Forms from International Bureau to be Printed Recto-Verso

In line with WIPO’s aim to reduce the environmental impact of the services that it provides in general, it has been decided that, as from 1 April 2010, all PCT forms sent out by the International Bureau (IB) to PCT Offices and applicants (for example, PCT Forms PCT/IB/301 (Notification of Receipt of Record Copy), 304 (Notification Concerning Submission or Transmittal of Priority Document), 306 (Notification of the Recording of a Change) – see http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/forms/ib/index.htm for a full list of the forms sent out by the IB) will be printed on both sides of the page.  This will considerably reduce the quantity of paper used for mailing such forms (at the moment, approximately 40,000 sheets per week are mailed by the IB).

Furthermore, the IB forms may also be received electronically in the following ways:

For Offices, via the Internet:  those Offices which are interested in receiving the forms via a secure Internet connection should contact either Ms. Viviane Gross (viviane.gross@wipo.int) or Ms. Nathalie Beard (nathalie.beard@wipo.int). 

For applicants, by e-mail:  it is recalled that it is now also possible to request, by indicating in Boxes II and IV of the request form (PCT/RO/101), that the IB (as well as the receiving Office and the International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority, if those offices are willing to do so) send 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 only once applicants have successfully received advance copies of notifications by e‑mail from the IB and are satisfied with the electronic delivery to their given e‑mail address, as validated by the subsequent receipt of the paper copy (for further information, see PCT Newsletter No. 01/2010, page 6).