Regulations under the PCT
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
(a) International applications may, subject to paragraphs (b) to (e), be filed and processed in electronic form or by electronic means, in accordance with the Administrative Instructions.
(b) These Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to international applications filed in electronic form or by electronic means, subject to any special provisions of the Administrative Instructions.
(c) The Administrative Instructions shall set out the provisions and requirements in relation to the filing and processing of international applications filed, in whole or in part, in electronic form or by electronic means, including but not limited to, provisions and requirements in relation to acknowledgment of receipt, procedures relating to the according of an international filing date, physical requirements and the consequences of non-compliance with those requirements, signature of documents, means of authentication of documents and of the identity of parties communicating with Offices and authorities, and the operation of Article 12 in relation to the home copy, the record copy and the search copy, and may contain different provisions and requirements in relation to international applications filed in different languages.
(d) No national Office or intergovernmental organization shall be obliged to receive or process international applications filed in electronic form or by electronic means unless it has notified the International Bureau that it is prepared to do so in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Administrative Instructions. The International Bureau shall publish the information so notified in the Gazette.
(d-bis) A national Office or intergovernmental organization, other than the International Bureau, that has made a notification under paragraph (d) may notify the International Bureau that it will only receive international applications if they are filed in electronic form or by electronic means. The International Bureau shall publish a notification made under this paragraph in the Gazette.
(d-ter) A national Office or intergovernmental organization that has made a notification under paragraph (d) but not paragraph (d-bis) may notify the International Bureau that any application filed on paper must be resubmitted by electronic means within two months from the date of an invitation by such Office or organization. If corresponding documents are not timely received, the international application shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare. The International Bureau shall publish a notification made under this paragraph in the Gazette.
(e) No receiving Office which has given the International Bureau a notification under paragraph (d) may refuse to process an international application filed in electronic form or by electronic means which complies with the applicable requirements under the Administrative Instructions.
Rule 89bis.1 shall apply mutatis mutandis to other documents and correspondence relating to international applications, provided that, where a national Office or intergovernmental organization has made a notification under Rule 89bis.1(d-ter), any such documents or correspondence filed on paper and not resubmitted by electronic means within two months from the date of a corresponding invitation shall be disregarded.
89bis.3 Communication between Offices
Where the Treaty, these Regulations or the Administrative Instructions provide for the communication, notification or transmittal ("communication") of an international application, notification, communication, correspondence or other document by one national Office or intergovernmental organization to another, such communication may, where so agreed by both the sender and the receiver, be effected in electronic form or by electronic means.