Note about new Check Box in the Request Form Relating to the Sending of Notifications by E-mail Exclusively

Following the promulgation of the revised PCT request form (PCT/RO/101), which entered into effect on 1 January 2010, it is now possible for applicants to request, by checking the appropriate check-box in Boxes II and IV of that form, that the International Bureau (IB) (as well as the receiving Office and the International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority if those offices are willing to do so) send them copies of notifications by e‑mail only and no longer also in paper form.  However, it is recommended that the option to request notifications “exclusively in electronic form (no paper notifications will be sent)” be used initially only by applicants that have already been successfully receiving advance copies of notifications by e‑mail from the IB and who are satisfied with the electronic delivery to their given e‑mail address, as validated by the subsequent receipt of the paper copy. 

For applicants who do not yet have the experience of receiving notifications by e-mail from the IB and who wish to do so, it is recommended as a first step to begin by requesting electronic “advance copies followed by paper copies” prior to opting to receive forms exclusively by e-mail.  Such an approach will allow applicants to validate that delivery of notifications to their chosen e‑mail address is sufficiently reliable before requesting that the parallel paper copies be discontinued.  This recommendation is made in light of the fact that a certain number of e‑mail addresses supplied to the IB contain typographical errors or are invalid, resulting in “bounced” e-mails back to the IB or otherwise being undelivered.  Please note that, in respect of any e‑mails that do bounce back to the IB, the applicant will be informed and invited to supply a correct e‑mail address.