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.

Change regarding the size of the text in the international application

Q: I have seen that with the rule change package that will enter into force on 1 April 2007, there is a new minimum size for text matter in the international application of 0.28 cm height for capital letters. I will soon be filing an international application, the description and claims of which have already been prepared in Times New Roman font with a 10 point font size with the result that the capital letters are less than the minimum 0.28 cm high. Why was this change in the requirement for the height of the letters made? If the international application is filed in its current format on or after 1 April 2007, will I receive an invitation to correct the size of the text? Are there any other changes to the physical requirements of international applications that I should be aware of?

A: PCT Rule 11.9(d) has been amended with effect from 1 April 2007, so as to increase the minimum height of capital letters in the text matter of the international application from 0.21 cm to 0.28 cm. This new height would be approximately equivalent to a Times New Roman 12 point font, and applies to any text matter of the international application except for the request, noting that the request as such is not published.

Although many applicants already use a larger font size and thereby already meet the new minimum height requirements, it was deemed necessary to change the current minimum height requirement, which dates back to a time when typewriters were used rather than computers. Increasing the minimum height requirement will increase the accuracy of capture where modern information and communications technology is used in the processing of PCT applications. This is the case where international applications have been filed on paper and are converted into electronic form, for example, by way of scanning and subsequent further conversion from image files to text files through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) (which is the way in which all international applications filed on paper are processed at the International Bureau). The accuracy of an OCR conversion is inversely proportional to the size of the text being scanned, and it has been found that the OCR of applications filed using the minimum size of 0.21 cm result in electronic files which contain numerous errors which have to be corrected before they can be properly searched, examined and published.

It has been found that scans of applications using a font size having a capital letter height of no less than 0.28 cm result in an acceptable level of OCR accuracy. Moreover, a larger font size is also much easier for people to read (scientific studies have shown that the ideal font size is 11 or 12).

If the text size in your international application is below the new minimum size of 0.28 cm, you will normally be invited by the receiving Office to correct the defect because of the above-mentioned negative consequences of having text that is too small to be scanned effectively.

Note, however, that now that international publication is in electronic form, many of the other physical defects which may have resulted in invitations to correct during the times of paper publication may no longer have that result, due to the fact that they are not as detrimental to the publication process. It is recalled that, according to PCT Rule 26.3, the physical requirements under PCT Rule 11 will be checked only to the extent that compliance therewith is necessary for the purpose of reasonable uniform international publication. Therefore invitations to correct physical requirements are not normally issued in respect of many of the minor defects, for example, if the line spacing is not set at one and a half, or if the page numbering is not centered.

None of the other requirements under PCT Rule 11 will change on 1 April 2007. However, because of the difficulty that OCR scanners have in recognizing handwritten characters, PCT Rule 26.4 has been amended so as to no longer permit corrections to the international application by hand. Therefore, in the case of a correction of any element of the international application other than the request, the applicant will be required, as from 1 April 2007, to submit a replacement sheet embodying the correction together with an accompanying letter drawing attention to the differences between the replaced sheet and the replacement sheet. As far as any correction to the request form is concerned, such correction may be stated in a letter, without the need to submit a replacement sheet, if that correction is of such a nature that it can be transferred from the letter to the request without adversely affecting the clarity and the direct reproducibility of the sheet onto which the correction is to be transferred.

It is recalled that the texts of the amendments to the Regulations under the PCT, as in force on 1 April 2007, are available in documents PCT/A/34/6 and PCT/A/35/7 at:

and that the consolidated text of the Regulations under the PCT, as in force on 1 April 2007, is available at:

Further information about some of the other amendments to the Regulations that will enter into force on 1 April 2007 will be published in the April issue of the PCT Newsletter.