WARNING: Although the information which follows was correct at the time of original publication in the PCT Newsletter, 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.

Publication of a rectification of an obvious mistake after international publication

Q: I filed an international application on 16 April 2007, claiming priority of an earlier application filed on 25 April 2006. It was only after my international application was published recently that I noticed that there was a mistake in the description of the invention. I therefore immediately submitted to the International Searching Authority (ISA) a request for rectification of an obvious mistake. If that request for rectification is authorized by the ISA, will the international application be republished with the corrected text? If it is not authorized, can the request for rectification itself be published so that designated Offices and third parties can be made aware of that mistake?

A: Since your international application was filed after 1 April 2007, PCT Rule 91, as amended with effect from that date, applies (it is important to note that for international applications filed before 1 April 2007, PCT Rule 91 as applicable prior to that date applies*).

It is recalled that under new PCT Rule 91.2, the applicant may request the competent authority to authorize a rectification of an obvious mistake within 26 months from the priority date (note that depending on the part of the international application concerned, or depending on the stage in the proceedings during the international phase, authorities other than the ISA (the receiving Office, the International Bureau (IB) or the International Preliminary Examining Authority) may be competent to authorize the rectification – see PCT Rule 91.1(b) for details). The authority will authorize the rectification if it is obvious to that authority that, as at the international filing date (or other applicable date under PCT Rule 91.1(f)), something else was intended than what appears in the document concerned and nothing else could have been intended than the proposed rectification (PCT Rule 91.1(c)).

If your request for rectification of an obvious mistake in the description is authorized by the ISA, the IB will, in accordance with PCT Rule 48.2(i), publish the following as soon as possible, free of charge:

  • a revised version of the front page of the published international application;
  • the replacement sheets (marked with the words “RECTIFIED SHEET (RULE 91)”; and
  • a statement reflecting the rectification and/or the applicant’s letter requesting rectification.

The documents concerned will be available under the “Documents” tab of the relevant published international application at: www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/

Designated (or elected) Offices (as well as the receiving Office and international authorities, as required) will be aware of the rectification through its publication on PatentScope. Generally, a designated Office must process the international application in the national phase “as rectified”, unless the Office:

  • has already started the processing or examination of the international application before the date on which that Office is notified by the IB of the authorization of the rectification concerned (PCT Rule 91.3(e)), or
  • finds that it would not have authorized the rectification if it had been the competent authority (however, it must give the applicant the opportunity to make observations) (PCT Rule 91.3(f)).
  • If your request for rectification is refused by the ISA, you may request the IB in writing, within two months from the date of the notification of refusal, to publish, together with the international application, information concerning the request for rectification and its refusal, namely:
  • the request for rectification,
  • the reasons for refusal by the authority; and
  • any further brief comments that you may wish to submit.

This request is subject to the payment at the same time of a special fee (currently 50 Swiss francs plus 12 Swiss francs for each page in excess of one) which is indicated in Annex B2 (IB) of the PCT Applicant’s Guide ( www.wipo.int/pct/guide/en/gdvol1/annexes/annexb2/ax_b_ib.pdf) (see PCT Rules 91.3(d) and 48.2(k)). If a rectification of an obvious mistake is refused prior to completion of technical preparations for publication, and the applicant requests the IB to publish information concerning the request for rectification and its refusal, this information is published together with the international application.

Once information on a refused request for rectification has been published, the applicant may pursue it further before the designated (or elected) Offices according to their national law and practice for the rectification of obvious mistakes.

For further information on requests for rectification of obvious mistakes, see the PCT Applicant’s Guide, International Phase, paragraphs 443 to 448 (www.wipo.int/pct/guide/en/gdvol1/pdf/gdvol1.pdf). Detailed information on the new provisions of PCT Rule 91 is available at:

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* PCT Rule 91, as in force prior to 1 April 2007, allows less time for submission of requests for rectification of obvious “errors”, and the way in which the time limit is calculated is different: apart from cases where the authorization of the rectification is given by the IPEA, a request for rectification will be effective if authorization by the competent authority reaches the IB beforethe expiration of 17 months from the priority date; under current PCT Rule 91, it will be effective if the request for rectification is submitted to the competent authority before the expiration of 26 months from the priority date. (For the provisions of the rule as applicable prior to 1 April 2007, see: www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/pdf/pct_regs2006.pdf)