as provided for in paragraph (a)(i);

(iii) finds that the opinion was entirely unjustified, it shall notify the
applicant accordingly, establish the supplementary international search report on
all parts of the international application and refund the review fee to the
applicant.

(e) On the request of the applicant, the text of both the request for review
and the decision thereon shall be communicated to the designated Offices
together with the supplementary international search report. The applicant shall
submit any translation thereof with the furnishing of the translation of the
international application required under Article 22.

(f) Paragraphs (a) to (e) shall apply mutatis mutandis where the Authority
specified for supplementary search decides to restrict the supplementary
international search in accordance with the second sentence of Rule 45bis.5(b)
or with Rule 45bis.5(h), provided that any reference in the said paragraphs to the
“international application” shall be construed as a reference to those parts of the
international application which relate to the invention specified by the applicant
under Rule 45bis.1(d) or which relate to the claims and those parts of the
international application for which the Authority will carry out a supplementary
international search, respectively.

45bis.7 Supplementary International Search Report

(a) The Authority specified for supplementary search shall, within
28 months from the priority date, establish the supplementary international

search report, or make the declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a) as
applicable by virtue of Rule 45bis.5(c) that no supplementary international
search report will be established.

(b) Every supplementary international search report, any declaration
referred to in Article 17(2)(a) as applicable by virtue of Rule 45bis.5(c) and any
declaration under Rule 45bis.5(e) shall be in a language of publication.

(c) For the purposes of establishing the supplementary international search
report, Rules 43.1, 43.2, 43.5, 43.6, 43.6bis, 43.8 and 43.10 shall, subject to
paragraphs (d) and (e), apply mutatis mutandis. Rule 43.9 shall apply mutatis
mutandis, except that the references therein to Rules 43.3, 43.7 and 44.2 shall be
considered non-existent. Article 20(3) and Rule 44.3 shall apply mutatis
mutandis.

(d) The supplementary international search report need not contain the
citation of any document cited in the international search report, except where
the document needs to be cited in conjunction with other documents that were
not cited in the international search report.

(e) The supplementary international search report may contain
explanations:

(i) with regard to the citations of the documents considered to be
relevant;

(ii) with regard to the scope of the supplementary international search.

45bis.8 Transmittal and Effect of the Supplementary International Search
Report

(a) The Authority specified for supplementary search shall, on the same
day, transmit one copy of the supplementary international search report or the
declaration that no supplementary international search report shall be
established, as applicable, to the International Bureau and one copy to the
applicant.

(b) Subject to paragraph (c), Article 20(1) and Rules 45.1, 47.1(d)
and 70.7(a) shall apply as if the supplementary international search report were
part of the international search report.

(c) A supplementary international search report need not be taken into
account by the International Preliminary Examining Authority for the purposes
of a written opinion or the international preliminary examination report if it is
received by that Authority after it has begun to draw up that opinion or report.

45bis.9 International Searching Authorities Competent to Carry Out
Supplementary International Search

(a) An International Searching Authority shall be competent to carry out
supplementary international searches if its preparedness to do so is stated in the
applicable agreement under Article 16(3)(b), subject to any limitations and
conditions set out in that agreement.

(b) The International Searching Authority carrying out the international
search under Article 16(1) in respect of an international application shall not be
competent to carry out a supplementary international search in respect of that
application.

(c) The limitations referred to in paragraph (a) may, for example, include
limitations as to the subject matter for which supplementary international
searches will be carried out, other than limitations under Article 17(2) as
applicable by virtue of Rule 45bis.5(c), limitations as to the total number of
supplementary international searches which will be carried out in a given period,
and limitations to the effect that the supplementary international searches will
not extend to any claim beyond a certain number of claims.

Rule 46
Amendment of Claims before the International Bureau

46.1 Time Limit

The time limit referred to in Article 19 shall be two months from the date of
transmittal of the international search report to the International Bureau and to
the applicant by the International Searching Authority or 16 months from the
priority date, whichever time limit expires later, provided that any amendment
made under Article 19 which is received by the International Bureau after the
expiration of the applicable time limit shall be considered to have been received
by that Bureau on the last day of that time limit if it reaches it before the
technical preparations for international publication have been completed.

46.2 Where to File

Amendments made under Article 19 shall be filed directly with the
International Bureau.

