WARNING: Although the information which follows was correct at the time of publication, some information may no longer be applicable; for example, amendments may have been made to the PCT Regulations and Administrative Instructions, as well as to PCT Forms, since the PCT Newsletter concerned was published; changes to certain fees and references to certain publications may no longer be valid. Wherever there is a reference to a PCT Rule, please check carefully whether the Rule in force at the date of publication of the advice has since been amended.

Issues to be aware of when submitting drawings in color

Q: I will shortly be filing an international application in respect of an invention that consists of a device which produces results in color. The drawings should therefore preferably be available in color to facilitate the understanding of the invention. Is it possible to submit color drawings as part of the application? If so, how should they be prepared, and should I alert the International Bureau to the fact that I am purposefully filing color drawings?

A: The PCT makes no provision for color drawings (or photographs1) and, furthermore, according to PCT Rule 11.13, drawings are to be "executed in durable, black, sufficiently dense and dark, uniformly thick and well defined, lines and strokes without colorings" [emphasis added]. If at all possible, you should adhere strictly to that rule from the outset and provide any necessary explanation of the relevant colors in the description, since you may be required to provide black and white drawings in the national phase before some Offices and this may prove difficult or impossible without adding subject matter.

However, although the filing of color drawings is not generally permitted under the PCT, any color drawings received will be retained by the receiving Office and/or the International Bureau (IB), although their subsequent availability will vary, depending on a number of factors.

Where, exceptionally, color drawings are submitted, they must be on sheets of A4 size and respect the minimum margins prescribed under PCT Rule 11.6(c), and generally meet the requirements under PCT Rule 11.11 and Rule 11.13. While the receiving Office will not necessarily require replacement sheets where color drawings are submitted, it is important to be aware that, where the applicant does not later furnish replacement black and white drawings (either of their own volition or subsequent to an invitation to correct from the receiving Office), the IB will, for international publication purposes, convert all drawings into black and white (not greyscale). Please also bear in mind that, in some cases, the receiving Office may even do the conversion prior to the drawings being submitted to the IB, and again, the quality for publication purposes cannot be guaranteed. Despite the best efforts of the IB during the conversion or scanning of the color drawings into black and white, it cannot guarantee the clarity of the drawings in the published application. As a result, details may be lost, which could impact the disclosure of the invention in the international application and affect the processing of the international application in the international and national phases.

Given that there is the risk that the conversion to black and white may result in certain inaccuracies when compared with the original document, if you file an application electronically using ePCT-Filing2, the IB has made available a dedicated preview function that enables applicants to view, pre-filing, the content of any application body provided in either PDF or DOCX format as it will be rendered by the IB for subsequent processing and publication. The applicant therefore has an opportunity, prior to filing the application using ePCT-Filing, to verify that the content of the converted images will be as originally intended. Since the preview function "view document as it will be rendered at the IB" is based on the same conversion process (the "DocConverter") as that which is used for document import and publication at the IB, it should closely resemble what will be published by the IB, provided that the receiving Office does not make any further conversions of the page images prior to transmitting the record copy to the IB.

The DocConverter preview function is also available as a standalone function, without needing to sign in, at:

https://pctdemo.wipo.int/DocConverter/pages/pdfValidator.xhtml

https://pctdemo.wipo.int/DocConverter/pages/home.xhtml