PCT Newsletter

February 2026 | No. 02/2026

PCT Working Group – Eighteenth Session

The eighteenth session of the PCT Working Group resumed in Geneva on 2 February 2026, following its previous discussions from 18 to 20 February 2025. The following topics were considered by the Working Group during the eighteenth session. 

Electronic processing of international applications

The Working Group agreed to submit amendments to Rules 4, 45bis, 92bis and 94 of the PCT Regulations for approval by the PCT Assembly at its session in July 2026, with the aim of improving electronic services and providing a higher degree of protection for personal data provided for PCT processing. The amendments will require the provision of an email address and a telephone number for processing an international application, allow the exclusion of certain personal data from public access, and provide a basis for changing the address to which correspondence is to be addressed later than 30 months from the priority date (refer to document PCT/WG/18/8 and Annex I to document PCT/WG/18/20).

Establishing equivalent amounts of PCT fees

The Working Group agreed to submit to the Assembly proposed modifications to Directives of the PCT Assembly relating to the Establishment of Equivalent Amounts of Certain Fees to streamline the process for establishing equivalent amounts and reduce the time between a fluctuation in an exchange rate and the entry into force of a new equivalent amount to reflect that fluctuation (refer to document PCT/WG/18/12 and Annex II to document PCT/WG/18/20).

Proposal to transmit a copy of the notification of withdrawal (Form PCT/RO/136) to the applicant

The Working Group approved, in principle, modifications to Section 326 of the Administrative Instructions and paragraph 322 of the PCT Receiving Office Guidelines which would provide a basis for receiving Offices that wish to do so, to inform the applicant of the processing status of a withdrawal request when the receiving Office transmits the notice effecting such withdrawal to the International Bureau (refer to document PCT/WG/18/10 and Annex III to document PCT/WG/18/20). 

Filing medium for entering the national phase before designated Offices

The Working Group discussed a study on electronic-only national phase entry and proposals to amend the PCT Regulations that would enable designated or elected Offices to require national phase entry by electronic means, subject to certain conditions. The Working Group invited the International Bureau to consider the amendments further, taking into account the comments made at the session (refer to document PCT/WG/18/4 Rev.).

International publication-related processes

The Working Group discussed proposed changes to the format of international publication that would separate the international search report and any possible statements concerning claims amended under Article 19, which would simplify the publication process and facilitate further text-based processing, and invited the International Bureau to provide additional information or revised plans, taking into account the comments made (refer to document PCT/WG/18/13).

Procedure for extension of appointment of International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities

The Working Group agreed on the procedure for the Assembly of the PCT Union (PCT Assembly) to decide on the extension of appointment of International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities and the format of the associated new agreements between the International Bureau and each Authority (refer to documents PCT/WG/18/5, PCT/WG/18/6 and PCT/WG/18/15). 

Other issues

The Working Group also considered the following:

  • coordination of technical assistance under the PCT (see document PCT/WG/18/9);
  • coordination of patent examiner training (see document PCT/WG/18/11);
  • a status report of the PCT Minimum Documentation Task Force (see document PCT/WG/18/17);
  • a status report of the Sequence Listings Task Force (see document PCT/WG/18/18 Rev.);
  • processing sequence listings (see document PCT/WG/18/14);
  • a report on the international search report feedback pilot, in which participating Offices provide feedback on international search reports issued by a participating International Searching Authority for international applications entering the national phase (see document PCT/WG/18/7).
  • the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (see document PCT/WG/18/16);
  • a minor correction of the French version of Rule 26.3ter (see document PCT/WG/18/3);
  • consequential amendments related to the filing medium of international applications (see document PCT/WG/18/19);
  • a report on the thirty-first session of the Meeting of International Authorities under the PCT (see document PCT/WG/18/2).

Summary and documents

The Summary by the Chair (document PCT/WG/18/20) is available on the WIPO website with the working documents and a link to the webcast videos and speech-to-text transcripts of the session at:

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