PCT Receiving Office Guidelines
Chapter VI: Article 14 Check and Other Formal Requirements
Indications Concerning Applicant and Inventor where the United States of America Is Designated
91. Article 27(3) provides that where the applicant, for the purposes of any designated State, is not qualified according to the national law of that State to file a national application because the applicant is not the inventor, the international application may be rejected by the designated Office concerned. At present, only the national law of the United States of America contains such a provision. Therefore, where the United States of America is one of the designated States, all of the inventors must be named as applicants (as well as inventors) for the purposes of that designation. The check-box “This person is also inventor” (in Box No. II of the request) or “applicant and inventor” (in Box No. III of the request) must be marked. For examples, see Annex B.
92. [Deleted]
93. Where, for the purposes of the designation of the United States of America,
(i) the inventor(s) is (are) named but not also indicated as applicant(s) for the purposes of that designation, and unless the inventor(s) is (are) deceased (see paragraphs 96 to 99 and 161 to 165), or
(ii) no inventor is indicated,
and the designation of the United States of America has not been withdrawn, the receiving Office notifies the applicant that the application may be rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a designated Office because only the inventor is qualified to file a national application in the United States of America (Article 27(3)). Any response by an applicant requesting that an inventor be indicated as an applicant for the United States of America will be treated as a request under PCT Rule 92bis.
94. Where a legal entity is indicated on the request as an applicant for States including the United States of America and the request also names a person who is an inventor and applicant for the purposes of the United States of America, then the receiving Office should ex officio correct the request to indicate the legal entity as an applicant for the purposes of “all designated States except the United States of America.” Similarly, any response to the notification referred to in paragraph 93 requesting that an inventor be indicated as an applicant for the United States of America will be considered, in the absence of instructions to the contrary, to include a request to change the indication of any legal entity indicated as an applicant for the United States to that of an applicant for “all designated States except the United States of America”.
