PCT Notification No. 157
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Certified Copy
Amendments to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Adopted by the Assembly of the International Patent Cooperation Union (PCT Union) at its thirty-first (18th extraordinary) session on October 1, 2002, with effect from January 1, 2003
Table of Amendments [*]
Rule 12.1
Rule 12.2
Rule 12.3
Rule 12.4
Rule 22.1
Rule 26.3
Rule 29.1
Rule 48.3
Rule 49.6
AMENDMENTS [1]
Rule 12
Language of the International Application and Translation for the Purposes of International Search and International Publication
12.1 Languages Accepted for the Filing of International Applications
(a) and (b) [No change]
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the request shall be filed in any language of publication which the receiving Office accepts for the purposes of this paragraph.
(d) [No change]
12.2 Language of Changes in the International Application
(a) [No change]
(b) Any rectification under Rule 91.1 of an obvious error in the international application shall be in the language in which the application is filed, provided that:
(i) where a translation of the international application is required under Rule 12.3(a), 12.4(a) or 55.2(a), rectifications referred to in Rule 91.1(e)(ii) and (iii) shall be filed in both the language of the application and the language of that translation;
(ii) [No change]
(c) [No change]
12.3 Translation for the Purposes of International Search
(a) to (d) [No change]
(e) The furnishing of a translation after the expiration of the time limit under paragraph (a) may be subjected by the receiving Office to the payment to it, for its own benefit, of a late furnishing fee equal to 50% of the basic fee referred to in item 1(a) of the Schedule of Fees.
12.4 Translation for the Purposes of International Publication
(a) Where the language in which the international application is filed is not a language of publication and no translation is required under Rule 12.3(a), the applicant shall, within 14 months from the priority date, furnish to the receiving Office a translation of the international application into any language of publication which the receiving Office accepts for the purposes of this paragraph.
(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to the request nor to any sequence listing part of the description.
(c) Where the applicant has not, within the time limit referred to in paragraph (a), furnished a translation required under that paragraph, the receiving Office shall invite the applicant to furnish the required translation, and to pay, where applicable, the late furnishing fee required under paragraph (e), within 16 months from the priority date. Any translation received by the receiving Office before that Office sends the invitation under the previous sentence shall be considered to have been received before the expiration of the time limit under paragraph (a).
(d) Where the applicant has not, within the time limit under paragraph (c), furnished the required translation and paid any required late furnishing fee, the international application shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare. Any translation and any payment received by the receiving Office before that Office makes the declaration under the previous sentence and before the expiration of 17 months from the priority date shall be considered to have been received before the expiration of that time limit.
(e) The furnishing of a translation after the expiration of the time limit under paragraph (a) may be subjected by the receiving Office to the payment to it, for its own benefit, of a late furnishing fee equal to 50% of the basic fee referred to in item 1(a) of the Schedule of Fees.
Rule 22
Transmittal of the Record Copy and Translation
(a) to (g) [No change]
(h) Where the international application is to be published in the language of a translation furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4, that translation shall be transmitted by the receiving Office to the International Bureau together with the record copy under paragraph (a) or, if the receiving Office has already transmitted the record copy to the International Bureau under that paragraph, promptly after receipt of the translation.
22.2 [Remains deleted]
22.3 [No change]
Rule 26
Checking by, and Correcting Before, the Receiving Office of Certain Elements of the International Application
26.1 and 26.2 [No change]
26.3 Checking of Physical Requirements Under Article 14(1)(a)(v)
(a) [No change]
(b) Where the international application is filed in a language which is not a language of publication, the receiving Office shall check:
(i) [No change]
(ii) any translation furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4 and the drawings for compliance with the physical requirements referred to in Rule 11 to the extent that compliance therewith is necessary for the purpose of reasonably uniform international publication.