46.3 Language of Amendments

If the international application has been filed in a language other than the
language in which it is published, any amendment made under Article 19 shall
be in the language of publication.

46.4 Statement

(a) The statement referred to in Article 19(1) shall be in the language in
which the international application is published and shall not exceed 500 words
if in the English language or if translated into that language. The statement shall
be identified as such by a heading, preferably by using the words “Statement
under Article 19(1)” or their equivalent in the language of the statement.

(b) The statement shall contain no disparaging comments on the
international search report or the relevance of citations contained in that report.
Reference to citations, relevant to a given claim, contained in the international
search report may be made only in connection with an amendment of that claim.

46.5 Form of Amendments

(a) The applicant, when making amendments under Article 19, shall be
required to submit a replacement sheet or sheets containing a complete set of
claims in replacement of all the claims originally filed.

(b) The replacement sheet or sheets shall be accompanied by a letter which:

(i) shall identify the claims which, on account of the amendments, differ
from the claims originally filed, and shall draw attention to the differences
between the claims originally filed and the claims as amended;

(ii) shall identify the claims originally filed which, on account of the
amendments, are cancelled;

(iii) shall indicate the basis for the amendments in the application as filed.

Rule 47
Communication to Designated Offices

47.1 Procedure

(a) The communication provided for in Article 20 shall be effected by the
International Bureau to each designated Office in accordance with Rule 93bis.1
but, subject to Rule 47.4, not prior to the international publication of the
international application.

(a-bis) The International Bureau shall notify each designated Office, in
accordance with Rule 93bis.1, of the fact and date of receipt of the record copy
and of the fact and date of receipt of any priority document.

(b) Any amendment received by the International Bureau within the time
limit under Rule 46.1 which was not included in the communication provided
for in Article 20 shall be communicated promptly to the designated Offices by
the International Bureau, and the latter shall notify the applicant accordingly.

7 Editor’s Note: Rule 47.1(c) and (e) shall apply to any international application whose
international filing date is on or after January 1, 2004 and in respect of a designated Office
which has made a notification under paragraph (2) of the decisions of the Assembly set out in
Annex IV of document PCT/A/30/7 (to the effect that the modification of the time limit fixed
in Article 22(1) was not compatible with the national law applied by that Office on
October 3, 2001), and which has not withdrawn that notification under paragraph (3) of those
decisions, as though the reference in each of Rule 47.1(c) and (e) to “28 months” was a
reference to “19 months,” with the consequence that two notifications under Rule 47.1(c)
shall, if applicable, be sent in respect of such an application.

Information received by the International Bureau concerning any such incompatibility is published
in the Gazette and on the WIPO website at: www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/res_incomp.html.

(c)7 The International Bureau shall, promptly after the expiration of
28 months from the priority date, send a notice to the applicant indicating:

(i) the designated Offices which have requested that the communication
provided for in Article 20 be effected under Rule 93bis.1 and the date of such
communication to those Offices; and

(ii) the designated Offices which have not requested that the
communication provided for in Article 20 be effected under Rule 93bis.1.

(c-bis) The notice referred to in paragraph (c) shall be accepted by
designated Offices:

(i) in the case of a designated Office referred to in paragraph (c)(i), as
conclusive evidence that the communication provided for in Article 20 was
effected on the date specified in the notice;

(ii) in the case of a designated Office referred to in paragraph (c)(ii), as
conclusive evidence that the Contracting State for which that Office acts as
designated Office does not require the furnishing, under Article 22, by the
applicant of a copy of the international application.

(d) Each designated Office shall, when it so requires, receive the
international search reports and the declarations referred to in Article 17(2)(a)
also in the translation referred to in Rule 45.1.

(e)7 Where any designated Office has not, before the expiration of
28 months from the priority date, requested the International Bureau to effect the
communication provided for in Article 20 in accordance with Rule 93bis.1, the
Contracting State for which that Office acts as designated Office shall be
considered to have notified the International Bureau, under Rule 49.1(a-bis), that
it does not require the furnishing, under Article 22, by the applicant of a copy of
the international application.

47.2 Copies

The copies required for communication shall be prepared by the
International Bureau. Further details concerning the copies required for
communication may be provided for in the Administrative Instructions.

47.3 Languages

(a) The international application communicated under Article 20 shall be in
the language in which it is published.

(b) Where the language in which the international application is published
is different from the language in which it was filed, the International Bureau
shall furnish to any designated Office, upon the request of that Office, a copy of
that application in the language in which it was filed.

47.4 Express Request under Article 23(2) prior to International Publication

Where the applicant makes an express request to a designated Office under
Article 23(2) prior to the international publication of the international
application, the International Bureau shall, upon request of the applicant or the
designated Office, promptly effect the communication provided for in Article 20
to that Office.

Rule 48
International Publication

48.1 Form and Means

The form in which and the means by which international applications are
published shall be governed by the Administrative Instructions.

48.2 Contents

(a) The publication of the international application shall contain:

(i) a standardized front page;

(ii) the description;

(iii) the claims;

(iv) the drawings, if any;

(v) subject to paragraph (g), the international search report or the
declaration under Article 17(2)(a);

(vi) any statement filed under Article 19(1), unless the International
Bureau finds that the statement does not comply with the provisions of
Rule 46.4;

(vii) where the request for publication under Rule 91.3(d) was received by
the International Bureau before the completion of the technical preparations for

international publication, any request for rectification of an obvious mistake, any
reasons and any comments referred to in Rule 91.3(d);

(viii) the indications in relation to deposited biological material furnished
under Rule 13bis separately from the description, together with an indication of
the date on which the International Bureau received such indications;

(ix) any information concerning a priority claim referred to in
Rule 26bis.2(d);

(x) any declaration referred to in Rule 4.17, and any correction thereof
under Rule 26ter.1, which was received by the International Bureau before the
expiration of the time limit under Rule 26ter.1;

(xi) any information concerning a request under Rule 26bis.3 for
restoration of the right of priority and the decision of the receiving Office upon
such request, including information as to the criterion for restoration upon which
the decision was based.

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

(i) data taken from the request sheet and such other data as are
prescribed by the Administrative Instructions;

(ii) a figure or figures where the international application contains
drawings, unless Rule 8.2(b) applies;

(iii) the abstract; if the abstract is both in English and in another
language, the English text shall appear first;

(iv) where applicable, an indication that the request contains a declaration
referred to in Rule 4.17 which was received by the International Bureau before
the expiration of the time limit under Rule 26ter.1;

(v) where the international filing date has been accorded by the receiving
Office under Rule 20.3(b)(ii) or 20.5(d) on the basis of the incorporation by
reference under Rules 4.18 and 20.6 of an element or part, an indication to that
effect, together with an indication as to whether the applicant, for the purposes
of Rule 20.6(a)(ii), relied on compliance with Rule 17.1(a), (b) or (b-bis) in
relation to the priority document or on a separately submitted copy of the earlier
application concerned;

(vi) where applicable, an indication that the published international
application contains information under Rule 26bis.2(d);

(vii) where applicable, an indication that the published international
application contains information concerning a request under Rule 26bis.3 for
restoration of the right of priority and the decision of the receiving Office upon
such request;

(viii) where applicable, an indication that the applicant has, under
Rule 26bis.3(f), furnished copies of any declaration or other evidence to the
International Bureau.

(c) Where a declaration under Article 17(2)(a) has issued, the front page
shall conspicuously refer to that fact and need include neither a drawing nor an
abstract.

(d) The figure or figures referred to in paragraph (b)(ii) shall be selected as
provided in Rule 8.2. Reproduction of such figure or figures on the front page
may be in a reduced form.

(e) If there is not enough room on the front page for the totality of the
abstract referred to in paragraph (b)(iii), the said abstract shall appear on the
back of the front page. The same shall apply to the translation of the abstract
when such translation is required to be published under Rule 48.3(c).

(f) If the claims have been amended under Article 19, the publication of the
international application shall contain the full text of the claims both as filed and
as amended. Any statement referred to in Article 19(1) shall be included as
well, unless the International Bureau finds that the statement does not comply
with the provisions of Rule 46.4. The date of receipt of the amended claims by
the International Bureau shall be indicated.

(g) If, at the time of the completion of the technical preparations for
international publication, the international search report is not yet available, the
front page shall contain an indication to the effect that that report was not
available and that the international search report (when it becomes available)
will be separately published together with a revised front page.