26.3bis to 26.6 [No change]
Rule 29
International Applications or Designations Considered Withdrawn
29.1 Finding by Receiving Office
(a) If the receiving Office declares, under Article 14(1)(b) and Rule 26.5 (failure to correct certain defects), or under Article 14(3)(a) (failure to pay the prescribed fees under Rule 27.1 (a)), or under Article 14(4) (later finding of non-compliance with the requirements listed in items (i) to (iii) of Article 11(1)), or under Rule 12.3(d) or 12.4(d) (failure to furnish a required translation or, where applicable, to pay a late furnishing fee), or under Rule 92.4(g)(i) (failure to furnish the original of a document), that the international application is considered withdrawn:
(i) to (iv) [No change]
(b) [No change]
29.2 [Remains deleted]
29.3 and 29.4 [No change]
Rule 48
International Publication
48.1 and 48.2 [No change]
(a) [No change]
(b) If the international application is not filed in a language of publication and a translation into a language of publication has been furnished under Rule 12.3 or 12.4, that application shall be published in the language of that translation.
(c) [No change]
48.4 to 48.6 [No change]
Rule 49
Copy, Translation and Fee Under Article 22
49.1 to 49.5 [No change]
49.6 Reinstatement of Rights After Failure to Perform the Acts Referred to in Article 22
(a) Where the effect of the international application provided for in Article 11(3) has ceased because the applicant failed to perform the acts referred to in Article 22 within the applicable time limit, the designated Office shall, upon request of the applicant, and subject to paragraphs (b) to (e) of this Rule, reinstate the rights of the applicant with respect to that international application if it finds that any delay in meeting that time limit was unintentional or, at the option of the designated Office, that the failure to meet that time limit occurred in spite of due care required by the circumstances having been taken.
(b) The request under paragraph (a) shall be submitted to the designated Office, and the acts referred to in Article 22 shall be performed, within whichever of the following periods expires first:
(i) two months from the date of removal of the cause of the failure to meet the applicable time limit under Article 22; or
(ii) 12 months from the date of the expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 22;
provided that the applicant may submit the request at any later time if so permitted by the national law applicable by the designated Office.
(c) The request under paragraph (a) shall state the reasons for the failure to comply with the applicable time limit under Article 22.
(d) The national law applicable by the designated Office may require:
(i) that a fee be paid in respect of a request under paragraph (a);
(ii) that a declaration or other evidence in support of the reasons referred to in paragraph (c) be filed.
(e) The designated Office shall not refuse a request under paragraph (a) without giving the applicant the opportunity to make observations on the intended refusal within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances.
(f) If, on October 1, 2002, paragraphs (a) to (e) are not compatible with the national law applied by the designated Office, those paragraphs shall not apply in respect of that designated Office for as long as they continue not to be compatible with that law, provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau accordingly by January 1, 2003. The information received shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original text in English of the amendments of the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), adopted by the Assembly of the International Patent Cooperation Union (PCT Union) at its thirty-first (18th extraordinary) session on October 1, 2002, with effect from January 1, 2003.
(signed)
Kamil Idris
Director General
World Intellectual Property Organization
November 22, 2002
Footnotes:
(*) The Rules as amended will not apply to any international application whose international filing date is before January 1, 2003, provided that:
(i) new Rule 49.6(a) to (e) shall, subject to item (iii), apply to any international application whose international filing date is before January 1, 2003, and in respect of which the applicable time limit under Article 22 expires on or after January 1, 2003;
(ii) to the extent that new Rule 49.6(a) to (e) is applicable by virtue of Rule 76.5, the latter Rule shall, subject to item (iii), apply to any international application whose international filing date is before January 1, 2003, and in respect of which the applicable time limit under Article 39(1) expires on or after January 1, 2003;
(iii) where a designated Office informs the International Bureau under paragraph (f) of Rule 49.6 that paragraphs (a) to (e) of that Rule are not compatible with the national law applied by that Office, items (i) and (ii) of this paragraph shall apply in respect of that Office except that each reference in those items to the date January 1, 2003, shall be read as a reference to the date of entry into force of Rule 49.6(a) to (e) in respect of that Office.
1. The following reproduces the text as amended of each Rule that was amended. Where a paragraph or item of any such Rule has not been amended, the indication "[No change]" appears.