(h) If, at the time of the completion of the technical preparations for
international publication, the time limit for amending the claims under
Article 19 has not expired, the front page shall refer to that fact and indicate that,
should the claims be amended under Article 19, then, promptly after receipt by
the International Bureau of such amendments within the time limit under
Rule 46.1, the full text of the claims as amended will be published together with
a revised front page. If a statement under Article 19(1) has been filed, that
statement shall be published as well, unless the International Bureau finds that
the statement does not comply with the provisions of Rule 46.4.

(i) If the authorization of a rectification of an obvious mistake in the
international application referred to in Rule 91.1 is received by or, where
applicable, given by the International Bureau after completion of the technical
preparations for international publication, a statement reflecting all the
rectifications shall be published, together with the sheets containing the

rectifications, or the replacement sheets and the letter furnished under Rule 91.2,
as the case may be, and the front page shall be republished.

(j) If, at the time of completion of the technical preparations for
international publication, a request under Rule 26bis.3 for restoration of the right
of priority is still pending, the published international application shall contain,
in place of the decision by the receiving Office upon that request, an indication
to the effect that such decision was not available and that the decision, when it
becomes available, will be separately published.

(k) If a request for publication under Rule 91.3(d) was received by the
International Bureau after the completion of the technical preparations for
international publication, the request for rectification, any reasons and any
comments referred to in that Rule shall be promptly published after the receipt
of such request for publication, and the front page shall be republished.

48.3 Languages of Publication

(a) If the international application is filed in Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish (“languages
of publication”), that application shall be published in the language in which it
was filed.

(b) If the international application is not filed in a language of publication
and a translation into a language of publication has been furnished under
Rule 12.3 or 12.4, that application shall be published in the language of that
translation.

(c) If the international application is published in a language other than
English, the international search report to the extent that it is published under
Rule 48.2(a)(v), or the declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a), the title of the
invention, the abstract and any text matter pertaining to the figure or figures
accompanying the abstract shall be published both in that language and in
English. The translations, if not furnished by the applicant under Rule 12.3,
shall be prepared under the responsibility of the International Bureau.

48.4 Earlier Publication on the Applicant’s Request

(a) Where the applicant asks for publication under Articles 21(2)(b)
and 64(3)(c)(i) and the international search report, or the declaration referred to
in Article 17(2)(a), is not yet available for publication together with the
international application, the International Bureau shall collect a special
publication fee whose amount shall be fixed in the Administrative Instructions.

(b) Publication under Articles 21(2)(b) and 64(3)(c)(i) shall be effected by
the International Bureau promptly after the applicant has asked for it and, where
a special fee is due under paragraph (a), after receipt of such fee.

48.5 Notification of National Publication

Where the publication of the international application by the International
Bureau is governed by Article 64(3)(c)(ii), the national Office concerned shall,
promptly after effecting the national publication referred to in the said provision,
notify the International Bureau of the fact of such national publication.

48.6 Announcing of Certain Facts

(a) If any notification under Rule 29.1(ii) reaches the International Bureau
at a time later than that at which it was able to prevent the international
publication of the international application, the International Bureau shall
promptly publish a notice in the Gazette reproducing the essence of such
notification.

(b) [Deleted]

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

Rule 49
Copy, Translation and Fee under Article 22

49.1 Notification

(a) Any Contracting State requiring the furnishing of a translation or the
payment of a national fee, or both, under Article 22, shall notify the
International Bureau of:

(i) the languages from which and the language into which it requires
translation,

(ii) the amount of the national fee.

(a-bis) Any Contracting State not requiring the furnishing, under Article 22,
by the applicant of a copy of the international application (even though the
communication of the copy of the international application by the International
Bureau under Rule 47 has not taken place by the expiration of the time limit
applicable under Article 22) shall notify the International Bureau accordingly.

(a-ter) Any Contracting State which, pursuant to Article 24(2), maintains, if
it is a designated State, the effect provided for in Article 11(3) even though a
copy of the international application is not furnished by the applicant by the
expiration of the time limit applicable under Article 22 shall notify the
International Bureau accordingly.

(b) Any notification received by the International Bureau under
paragraphs (a), (a-bis) or (a-ter) shall be promptly published by the International
Bureau in the Gazette.

(c) If the requirements under paragraph (a) change later, such changes shall
be notified by the Contracting State to the International Bureau and that Bureau
shall promptly publish the notification in the Gazette. If the change means that
translation is required into a language which, before the change, was not
required, such change shall be effective only with respect to international
applications filed later than two months after the publication of the notification
in the Gazette. Otherwise, the effective date of any change shall be determined
by the Contracting State.

49.2 Languages

The language into which translation may be required must be an official
language of the designated Office. If there are several of such languages, no
translation may be required if the international application is in one of them. If
there are several official languages and a translation must be furnished, the
applicant may choose any of those languages. Notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions of this paragraph, if there are several official languages but the
national law prescribes the use of one such language for foreigners, a translation
into that language may be required.

49.3 Statements under Article 19; Indications under Rule 13bis.4

For the purposes of Article 22 and the present Rule, any statement made
under Article 19(1) and any indication furnished under Rule 13bis.4 shall,
subject to Rule 49.5(c) and (h), be considered part of the international
application.

49.4 Use of National Form

No applicant shall be required to use a national form when performing the
acts referred to in Article 22.

49.5 Contents of and Physical Requirements for the Translation

(a) For the purposes of Article 22, the translation of the international
application shall contain the description (subject to paragraph (a-bis)), the
claims, any text matter of the drawings and the abstract. If required by the
designated Office, the translation shall also, subject to paragraphs (b), (c-bis)
and (e),

(i) contain the request,

(ii) if the claims have been amended under Article 19, contain both the
claims as filed and the claims as amended, and

(iii) be accompanied by a copy of the drawings.

(a-bis) No designated Office shall require the applicant to furnish to it a
translation of any text matter contained in the sequence listing part of the
description if such sequence listing part complies with Rule 12.1(d) and if the
description complies with Rule 5.2(b).

(b) Any designated Office requiring the furnishing of a translation of the
request shall furnish copies of the request form in the language of the translation
free of charge to the applicants. The form and contents of the request form in
the language of the translation shall not be different from those of the request
under Rules 3 and 4; in particular, the request form in the language of the
translation shall not ask for any information that is not in the request as filed.
The use of the request form in the language of the translation shall be optional.

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

(c-bis) Where the applicant furnishes, to a designated Office which requires
under paragraph (a)(ii) a translation of both the claims as filed and the claims as
amended, only one of the required two translations, the designated Office may
disregard the claims of which a translation has not been furnished or invite the
applicant to furnish the missing translation within a time limit which shall be
reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation. Where
the designated Office chooses to invite the applicant to furnish the missing
translation and the latter is not furnished within the time limit fixed in the
invitation, the designated Office may disregard those claims of which a
translation has not been furnished or consider the international application
withdrawn.

(d) If any drawing contains text matter, the translation of that text matter
shall be furnished either in the form of a copy of the original drawing with the
translation pasted on the original text matter or in the form of a drawing
executed anew.

(e) Any designated Office requiring under paragraph (a) the furnishing of a
copy of the drawings shall, where the applicant failed to furnish such copy
within the time limit applicable under Article 22, invite the applicant to furnish
such copy within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances
and shall be fixed in the invitation.

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

(g) Where any copy of the drawings or any drawing executed anew which
has been furnished under paragraph (d) or (e) does not comply with the physical
requirements referred to in Rule 11, the designated Office may invite the

8 Editor’s Note: This information is also published on the WIPO website at:
www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/res_incomp.html.

applicant to correct the defect within a time limit which shall be reasonable
under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation.

(h) Where the applicant did not furnish a translation of the abstract or of
any indication furnished under Rule 13bis.4, the designated Office shall invite
the applicant to furnish such translation, if it deems it to be necessary, within a
time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed
in the invitation.

(i) Information on any requirement and practice of designated Offices under
the second sentence of paragraph (a) shall be published by the International
Bureau in the Gazette.

(j) No designated Office shall require that the translation of the international
application comply with physical requirements other than those prescribed for
the international application as filed.

(k) Where a title has been established by the International Searching
Authority pursuant to Rule 37.2, the translation shall contain the title as
established by that Authority.

(l) If, on July 12, 1991, paragraph (c-bis) or paragraph (k) is not compatible
with the national law applied by the designated Office, the 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.8

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Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty