Gratis de volledige en complete tekst van Patent Cooperation Treaty PCT (pdf)

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(PCT)

Done at Washington on June 19, 1970,

amended on September 28, 1979,

modified on February 3, 1984, and October 3, 2001

(as in force from April 1, 2002)

World Intellectual Property Organization

GENEVA 2002

2

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Done at Washington on June 19, 1970,

amended on September 28, 1979,

modified on February 3, 1984, and October 3, 2001

(as in force from April 1, 2002)

TABLE OF CONTENTS*

Preamble

Introductory Provisions

Article 1 Establishment of a Union

Article 2 Definitions

Chapter I: International Application and International Search

Article 3 The International Application

Article 4 The Request

Article 5 The Description

Article 6 The Claims

Article 7 The Drawings

Article 8 Claiming Priority

Article 9 The Applicant

Article 10 The Receiving Office

Article 11 Filing Date and Effects of the International

Application

Article 12 Transmittal of the International Application to the

International Bureau and the International

Searching Authority

Article 13 Availability of Copy of the International

Application to Designated Offices

Article 14 Certain Defects in the International Application

Article 15 The International Search

Article 16 The International Searching Authority

* Table of Contents added for the convenience of the reader; it does not appear in

the original.

3

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 17 Procedure Before the International Searching

Authority

Article 18 The International Search Report

Article 19 Amendment of the Claims Before the International

Bureau

Article 20 Communication to Designated Offices

Article 21 International Publication

Article 22 Copy, Translation, and Fee, to Designated Offices

Article 23 Delaying of National Procedure

Article 24 Possible Loss of Effect in Designated States

Article 25 Review by Designated Offices

Article 26 Opportunity to Correct Before Designated Offices

Article 27 National Requirements

Article 28 Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the

Drawings, Before Designated Offices

Article 29 Effects of the International Publication

Article 30 Confidential Nature of the International Application

Chapter II: International Preliminary Examination

Article 31 Demand for International Preliminary Examination

Article 32 The International Preliminary Examining Authority

Article 33 The International Preliminary Examination

Article 34 Procedure Before the International Preliminary

Examining Authority

Article 35 The International Preliminary Examination Report

Article 36 Transmittal, Translation, and Communication, of

the International Preliminary Examination Report

Article 37 Withdrawal of Demand or Election

Article 38 Confidential Nature of the International Preliminary

Examination

Article 39 Copy, Translation, and Fee, to Elected Offices

Article 40 Delaying of National Examination and Other

Processing

Article 41 Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the

Drawings, Before Elected Offices

Article 42 Results of National Examination in Elected Offices

4

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Chapter III: Common Provisions

Article 43 Seeking Certain Kinds of Protection

Article 44 Seeking Two Kinds of Protection

Article 45 Regional Patent Treaties

Article 46 Incorrect Translation of the International

Application

Article 47 Time Limits

Article 48 Delay in Meeting Certain Time Limits

Article 49 Right to Practice Before International Authorities

Chapter IV: Technical Services

Article 50 Patent Information Services

Article 51 Technical Assistance

Article 52 Relations with Other Provisions of the Treaty

Chapter V: Administrative Provisions

Article 53 Assembly

Article 54 Executive Committee

Article 55 International Bureau

Article 56 Committee for Technical Cooperation

Article 57 Finances

Article 58 Regulations

Chapter VI: Disputes

Article 59 Disputes

Chapter VII: Revision and Amendment

Article 60 Revision of the Treaty

Article 61 Amendment of Certain Provisions of the Treaty

Chapter VIII: Final Provisions

Article 62 Becoming Party to the Treaty

Article 63 Entry into Force of the Treaty

Article 64 Reservations

Article 65 Gradual Application

Article 66 Denunciation

Article 67 Signature and Languages

Article 68 Depositary Functions

Article 69 Notifications

5

Patent Cooperation Treaty

The Contracting States,

Desiring to make a contribution to the progress of science and

technology,

Desiring to perfect the legal protection of inventions,

Desiring to simplify and render more economical the obtaining of

protection for inventions where protection is sought in several countries,

Desiring to facilitate and accelerate access by the public to the technical

information contained in documents describing new inventions,

Desiring to foster and accelerate the economic development of

developing countries through the adoption of measures designed to increase

the efficiency of their legal systems, whether national or regional, instituted

for the protection of inventions by providing easily accessible information

on the availability of technological solutions applicable to their special

needs and by facilitating access to the ever expanding volume of modern

technology,

Convinced that cooperation among nations will greatly facilitate the

attainment of these aims,

Have concluded the present Treaty.

6

Patent Cooperation Treaty

INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

Article 1

Establishment of a Union

(1) The States party to this Treaty (hereinafter called “the Contracting

States”) constitute a Union for cooperation in the filing, searching, and

examination, of applications for the protection of inventions, and for

rendering special technical services. The Union shall be known as the

International Patent Cooperation Union.

(2) No provision of this Treaty shall be interpreted as diminishing the

rights under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

of any national or resident of any country party to that Convention.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Treaty and the Regulations and unless expressly

stated otherwise:

(i) “application” means an application for the protection of an

invention; references to an “application” shall be construed as references

to applications for patents for inventions, inventors’ certificates, utility

certificates, utility models, patents or certificates of addition, inventors’

certificates of addition, and utility certificates of addition;

(ii) references to a “patent” shall be construed as references to

patents for inventions, inventors’ certificates, utility certificates, utility

models, patents or certificates of addition, inventors’ certificates of addition,

and utility certificates of addition;

(iii) “national patent” means a patent granted by a national authority;

(iv) “regional patent” means a patent granted by a national or an

intergovernmental authority having the power to grant patents effective in

more than one State;

(v) “regional application” means an application for a regional

patent;

7

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(vi) references to a “national application” shall be construed as

references to applications for national patents and regional patents, other

than applications filed under this Treaty;

(vii) “international application” means an application filed under

this Treaty;

(viii) references to an “application” shall be construed as references

to international applications and national applications;

(ix) references to a “patent” shall be construed as references to

national patents and regional patents;

(x) references to “national law” shall be construed as references

to the national law of a Contracting State or, where a regional application

or a regional patent is involved, to the treaty providing for the filing of

regional applications or the granting of regional patents;

(xi) “priority date,” for the purposes of computing time limits,

means:

(a) where the international application contains a priority claim

under Article 8, the filing date of the application whose priority is so

claimed;

(b) where the international application contains several priority

claims under Article 8, the filing date of the earliest application whose

priority is so claimed;

(c) where the international application does not contain any

priority claim under Article 8, the international filing date of such

application;

(xii) “national Office” means the government authority of a

Contracting State entrusted with the granting of patents; references to a

“national Office” shall be construed as referring also to any

intergovernmental authority which several States have entrusted with the

task of granting regional patents, provided that at least one of those States

is a Contracting State, and provided that the said States have authorized

that authority to assume the obligations and exercise the powers which

this Treaty and the Regulations provide for in respect of national Offices;

(xiii) “designated Office” means the national Office of or acting for

the State designated by the applicant under Chapter I of this Treaty;

8

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(xiv) “elected Office” means the national Office of or acting for the

State elected by the applicant under Chapter II of this Treaty;

(xv) “receiving Office” means the national Office or the

intergovernmental organization with which the international application

has been filed;

(xvi) “Union” means the International Patent Cooperation Union;

(xvii) “Assembly” means the Assembly of the Union;

(xviii) “Organization” means the World Intellectual Property

Organization;

(xix) “International Bureau” means the International Bureau of the

Organization and, as long as it subsists, the United International Bureaux

for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI);

(xx) “Director General” means the Director General of the

Organization and, as long as BIRPI subsists, the Director of BIRPI.

CHAPTER I

INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION

AND INTERNATIONAL SEARCH

Article 3

The International Application

(1) Applications for the protection of inventions in any of the

Contracting States may be filed as international applications under this

Treaty.

(2) An international application shall contain, as specified in this Treaty

and the Regulations, a request, a description, one or more claims, one or

more drawings (where required), and an abstract.

(3) The abstract merely serves the purpose of technical information

and cannot be taken into account for any other purpose, particularly not

for the purpose of interpreting the scope of the protection sought.

(4) The international application shall:

(i) be in a prescribed language;

9

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(ii) comply with the prescribed physical requirements;

(iii) comply with the prescribed requirement of unity of invention;

(iv) be subject to the payment of the prescribed fees.

Article 4

The Request

(1) The request shall contain:

(i) a petition to the effect that the international application be

processed according to this Treaty;

(ii) the designation of the Contracting State or States in which

protection for the invention is desired on the basis of the international

application (“designated States”); if for any designated State a regional

patent is available and the applicant wishes to obtain a regional patent

rather than a national patent, the request shall so indicate; if, under a treaty

concerning a regional patent, the applicant cannot limit his application to

certain of the States party to that treaty, designation of one of those States

and the indication of the wish to obtain the regional patent shall be treated

as designation of all the States party to that treaty; if, under the national

law of the designated State, the designation of that State has the effect of

an application for a regional patent, the designation of the said State shall

be treated as an indication of the wish to obtain the regional patent;

(iii) the name of and other prescribed data concerning the applicant

and the agent (if any);

(iv) the title of the invention;

(v) the name of and other prescribed data concerning the inventor

where the national law of at least one of the designated States requires that

these indications be furnished at the time of filing a national application.

Otherwise, the said indications may be furnished either in the request or in

separate notices addressed to each designated Office whose national law

requires the furnishing of the said indications but allows that they be

furnished at a time later than that of the filing of a national application.

(2) Every designation shall be subject to the payment of the prescribed

fee within the prescribed time limit.

10

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(3) Unless the applicant asks for any of the other kinds of protection

referred to in Article 43, designation shall mean that the desired protection

consists of the grant of a patent by or for the designated State. For the

purposes of this paragraph, Article 2(ii) shall not apply.

(4) Failure to indicate in the request the name and other prescribed

data concerning the inventor shall have no consequence in any designated

State whose national law requires the furnishing of the said indications but

allows that they be furnished at a time later than that of the filing of a

national application. Failure to furnish the said indications in a separate

notice shall have no consequence in any designated State whose national

law does not require the furnishing of the said indications.

Article 5

The Description

The description shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently

clear and complete for the invention to be carried out by a person skilled

in the art.

Article 6

The Claims

The claim or claims shall define the matter for which protection is

sought. Claims shall be clear and concise. They shall be fully supported

by the description.

Article 7

The Drawings

(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2)(ii), drawings shall be

required when they are necessary for the understanding of the invention.

(2) Where, without being necessary for the understanding of the

invention, the nature of the invention admits of illustration by drawings:

(i) the applicant may include such drawings in the international

application when filed,

(ii) any designated Office may require that the applicant file such

drawings with it within the prescribed time limit.

11

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 8

Claiming Priority

(1) The international application may contain a declaration, as

prescribed in the Regulations, claiming the priority of one or more earlier

applications filed in or for any country party to the Paris Convention for

the Protection of Industrial Property.

(2)(a) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), the conditions

for, and the effect of, any priority claim declared under paragraph (1) shall

be as provided in Article 4 of the Stockholm Act of the Paris Convention

for the Protection of Industrial Property.

(b) The international application for which the priority of one or

more earlier applications filed in or for a Contracting State is claimed may

contain the designation of that State. Where, in the international application,

the priority of one or more national applications filed in or for a designated

State is claimed, or where the priority of an international application having

designated only one State is claimed, the conditions for, and the effect of,

the priority claim in that State shall be governed by the national law of that

State.

Article 9

The Applicant

(1) Any resident or national of a Contracting State may file an

international application.

(2) The Assembly may decide to allow the residents and the nationals

of any country party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial

Property which is not party to this Treaty to file international applications.

(3) The concepts of residence and nationality, and the application of

those concepts in cases where there are several applicants or where the

applicants are not the same for all the designated States, are defined in the

Regulations.

12

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 10

The Receiving Office

The international application shall be filed with the prescribed receiving

Office, which will check and process it as provided in this Treaty and the

Regulations.

Article 11

Filing Date and Effects of the International Application

(1) The receiving Office shall accord as the international filing date

the date of receipt of the international application, provided that that Office

has found that, at the time of receipt:

(i) the applicant does not obviously lack, for reasons of residence

or nationality, the right to file an international application with the receiving

Office,

(ii) the international application is in the prescribed language,

(iii) the international application contains at least the following

elements:

(a) an indication that it is intended as an international application,

(b) the designation of at least one Contracting State,

(c) the name of the applicant, as prescribed,

(d) a part which on the face of it appears to be a description,

(e) a part which on the face of it appears to be a claim or claims.

(2)(a) If the receiving Office finds that the international application

did not, at the time of receipt, fulfill the requirements listed in paragraph (1),

it shall, as provided in the Regulations, invite the applicant to file the

required correction.

(b) If the applicant complies with the invitation, as provided in the

Regulations, the receiving Office shall accord as the international filing

date the date of receipt of the required correction.

(3) Subject to Article 64(4), any international application fulfilling the

requirements listed in items (i) to (iii) of paragraph (1) and accorded an

international filing date shall have the effect of a regular national application

13

Patent Cooperation Treaty

in each designated State as of the international filing date, which date shall

be considered to be the actual filing date in each designated State.

(4) Any international application fulfilling the requirements listed in

items (i) to (iii) of paragraph (1) shall be equivalent to a regular national

filing within the meaning of the Paris Convention for the Protection of

Industrial Property.

Article 12

Transmittal of the International Application to the

International Bureau and the International Searching Authority

(1) One copy of the international application shall be kept by the

receiving Office (“home copy”), one copy (“record copy”) shall be

transmitted to the International Bureau, and another copy (“search copy”)

shall be transmitted to the competent International Searching Authority

referred to in Article 16, as provided in the Regulations.

(2) The record copy shall be considered the true copy of the international

application.

(3) The international application shall be considered withdrawn if the

record copy has not been received by the International Bureau within the

prescribed time limit.

Article 13

Availability of Copy of the

International Application to Designated Offices

(1) Any designated Office may ask the International Bureau to transmit

to it a copy of the international application prior to the communication

provided for in Article 20, and the International Bureau shall transmit such

copy to the designated Office as soon as possible after the expiration of

one year from the priority date.

(2)(a) The applicant may, at any time, transmit a copy of his

international application to any designated Office.

(b) The applicant may, at any time, ask the International Bureau to

transmit a copy of his international application to any designated Office,

14

Patent Cooperation Treaty

and the International Bureau shall transmit such copy to the designated

Office as soon as possible.

(c) Any national Office may notify the International Bureau that it

does not wish to receive copies as provided for in subparagraph (b), in

which case that subparagraph shall not be applicable in respect of that

Office.

Article 14

Certain Defects in the International Application

(1)(a) The receiving Office shall check whether the international

application contains any of the following defects, that is to say:

(i) it is not signed as provided in the Regulations;

(ii) it does not contain the prescribed indications concerning

the applicant;

(iii) it does not contain a title;

(iv) it does not contain an abstract;

(v) it does not comply to the extent provided in the Regulations

with the prescribed physical requirements.

(b) If the receiving Office finds any of the said defects, it shall invite

the applicant to correct the international application within the prescribed

time limit, failing which that application shall be considered withdrawn

and the receiving Office shall so declare.

(2) If the international application refers to drawings which, in fact,

are not included in that application, the receiving Office shall notify the

applicant accordingly and he may furnish them within the prescribed time

limit and, if he does, the international filing date shall be the date on which

the drawings are received by the receiving Office. Otherwise, any reference

to the said drawings shall be considered non-existent.

(3)(a) If the receiving Office finds that, within the prescribed time limits,

the fees prescribed under Article 3(4)(iv) have not been paid, or no fee

prescribed under Article 4(2) has been paid in respect of any of the

designated States, the international application shall be considered

withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare.

15

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(b) If the receiving Office finds that the fee prescribed under

Article 4(2) has been paid in respect of one or more (but less than all)

designated States within the prescribed time limit, the designation of those

States in respect of which it has not been paid within the prescribed time

limit shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so

declare.

(4) If, after having accorded an international filing date to the

international application, the receiving Office finds, within the prescribed

time limit, that any of the requirements listed in items (i) to (iii) of

Article 11(1) was not complied with at that date, the said application shall

be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare.

Article 15

The International Search

(1) Each international application shall be the subject of international

search.

(2) The objective of the international search is to discover relevant

prior art.

(3) International search shall be made on the basis of the claims, with

due regard to the description and the drawings (if any).

(4) The International Searching Authority referred to in Article 16 shall

endeavor to discover as much of the relevant prior art as its facilities permit,

and shall, in any case, consult the documentation specified in the

Regulations.

(5)(a) If the national law of the Contracting State so permits, the

applicant who files a national application with the national Office of or

acting for such State may, subject to the conditions provided for in such

law, request that a search similar to an international search (“internationaltype

search”) be carried out on such application.

(b) If the national law of the Contracting State so permits, the national

Office of or acting for such State may subject any national application

filed with it to an international-type search.

16

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(c) The international-type search shall be carried out by the

International Searching Authority referred to in Article 16 which would

be competent for an international search if the national application were

an international application and were filed with the Office referred to in

subparagraphs (a) and (b). If the national application is in a language which

the International Searching Authority considers it is not equipped to handle,

the international-type search shall be carried out on a translation prepared

by the applicant in a language prescribed for international applications

and which the International Searching Authority has undertaken to accept

for international applications. The national application and the translation,

when required, shall be presented in the form prescribed for international

applications.

Article 16

The International Searching Authority

(1) International search shall be carried out by an International

Searching Authority, which may be either a national Office or an

intergovernmental organization, such as the International Patent Institute,

whose tasks include the establishing of documentary search reports on

prior art with respect to inventions which are the subject of applications.

(2) If, pending the establishment of a single International Searching

Authority, there are several International Searching Authorities, each

receiving Office shall, in accordance with the provisions of the applicable

agreement referred to in paragraph (3)(b), specify the International

Searching Authority or Authorities competent for the searching of

international applications filed with such Office.

(3)(a) International Searching Authorities shall be appointed by the

Assembly. Any national Office and any intergovernmental organization

satisfying the requirements referred to in subparagraph (c) may be appointed

as International Searching Authority.

(b) Appointment shall be conditional on the consent of the national

Office or intergovernmental organization to be appointed and the conclusion

of an agreement, subject to approval by the Assembly, between such Office

or organization and the International Bureau. The agreement shall specify

17

Patent Cooperation Treaty

the rights and obligations of the parties, in particular, the formal undertaking

by the said Office or organization to apply and observe all the common

rules of international search.

(c) The Regulations prescribe the minimum requirements,

particularly as to manpower and documentation, which any Office or

organization must satisfy before it can be appointed and must continue to

satisfy while it remains appointed.

(d) Appointment shall be for a fixed period of time and may be

extended for further periods.

(e) Before the Assembly makes a decision on the appointment of

any national Office or intergovernmental organization, or on the extension

of its appointment, or before it allows any such appointment to lapse, the

Assembly shall hear the interested Office or organization and seek the

advice of the Committee for Technical Cooperation referred to in Article 56

once that Committee has been established.

Article 17

Procedure Before the International Searching Authority

(1) Procedure before the International Searching Authority shall be

governed by the provisions of this Treaty, the Regulations, and the

agreement which the International Bureau shall conclude, subject to this

Treaty and the Regulations, with the said Authority.

(2)(a) If the International Searching Authority considers

(i) that the international application relates to a subject matter

which the International Searching Authority is not required,

under the Regulations, to search, and in the particular case

decides not to search, or

(ii) that the description, the claims, or the drawings, fail to

comply with the prescribed requirements to such an extent

that a meaningful search could not be carried out,

the said Authority shall so declare and shall notify the applicant and the

International Bureau that no international search report will be established.

18

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(b) If any of the situations referred to in subparagraph (a) is found

to exist in connection with certain claims only, the international search

report shall so indicate in respect of such claims, whereas, for the other

claims, the said report shall be established as provided in Article 18.

(3)(a) If the International Searching Authority considers that the

international application does not comply with the requirement of unity of

invention as set forth in the Regulations, it shall invite the applicant to pay

additional fees. The International Searching Authority shall establish the

international search report on those parts of the international application

which relate to the invention first mentioned in the claims (“main

invention”) and, provided the required additional fees have been paid within

the prescribed time limit, on those parts of the international application

which relate to inventions in respect of which the said fees were paid.

(b) The national law of any designated State may provide that, where

the national Office of that State finds the invitation, referred to in

subparagraph (a), of the International Searching Authority justified and

where the applicant has not paid all additional fees, those parts of the

international application which consequently have not been searched shall,

as far as effects in that State are concerned, be considered withdrawn unless

a special fee is paid by the applicant to the national Office of that State.

Article 18

The International Search Report

(1) The international search report shall be established within the

prescribed time limit and in the prescribed form.

(2) The international search report shall, as soon as it has been

established, be transmitted by the International Searching Authority to the

applicant and the International Bureau.

(3) The international search report or the declaration referred to in

Article 17(2)(a) shall be translated as provided in the Regulations. The

translations shall be prepared by or under the responsibility of the

International Bureau.

19

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 19

Amendment of the Claims Before the International Bureau

(1) The applicant shall, after having received the international search

report, be entitled to one opportunity to amend the claims of the international

application by filing amendments with the International Bureau within the

prescribed time limit. He may, at the same time, file a brief statement, as

provided in the Regulations, explaining the amendments and indicating

any impact that such amendments might have on the description and the

drawings.

(2) The amendments shall not go beyond the disclosure in the

international application as filed.

(3) If the national law of any designated State permits amendments to

go beyond the said disclosure, failure to comply with paragraph (2) shall

have no consequence in that State.

Article 20

Communication to Designated Offices

(1)(a) The international application, together with the international

search report (including any indication referred to in Article 17(2)(b)) or

the declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a), shall be communicated to

each designated Office, as provided in the Regulations, unless the

designated Office waives such requirement in its entirety or in part.

(b) The communication shall include the translation (as prescribed)

of the said report or declaration.

(2) If the claims have been amended by virtue of Article 19(1), the

communication shall either contain the full text of the claims both as filed

and as amended or shall contain the full text of the claims as filed and

specify the amendments, and shall include the statement, if any, referred

to in Article 19(1).

(3) At the request of the designated Office or the applicant, the

International Searching Authority shall send to the said Office or the

applicant, respectively, copies of the documents cited in the international

search report, as provided in the Regulations.

20

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 21

International Publication

(1) The International Bureau shall publish international applications.

(2)(a) Subject to the exceptions provided for in subparagraph (b) and

in Article 64(3), the international publication of the international application

shall be effected promptly after the expiration of 18 months from the priority

date of that application.

(b) The applicant may ask the International Bureau to publish his

international application any time before the expiration of the time limit

referred to in subparagraph (a). The International Bureau shall proceed

accordingly, as provided in the Regulations.

(3) The international search report or the declaration referred to in

Article 17(2)(a) shall be published as prescribed in the Regulations.

(4) The language and form of the international publication and other

details are governed by the Regulations.

(5) There shall be no international publication if the international

application is withdrawn or is considered withdrawn before the technical

preparations for publication have been completed.

(6) If the international application contains expressions or drawings

which, in the opinion of the International Bureau, are contrary to morality

or public order, or if, in its opinion, the international application contains

disparaging statements as defined in the Regulations, it may omit such

expressions, drawings, and statements, from its publications, indicating

the place and number of words or drawings omitted, and furnishing, upon

request, individual copies of the passages omitted.

Article 22

Copy, Translation, and Fee, to Designated Offices

(1) The applicant shall furnish a copy of the international application

(unless the communication provided for in Article 20 has already taken

21

Patent Cooperation Treaty

place) and a translation thereof (as prescribed), and pay the national fee (if

any), to each designated Office not later than at the expiration of 30* months

from the priority date. Where the national law of the designated State

requires the indication of the name of and other prescribed data concerning

the inventor but allows that these indications be furnished at a time later

than that of the filing of a national application, the applicant shall, unless

they were contained in the request, furnish the said indications to the

national Office of or acting for the State not later than at the expiration of

30* months from the priority date.

(2) Where the International Searching Authority makes a declaration,

under Article 17(2)(a), that no international search report will be established,

the time limit for performing the acts referred to in paragraph (1) of this

Article shall be the same as that provided for in paragraph (1).

(3) Any national law may, for performing the acts referred to in

paragraphs (1) or (2), fix time limits which expire later than the time limit

provided for in those paragraphs.

Article 23

Delaying of National Procedure

(1) No designated Office shall process or examine the international

application prior to the expiration of the applicable time limit under

Article 22.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), any designated

Office may, on the express request of the applicant, process or examine

the international application at any time.

* Editor’s Note: The 30-month time limit, as in force from April 1, 2002, does not

apply in respect of any designated Office which has notified the International Bureau of

incompatibility with the national law applied by that Office. The 20-month time limit, as

in force until March 31, 2002, continues to apply after that date in respect of any such

designated Office for as long as Article 22(1), as modified, continues not to be compatible

with the applicable national law. Notifications concerning any such incompatibility and

any withdrawals of such notifications are published in the Gazette.

22

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 24

Possible Loss of Effect in Designated States

(1) Subject, in case (ii) below, to the provisions of Article 25, the effect

of the international application provided for in Article 11(3) shall cease in

any designated State with the same consequences as the withdrawal of any

national application in that State:

(i) if the applicant withdraws his international application or the

designation of that State;

(ii) if the international application is considered withdrawn by

virtue of Articles 12(3), 14(1)(b), 14(3)(a), or 14(4), or if the designation

of that State is considered withdrawn by virtue of Article 14(3)(b);

(iii) if the applicant fails to perform the acts referred to in Article 22

within the applicable time limit.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), any designated

Office may maintain the effect provided for in Article 11(3) even where

such effect is not required to be maintained by virtue of Article 25(2).

Article 25

Review by Designated Offices

(1)(a) Where the receiving Office has refused to accord an international

filing date or has declared that the international application is considered

withdrawn, or where the International Bureau has made a finding under

Article 12(3), the International Bureau shall promptly send, at the request

of the applicant, copies of any document in the file to any of the designated

Offices named by the applicant.

(b) Where the receiving Office has declared that the designation of

any given State is considered withdrawn, the International Bureau shall

promptly send, at the request of the applicant, copies of any document in

the file to the national Office of such State.

(c) The request under subparagraphs (a) or (b) shall be presented

within the prescribed time limit.

(2)(a) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), each designated

Office shall, provided that the national fee (if any) has been paid and the

23

Patent Cooperation Treaty

appropriate translation (as prescribed) has been furnished within the

prescribed time limit, decide whether the refusal, declaration, or finding,

referred to in paragraph (1) was justified under the provisions of this Treaty

and the Regulations, and, if it finds that the refusal or declaration was the

result of an error or omission on the part of the receiving Office or that the

finding was the result of an error or omission on the part of the International

Bureau, it shall, as far as effects in the State of the designated Office are

concerned, treat the international application as if such error or omission

had not occurred.

(b) Where the record copy has reached the International Bureau

after the expiration of the time limit prescribed under Article 12(3) on

account of any error or omission on the part of the applicant, the provisions

of subparagraph (a) shall apply only under the circumstances referred to

in Article 48(2).

Article 26

Opportunity to Correct Before Designated Offices

No designated Office shall reject an international application on the

grounds of non-compliance with the requirements of this Treaty and the

Regulations without first giving the applicant the opportunity to correct

the said application to the extent and according to the procedure provided

by the national law for the same or comparable situations in respect of

national applications.

Article 27

National Requirements

(1) No national law shall require compliance with requirements relating

to the form or contents of the international application different from or

additional to those which are provided for in this Treaty and the Regulations.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) neither affect the application of

the provisions of Article 7(2) nor preclude any national law from requiring,

once the processing of the international application has started in the

designated Office, the furnishing:

24

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(i) when the applicant is a legal entity, of the name of an officer

entitled to represent such legal entity,

(ii) of documents not part of the international application but which

constitute proof of allegations or statements made in that application,

including the confirmation of the international application by the signature

of the applicant when that application, as filed, was signed by his

representative or agent.

(3) Where the applicant, for the purposes of any designated State, is

not qualified according to the national law of that State to file a national

application because he is not the inventor, the international application

may be rejected by the designated Office.

(4) Where the national law provides, in respect of the form or contents

of national applications, for requirements which, from the viewpoint of

applicants, are more favorable than the requirements provided for by this

Treaty and the Regulations in respect of international applications, the

national Office, the courts and any other competent organs of or acting for

the designated State may apply the former requirements, instead of the

latter requirements, to international applications, except where the applicant

insists that the requirements provided for by this Treaty and the Regulations

be applied to his international application.

(5) Nothing in this Treaty and the Regulations is intended to be

construed as prescribing anything that would limit the freedom of each

Contracting State to prescribe such substantive conditions of patentability

as it desires. In particular, any provision in this Treaty and the Regulations

concerning the definition of prior art is exclusively for the purposes of the

international procedure and, consequently, any Contracting State is free to

apply, when determining the patentability of an invention claimed in an

international application, the criteria of its national law in respect of prior

art and other conditions of patentability not constituting requirements as

to the form and contents of applications.

(6) The national law may require that the applicant furnish evidence in

respect of any substantive condition of patentability prescribed by such

law.

25

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(7) Any receiving Office or, once the processing of the international

application has started in the designated Office, that Office may apply the

national law as far as it relates to any requirement that the applicant be

represented by an agent having the right to represent applicants before the

said Office and/or that the applicant have an address in the designated

State for the purpose of receiving notifications.

(8) Nothing in this Treaty and the Regulations is intended to be

construed as limiting the freedom of any Contracting State to apply

measures deemed necessary for the preservation of its national security or

to limit, for the protection of the general economic interests of that State,

the right of its own residents or nationals to file international applications.

Article 28

Amendment of the Claims, the Description,

and the Drawings, Before Designated Offices

(1) The applicant shall be given the opportunity to amend the claims,

the description, and the drawings, before each designated Office within

the prescribed time limit. No designated Office shall grant a patent, or

refuse the grant of a patent, before such time limit has expired except with

the express consent of the applicant.

(2) The amendments shall not go beyond the disclosure in the

international application as filed unless the national law of the designated

State permits them to go beyond the said disclosure.

(3) The amendments shall be in accordance with the national law of

the designated State in all respects not provided for in this Treaty and the

Regulations.

(4) Where the designated Office requires a translation of the

international application, the amendments shall be in the language of the

translation.

26

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 29

Effects of the International Publication

(1) As far as the protection of any rights of the applicant in a designated

State is concerned, the effects, in that State, of the international publication

of an international application shall, subject to the provisions of

paragraphs (2) to (4), be the same as those which the national law of the

designated State provides for the compulsory national publication of

unexamined national applications as such.

(2) If the language in which the international publication has been

effected is different from the language in which publications under the

national law are effected in the designated State, the said national law may

provide that the effects provided for in paragraph (1) shall be applicable

only from such time as:

(i) a translation into the latter language has been published as

provided by the national law, or

(ii) a translation into the latter language has been made available

to the public, by laying open for public inspection as provided by the

national law, or

(iii) a translation into the latter language has been transmitted by

the applicant to the actual or prospective unauthorized user of the invention

claimed in the international application, or

(iv) both the acts described in (i) and (iii), or both the acts described

in (ii) and (iii), have taken place.

(3) The national law of any designated State may provide that, where

the international publication has been effected, on the request of the

applicant, before the expiration of 18 months from the priority date, the

effects provided for in paragraph (1) shall be applicable only from the

expiration of 18 months from the priority date.

(4) The national law of any designated State may provide that the effects

provided for in paragraph (1) shall be applicable only from the date on

which a copy of the international application as published under Article 21

has been received in the national Office of or acting for such State. The

said Office shall publish the date of receipt in its gazette as soon as possible.

27

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 30

Confidential Nature of the International Application

(1)(a) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), the International

Bureau and the International Searching Authorities shall not allow access

by any person or authority to the international application before the

international publication of that application, unless requested or authorized

by the applicant.

(b) The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not apply to any

transmittal to the competent International Searching Authority, to

transmittals provided for under Article 13, and to communications provided

for under Article 20.

(2)(a) No national Office shall allow access to the international

application by third parties, unless requested or authorized by the applicant,

before the earliest of the following dates:

(i) date of the international publication of the international

application,

(ii) date of the receipt of the communication of the international

application under Article 20,

(iii) date of the receipt of a copy of the international application

under Article 22.

(b) The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not prevent any national

Office from informing third parties that it has been designated, or from

publishing that fact. Such information or publication may, however, contain

only the following data: identification of the receiving Office, name of the

applicant, international filing date, international application number, and

title of the invention.

(c) The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not prevent any

designated Office from allowing access to the international application for

the purposes of the judicial authorities.

(3) The provisions of paragraph (2)(a) shall apply to any receiving Office

except as far as transmittals provided for under Article 12(1) are concerned.

(4) For the purposes of this Article, the term “access” covers any means

by which third parties may acquire cognizance, including individual

28

Patent Cooperation Treaty

communication and general publication, provided, however, that no national

Office shall generally publish an international application or its translation

before the international publication or, if international publication has not

taken place by the expiration of 20 months from the priority date, before

the expiration of 20 months from the said priority date.

CHAPTER II

INTERNATIONAL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

Article 31

Demand for International Preliminary Examination

(1) On the demand of the applicant, his international application shall

be the subject of an international preliminary examination as provided in

the following provisions and the Regulations.

(2)(a) Any applicant who is a resident or national, as defined in the

Regulations, of a Contracting State bound by Chapter II, and whose

international application has been filed with the receiving Office of or

acting for such State, may make a demand for international preliminary

examination.

(b) The Assembly may decide to allow persons entitled to file

international applications to make a demand for international preliminary

examination even if they are residents or nationals of a State not party to

this Treaty or not bound by Chapter II.

(3) The demand for international preliminary examination shall be made

separately from the international application. The demand shall contain

the prescribed particulars and shall be in the prescribed language and form.

(4)(a) The demand shall indicate the Contracting State or States in

which the applicant intends to use the results of the international preliminary

examination (“elected States”). Additional Contracting States may be

elected later. Election may relate only to Contracting States already

designated under Article 4.

(b) Applicants referred to in paragraph (2)(a) may elect any

Contracting State bound by Chapter II. Applicants referred to in

29

Patent Cooperation Treaty

paragraph (2)(b) may elect only such Contracting States bound by Chapter II

as have declared that they are prepared to be elected by such applicants.

(5) The demand shall be subject to the payment of the prescribed fees

within the prescribed time limit.

(6)(a) The demand shall be submitted to the competent International

Preliminary Examining Authority referred to in Article 32.

(b) Any later election shall be submitted to the International Bureau.

(7) Each elected Office shall be notified of its election.

Article 32

The International Preliminary Examining Authority

(1) International preliminary examination shall be carried out by the

International Preliminary Examining Authority.

(2) In the case of demands referred to in Article 31(2)(a), the receiving

Office, and, in the case of demands referred to in Article 31(2)(b), the

Assembly, shall, in accordance with the applicable agreement between the

interested International Preliminary Examining Authority or Authorities

and the International Bureau, specify the International Preliminary

Examining Authority or Authorities competent for the preliminary

examination.

(3) The provisions of Article 16(3) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, in

respect of International Preliminary Examining Authorities.

Article 33

The International Preliminary Examination

(1) The objective of the international preliminary examination is to

formulate a preliminary and non-binding opinion on the questions whether

the claimed invention appears to be novel, to involve an inventive step (to

be non-obvious), and to be industrially applicable.

(2) For the purposes of the international preliminary examination, a

claimed invention shall be considered novel if it is not anticipated by the

prior art as defined in the Regulations.

30

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(3) For the purposes of the international preliminary examination, a

claimed invention shall be considered to involve an inventive step if, having

regard to the prior art as defined in the Regulations, it is not, at the prescribed

relevant date, obvious to a person skilled in the art.

(4) For the purposes of the international preliminary examination, a

claimed invention shall be considered industrially applicable if, according

to its nature, it can be made or used (in the technological sense) in any

kind of industry. “Industry” shall be understood in its broadest sense, as in

the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

(5) The criteria described above merely serve the purposes of

international preliminary examination. Any Contracting State may apply

additional or different criteria for the purpose of deciding whether, in that

State, the claimed invention is patentable or not.

(6) The international preliminary examination shall take into

consideration all the documents cited in the international search report. It

may take into consideration any additional documents considered to be

relevant in the particular case.

Article 34

Procedure Before the

International Preliminary Examining Authority

(1) Procedure before the International Preliminary Examining Authority

shall be governed by the provisions of this Treaty, the Regulations, and

the agreement which the International Bureau shall conclude, subject to

this Treaty and the Regulations, with the said Authority.

(2)(a) The applicant shall have a right to communicate orally and in

writing with the International Preliminary Examining Authority.

(b) The applicant shall have a right to amend the claims, the

description, and the drawings, in the prescribed manner and within the

prescribed time limit, before the international preliminary examination

report is established. The amendment shall not go beyond the disclosure

in the international application as filed.

31

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(c) The applicant shall receive at least one written opinion from the

International Preliminary Examining Authority unless such Authority

considers that all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i) the invention satisfies the criteria set forth in Article 33(1),

(ii) the international application complies with the requirements

of this Treaty and the Regulations in so far as checked by that Authority,

(iii) no observations are intended to be made under Article 35(2),

last sentence.

(d) The applicant may respond to the written opinion.

(3)(a) If the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers

that the international application does not comply with the requirement of

unity of invention as set forth in the Regulations, it may invite the applicant,

at his option, to restrict the claims so as to comply with the requirement or

to pay additional fees.

(b) The national law of any elected State may provide that, where

the applicant chooses to restrict the claims under subparagraph (a), those

parts of the international application which, as a consequence of the

restriction, are not to be the subject of international preliminary examination

shall, as far as effects in that State are concerned, be considered withdrawn

unless a special fee is paid by the applicant to the national Office of that

State.

(c) If the applicant does not comply with the invitation referred to

in subparagraph (a) within the prescribed time limit, the International

Preliminary Examining Authority shall establish an international

preliminary examination report on those parts of the international

application which relate to what appears to be the main invention and shall

indicate the relevant facts in the said report. The national law of any elected

State may provide that, where its national Office finds the invitation of the

International Preliminary Examining Authority justified, those parts of the

international application which do not relate to the main invention shall,

as far as effects in that State are concerned, be considered withdrawn unless

a special fee is paid by the applicant to that Office.

32

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(4)(a) If the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers

(i) that the international application relates to a subject matter

on which the International Preliminary Examining Authority

is not required, under the Regulations, to carry out an

international preliminary examination, and in the particular

case decides not to carry out such examination, or

(ii) that the description, the claims, or the drawings, are so

unclear, or the claims are so inadequately supported by the

description, that no meaningful opinion can be formed on

the novelty, inventive step (non-obviousness), or industrial

applicability, of the claimed invention,

the said Authority shall not go into the questions referred to in Article 33(1)

and shall inform the applicant of this opinion and the reasons therefor.

(b) If any of the situations referred to in subparagraph (a) is found

to exist in, or in connection with, certain claims only, the provisions of

that subparagraph shall apply only to the said claims.

Article 35

The International Preliminary Examination Report

(1) The international preliminary examination report shall be

established within the prescribed time limit and in the prescribed form.

(2) The international preliminary examination report shall not contain

any statement on the question whether the claimed invention is or seems

to be patentable or unpatentable according to any national law. It shall

state, subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), in relation to each claim,

whether the claim appears to satisfy the criteria of novelty, inventive step

(non-obviousness), and industrial applicability, as defined for the purposes

of the international preliminary examination in Article 33(1) to (4). The

statement shall be accompanied by the citation of the documents believed

to support the stated conclusion with such explanations as the circumstances

of the case may require. The statement shall also be accompanied by such

other observations as the Regulations provide for.

33

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(3)(a) If, at the time of establishing the international preliminary

examination report, the International Preliminary Examining Authority

considers that any of the situations referred to in Article 34(4)(a) exists,

that report shall state this opinion and the reasons therefor. It shall not

contain any statement as provided in paragraph (2).

(b) If a situation under Article 34(4)(b) is found to exist, the

international preliminary examination report shall, in relation to the claims

in question, contain the statement as provided in subparagraph (a), whereas,

in relation to the other claims, it shall contain the statement as provided in

paragraph (2).

Article 36

Transmittal, Translation, and Communication,

of the International Preliminary Examination Report

(1) The international preliminary examination report, together with the

prescribed annexes, shall be transmitted to the applicant and to the

International Bureau.

(2)(a) The international preliminary examination report and its annexes

shall be translated into the prescribed languages.

(b) Any translation of the said report shall be prepared by or under

the responsibility of the International Bureau, whereas any translation of

the said annexes shall be prepared by the applicant.

(3)(a) The international preliminary examination report, together with

its translation (as prescribed) and its annexes (in the original language),

shall be communicated by the International Bureau to each elected Office.

(b) The prescribed translation of the annexes shall be transmitted

within the prescribed time limit by the applicant to the elected Offices.

(4) The provisions of Article 20(3) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to

copies of any document which is cited in the international preliminary

examination report and which was not cited in the international search

report.

34

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Article 37

Withdrawal of Demand or Election

(1) The applicant may withdraw any or all elections.

(2) If the election of all elected States is withdrawn, the demand shall

be considered withdrawn.

(3)(a) Any withdrawal shall be notified to the International Bureau.

(b) The elected Offices concerned and the International Preliminary

Examining Authority concerned shall be notified accordingly by the

International Bureau.

(4)(a) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), withdrawal of the

demand or of the election of a Contracting State shall, unless the national

law of that State provides otherwise, be considered to be withdrawal of the

international application as far as that State is concerned.

(b) Withdrawal of the demand or of the election shall not be

considered to be withdrawal of the international application if such

withdrawal is effected prior to the expiration of the applicable time limit

under Article 22; however, any Contracting State may provide in its national

law that the aforesaid shall apply only if its national Office has received,

within the said time limit, a copy of the international application, together

with a translation (as prescribed), and the national fee.

Article 38

Confidential Nature of the

International Preliminary Examination

(1) Neither the International Bureau nor the International Preliminary

Examining Authority shall, unless requested or authorized by the applicant,

allow access within the meaning, and with the proviso, of Article 30(4) to

the file of the international preliminary examination by any person or

authority at any time, except by the elected Offices once the international

preliminary examination report has been established.

35

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) and Articles 36(1) and (3)

and 37(3)(b), neither the International Bureau nor the International

Preliminary Examining Authority shall, unless requested or authorized by

the applicant, give information on the issuance or nonissuance of an

international preliminary examination report and on the withdrawal or

nonwithdrawal of the demand or of any election.

Article 39

Copy, Translation, and Fee, to Elected Offices

(1)(a) If the election of any Contracting State has been effected prior

to the expiration of the 19th month from the priority date, the provisions of

Article 22 shall not apply to such State and the applicant shall furnish a

copy of the international application (unless the communication under

Article 20 has already taken place) and a translation thereof (as prescribed),

and pay the national fee (if any), to each elected Office not later than at the

expiration of 30 months from the priority date.

(b) Any national law may, for performing the acts referred to in

subparagraph (a), fix time limits which expire later than the time limit

provided for in that subparagraph.

(2) The effect provided for in Article 11(3) shall cease in the elected

State with the same consequences as the withdrawal of any national

application in that State if the applicant fails to perform the acts referred to

in paragraph (1)(a) within the time limit applicable under paragraph (1)(a)

or (b).

(3) Any elected Office may maintain the effect provided for in

Article 11(3) even where the applicant does not comply with the

requirements provided for in paragraph (1)(a) or (b).

Article 40

Delaying of National Examination and Other Processing

(1) If the election of any Contracting State has been effected prior to

the expiration of the 19th month from the priority date, the provisions of

Article 23 shall not apply to such State and the national Office of or acting

for that State shall not proceed, subject to the provisions of paragraph (2),

36

Patent Cooperation Treaty

to the examination and other processing of the international application

prior to the expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 39.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), any elected Office

may, on the express request of the applicant, proceed to the examination

and other processing of the international application at any time.

Article 41

Amendment of the Claims,

the Description, and the Drawings, Before Elected Offices

(1) The applicant shall be given the opportunity to amend the claims,

the description, and the drawings, before each elected Office within the

prescribed time limit. No elected Office shall grant a patent, or refuse the

grant of a patent, before such time limit has expired, except with the express

consent of the applicant.

(2) The amendments shall not go beyond the disclosure in the

international application as filed, unless the national law of the elected

State permits them to go beyond the said disclosure.

(3) The amendments shall be in accordance with the national law of

the elected State in all respects not provided for in this Treaty and the

Regulations.

(4) Where an elected Office requires a translation of the international

application, the amendments shall be in the language of the translation.

Article 42

Results of National Examination in Elected Offices

No elected Office receiving the international preliminary examination

report may require that the applicant furnish copies, or information on the

contents, of any papers connected with the examination relating to the

same international application in any other elected Office.

37

Patent Cooperation Treaty

CHAPTER III

COMMON PROVISIONS

Article 43

Seeking Certain Kinds of Protection

In respect of any designated or elected State whose law provides for

the grant of inventors’ certificates, utility certificates, utility models, patents

or certificates of addition, inventors’ certificates of addition, or utility

certificates of addition, the applicant may indicate, as prescribed in the

Regulations, that his international application is for the grant, as far as that

State is concerned, of an inventor’s certificate, a utility certificate, or a

utility model, rather than a patent, or that it is for the grant of a patent or

certificate of addition, an inventor’s certificate of addition, or a utility

certificate of addition, and the ensuing effect shall be governed by the

applicant’s choice. For the purposes of this Article and any Rule thereunder,

Article 2(ii) shall not apply.

Article 44

Seeking Two Kinds of Protection

In respect of any designated or elected State whose law permits an

application, while being for the grant of a patent or one of the other kinds

of protection referred to in Article 43, to be also for the grant of another of

the said kinds of protection, the applicant may indicate, as prescribed in

the Regulations, the two kinds of protection he is seeking, and the ensuing

effect shall be governed by the applicant’s indications. For the purposes of

this Article, Article 2(ii) shall not apply.

Article 45

Regional Patent Treaties

(1) Any treaty providing for the grant of regional patents (“regional

patent treaty”), and giving to all persons who, according to Article 9, are

entitled to file international applications the right to file applications for

such patents, may provide that international applications designating or

electing a State party to both the regional patent treaty and the present

Treaty may be filed as applications for such patents.

38

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(2) The national law of the said designated or elected State may provide

that any designation or election of such State in the international application

shall have the effect of an indication of the wish to obtain a regional patent

under the regional patent treaty.

Article 46

Incorrect Translation of the International Application

If, because of an incorrect translation of the international application,

the scope of any patent granted on that application exceeds the scope of

the international application in its original language, the competent

authorities of the Contracting State concerned may accordingly and

retroactively limit the scope of the patent, and declare it null and void to

the extent that its scope has exceeded the scope of the international

application in its original language.

Article 47

Time Limits

(1) The details for computing time limits referred to in this Treaty are

governed by the Regulations.

(2)(a) All time limits fixed in Chapters I and II of this Treaty may,

outside any revision under Article 60, be modified by a decision of the

Contracting States.

(b) Such decisions shall be made in the Assembly or through voting

by correspondence and must be unanimous.

(c) The details of the procedure are governed by the Regulations.

Article 48

Delay in Meeting Certain Time Limits

(1) Where any time limit fixed in this Treaty or the Regulations is not

met because of interruption in the mail service or unavoidable loss or delay

in the mail, the time limit shall be deemed to be met in the cases and

subject to the proof and other conditions prescribed in the Regulations.

(2)(a) Any Contracting State shall, as far as that State is concerned,

excuse, for reasons admitted under its national law, any delay in meeting

any time limit.

39

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(b) Any Contracting State may, as far as that State is concerned,

excuse, for reasons other than those referred to in subparagraph (a), any

delay in meeting any time limit.

Article 49

Right to Practice Before International Authorities

Any attorney, patent agent, or other person, having the right to practice

before the national Office with which the international application was

filed, shall be entitled to practice before the International Bureau and the

competent International Searching Authority and competent International

Preliminary Examining Authority in respect of that application.

CHAPTER IV

TECHNICAL SERVICES

Article 50

Patent Information Services

(1) The International Bureau may furnish services by providing

technical and any other pertinent information available to it on the basis of

published documents, primarily patents and published applications (referred

to in this Article as “the information services”).

(2) The International Bureau may provide these information services

either directly or through one or more International Searching Authorities

or other national or international specialized institutions, with which the

International Bureau may reach agreement.

(3) The information services shall be operated in a way particularly

facilitating the acquisition by Contracting States which are developing

countries of technical knowledge and technology, including available

published know-how.

(4) The information services shall be available to Governments of

Contracting States and their nationals and residents. The Assembly may

decide to make these services available also to others.

40

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(5)(a) Any service to Governments of Contracting States shall be

furnished at cost, provided that, when the Government is that of a

Contracting State which is a developing country, the service shall be

furnished below cost if the difference can be covered from profit made on

services furnished to others than Governments of Contracting States or

from the sources referred to in Article 51(4).

(b) The cost referred to in subparagraph (a) is to be understood as

cost over and above costs normally incident to the performance of the

services of a national Office or the obligations of an International Searching

Authority.

(6) The details concerning the implementation of the provisions of this

Article shall be governed by decisions of the Assembly and, within the

limits to be fixed by the Assembly, such working groups as the Assembly

may set up for that purpose.

(7) The Assembly shall, when it considers it necessary, recommend

methods of providing financing supplementary to those referred to in

paragraph (5).

Article 51

Technical Assistance

(1) The Assembly shall establish a Committee for Technical Assistance

(referred to in this Article as “the Committee”).

(2)(a) The members of the Committee shall be elected among the

Contracting States, with due regard to the representation of developing

countries.

(b) The Director General shall, on his own initiative or at the request

of the Committee, invite representatives of intergovernmental organizations

concerned with technical assistance to developing countries to participate

in the work of the Committee.

(3)(a) The task of the Committee shall be to organize and supervise

technical assistance for Contracting States which are developing countries

in developing their patent systems individually or on a regional basis.

41

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(b) The technical assistance shall comprise, among other things,

the training of specialists, the loaning of experts, and the supply of

equipment both for demonstration and for operational purposes.

(4) The International Bureau shall seek to enter into agreements, on

the one hand, with international financing organizations and

intergovernmental organizations, particularly the United Nations, the

agencies of the United Nations, and the Specialized Agencies connected

with the United Nations concerned with technical assistance, and, on the

other hand, with the Governments of the States receiving the technical

assistance, for the financing of projects pursuant to this Article.

(5) The details concerning the implementation of the provisions of this

Article shall be governed by decisions of the Assembly and, within the

limits to be fixed by the Assembly, such working groups as the Assembly

may set up for that purpose.

Article 52

Relations with Other Provisions of the Treaty

Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the financial provisions contained

in any other Chapter of this Treaty. Such provisions are not applicable to

the present Chapter or to its implementation.

CHAPTER V

ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Article 53

Assembly

(1)(a) The Assembly shall, subject to Article 57(8), consist of the

Contracting States.

(b) The Government of each Contracting State shall be represented

by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and

experts.

42

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(2)(a) The Assembly shall:

(i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and

development of the Union and the implementation of this Treaty;

(ii) perform such tasks as are specifically assigned to it under

other provisions of this Treaty;

(iii) give directions to the International Bureau concerning the

preparation for revision conferences;

(iv) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director

General concerning the Union, and give him all necessary instructions

concerning matters within the competence of the Union;

(v) review and approve the reports and activities of the

Executive Committee established under paragraph (9), and give instructions

to such Committee;

(vi) determine the program and adopt the triennial* budget of

the Union, and approve its final accounts;

(vii) adopt the financial regulations of the Union;

(viii) establish such committees and working groups as it deems

appropriate to achieve the objectives of the Union;

(ix) determine which States other than Contracting States and,

subject to the provisions of paragraph (8), which intergovernmental and

international non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to its

meetings as observers;

(x) take any other appropriate action designed to further the

objectives of the Union and perform such other functions as are appropriate

under this Treaty.

(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions

administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions

after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the

Organization.

* Editor’s Note: Since 1980, the budget of the Union has been biennial.

43

Patent Cooperation Treaty

* Editor’s Note: Since 1980, the budget of the Union has been biennial.

(3) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one State only.

(4) Each Contracting State shall have one vote.

(5)(a) One-half of the Contracting States shall constitute a quorum.

(b) In the absence of the quorum, the Assembly may make decisions

but, with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure, all such

decisions shall take effect only if the quorum and the required majority are

attained through voting by correspondence as provided in the Regulations.

(6)(a) Subject to the provisions of Articles 47(2)(b), 58(2)(b), 58(3)

and 61(2)(b), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the

votes cast.

(b) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

(7) In connection with matters of exclusive interest to States bound by

Chapter II, any reference to Contracting States in paragraphs (4), (5),

and (6), shall be considered as applying only to States bound by Chapter II.

(8) Any intergovernmental organization appointed as International

Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority shall be admitted as

observer to the Assembly.

(9) When the number of Contracting States exceeds forty, the Assembly

shall establish an Executive Committee. Any reference to the Executive

Committee in this Treaty and the Regulations shall be construed as

references to such Committee once it has been established.

(10) Until the Executive Committee has been established, the Assembly

shall approve, within the limits of the program and triennial budget, the

annual programs and budgets prepared by the Director General.*

(11)(a) The Assembly shall meet in every second calendar year in

ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General and, in the

absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period and at the

same place as the General Assembly of the Organization.

44

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(b) The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon

convocation by the Director General, at the request of the Executive

Committee, or at the request of one-fourth of the Contracting States.

(12) The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 54

Executive Committee

(1) When the Assembly has established an Executive Committee, that

Committee shall be subject to the provisions set forth hereinafter.

(2)(a) The Executive Committee shall, subject to Article 57(8), consist

of States elected by the Assembly from among States members of the

Assembly.

(b) The Government of each State member of the Executive

Committee shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by

alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.

(3) The number of States members of the Executive Committee shall

correspond to one-fourth of the number of States members of the Assembly.

In establishing the number of seats to be filled, remainders after division

by four shall be disregarded.

(4) In electing the members of the Executive Committee, the Assembly

shall have due regard to an equitable geographical distribution.

(5)(a) Each member of the Executive Committee shall serve from the

close of the session of the Assembly which elected it to the close of the

next ordinary session of the Assembly.

(b) Members of the Executive Committee may be re-elected but

only up to a maximum of two-thirds of such members.

(c) The Assembly shall establish the details of the rules governing

the election and possible re-election of the members of the Executive

Committee.

(6)(a) The Executive Committee shall:

(i) prepare the draft agenda of the Assembly;

45

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(ii) submit proposals to the Assembly in respect of the draft

program and biennial budget of the Union prepared by the Director General;

(iii) [deleted]

(iv) submit, with appropriate comments, to the Assembly the

periodical reports of the Director General and the yearly audit reports on

the accounts;

(v) take all necessary measures to ensure the execution of the

program of the Union by the Director General, in accordance with the

decisions of the Assembly and having regard to circumstances arising

between two ordinary sessions of the Assembly;

(vi) perform such other functions as are allocated to it under

this Treaty.

(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions

administered by the Organization, the Executive Committee shall make its

decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of

the Organization.

(7)(a) The Executive Committee shall meet once a year in ordinary

session upon convocation by the Director General, preferably during the

same period and at the same place as the Coordination Committee of the

Organization.

(b) The Executive Committee shall meet in extraordinary session

upon convocation by the Director General, either on his own initiative or

at the request of its Chairman or one-fourth of its members.

(8)(a) Each State member of the Executive Committee shall have one

vote.

(b) One-half of the members of the Executive Committee shall

constitute a quorum.

(c) Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of the votes cast.

(d) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

(e) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one State

only.

46

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(9) Contracting States not members of the Executive Committee shall

be admitted to its meetings as observers, as well as any intergovernmental

organization appointed as International Searching or Preliminary

Examining Authority.

(10) The Executive Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 55

International Bureau

(1) Administrative tasks concerning the Union shall be performed by

the International Bureau.

(2) The International Bureau shall provide the secretariat of the various

organs of the Union.

(3) The Director General shall be the chief executive of the Union and

shall represent the Union.

(4) The International Bureau shall publish a Gazette and other

publications provided for by the Regulations or required by the Assembly.

(5) The Regulations shall specify the services that national Offices

shall perform in order to assist the International Bureau and the International

Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities in carrying out their

tasks under this Treaty.

(6) The Director General and any staff member designated by him

shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Assembly,

the Executive Committee and any other committee or working group

established under this Treaty or the Regulations. The Director General, or

a staff member designated by him, shall be ex officio secretary of these

bodies.

(7)(a) The International Bureau shall, in accordance with the directions

of the Assembly and in cooperation with the Executive Committee, make

the preparations for the revision conferences.

(b) The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental

and international non-governmental organizations concerning preparations

for revision conferences.

47

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(c) The Director General and persons designated by him shall take

part, without the right to vote, in the discussions at revision conferences.

(8) The International Bureau shall carry out any other tasks assigned

to it.

Article 56

Committee for Technical Cooperation

(1) The Assembly shall establish a Committee for Technical

Cooperation (referred to in this Article as “the Committee”).

(2)(a) The Assembly shall determine the composition of the Committee

and appoint its members, with due regard to an equitable representation of

developing countries.

(b) The International Searching and Preliminary Examining

Authorities shall be ex officio members of the Committee. In the case where

such an Authority is the national Office of a Contracting State, that State

shall not be additionally represented on the Committee.

(c) If the number of Contracting States so allows, the total number

of members of the Committee shall be more than double the number of ex

officio members.

(d) The Director General shall, on his own initiative or at the request

of the Committee, invite representatives of interested organizations to

participate in discussions of interest to them.

(3) The aim of the Committee shall be to contribute, by advice and

recommendations:

(i) to the constant improvement of the services provided for under

this Treaty,

(ii) to the securing, so long as there are several International

Searching Authorities and several International Preliminary Examining

Authorities, of the maximum degree of uniformity in their documentation

and working methods and the maximum degree of uniformly high quality

in their reports, and

48

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(iii) on the initiative of the Assembly or the Executive Committee,

to the solution of the technical problems specifically involved in the

establishment of a single International Searching Authority.

(4) Any Contracting State and any interested international organization

may approach the Committee in writing on questions which fall within the

competence of the Committee.

(5) The Committee may address its advice and recommendations to

the Director General or, through him, to the Assembly, the Executive

Committee, all or some of the International Searching and Preliminary

Examining Authorities, and all or some of the receiving Offices.

(6)(a) In any case, the Director General shall transmit to the Executive

Committee the texts of all the advice and recommendations of the

Committee. He may comment on such texts.

(b) The Executive Committee may express its views on any advice,

recommendation, or other activity of the Committee, and may invite the

Committee to study and report on questions falling within its competence.

The Executive Committee may submit to the Assembly, with appropriate

comments, the advice, recommendations and report of the Committee.

(7) Until the Executive Committee has been established, references in

paragraph (6) to the Executive Committee shall be construed as references

to the Assembly.

(8) The details of the procedure of the Committee shall be governed

by the decisions of the Assembly.

Article 57

Finances

(1)(a) The Union shall have a budget.

(b) The budget of the Union shall include the income and expenses

proper to the Union and its contribution to the budget of expenses common

to the Unions administered by the Organization.

(c) Expenses not attributable exclusively to the Union but also to

one or more other Unions administered by the Organization shall be

49

Patent Cooperation Treaty

considered as expenses common to the Unions. The share of the Union in

such common expenses shall be in proportion to the interest the Union has

in them.

(2) The budget of the Union shall be established with due regard to the

requirements of coordination with the budgets of the other Unions

administered by the Organization.

(3) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (5), the budget of the Union

shall be financed from the following sources:

(i) fees and charges due for services rendered by the International

Bureau in relation to the Union;

(ii) sale of, or royalties on, the publications of the International

Bureau concerning the Union;

(iii) gifts, bequests, and subventions;

(iv) rents, interests, and other miscellaneous income.

(4) The amounts of fees and charges due to the International Bureau

and the prices of its publications shall be so fixed that they should, under

normal circumstances, be sufficient to cover all the expenses of the

International Bureau connected with the administration of this Treaty.

(5)(a) Should any financial year close with a deficit, the Contracting

States shall, subject to the provisions of subparagraphs (b) and (c), pay

contributions to cover such deficit.

(b) The amount of the contribution of each Contracting State shall

be decided by the Assembly with due regard to the number of international

applications which has emanated from each of them in the relevant year.

(c) If other means of provisionally covering any deficit or any part

thereof are secured, the Assembly may decide that such deficit be carried

forward and that the Contracting States should not be asked to pay

contributions.

(d) If the financial situation of the Union so permits, the Assembly

may decide that any contributions paid under subparagraph (a) be

reimbursed to the Contracting States which have paid them.

(e) A Contracting State which has not paid, within two years of the

due date as established by the Assembly, its contribution under

50

Patent Cooperation Treaty

subparagraph (b) may not exercise its right to vote in any of the organs of

the Union. However, any organ of the Union may allow such a State to

continue to exercise its right to vote in that organ so long as it is satisfied

that the delay in payment is due to exceptional and unavoidable

circumstances.

(6) If the budget is not adopted before the beginning of a new financial

period, it shall be at the same level as the budget of the previous year, as

provided in the financial regulations.

(7)(a) The Union shall have a working capital fund which shall be

constituted by a single payment made by each Contracting State. If the

fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly shall arrange to increase it. If

part of the fund is no longer needed, it shall be reimbursed.

(b) The amount of the initial payment of each Contracting State to

the said fund or of its participation in the increase thereof shall be decided

by the Assembly on the basis of principles similar to those provided for

under paragraph (5)(b).

(c) The terms of payment shall be fixed by the Assembly on the

proposal of the Director General and after it has heard the advice of the

Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(d) Any reimbursement shall be proportionate to the amounts paid

by each Contracting State, taking into account the dates at which they

were paid.

(8)(a) In the headquarters agreement concluded with the State on the

territory of which the Organization has its headquarters, it shall be provided

that, whenever the working capital fund is insufficient, such State shall

grant advances. The amount of these advances and the conditions on which

they are granted shall be the subject of separate agreements, in each case,

between such State and the Organization. As long as it remains under the

obligation to grant advances, such State shall have an ex officio seat in the

Assembly and on the Executive Committee.

(b) The State referred to in subparagraph (a) and the Organization

shall each have the right to denounce the obligation to grant advances, by

written notification. Denunciation shall take effect three years after the

end of the year in which it has been notified.

51

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(9) The auditing of the accounts shall be effected by one or more of

the Contracting States or by external auditors, as provided in the financial

regulations. They shall be designated, with their agreement, by the

Assembly.

Article 58

Regulations

(1) The Regulations annexed to this Treaty provide Rules:

(i) concerning matters in respect of which this Treaty expressly

refers to the Regulations or expressly provides that they are or shall be

prescribed,

(ii) concerning any administrative requirements, matters, or

procedures,

(iii) concerning any details useful in the implementation of the

provisions of this Treaty.

(2)(a) The Assembly may amend the Regulations.

(b) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), amendments shall

require three-fourths of the votes cast.

(3)(a) The Regulations specify the Rules which may be amended

(i) only by unanimous consent, or

(ii) only if none of the Contracting States whose national Office

acts as an International Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority

dissents, and, where such Authority is an intergovernmental organization,

if the Contracting State member of that organization authorized for that

purpose by the other member States within the competent body of such

organization does not dissent.

(b) Exclusion, for the future, of any such Rules from the applicable

requirement shall require the fulfillment of the conditions referred to in

subparagraph (a)(i) or (a)(ii), respectively.

(c) Inclusion, for the future, of any Rule in one or the other of the

requirements referred to in subparagraph (a) shall require unanimous

consent.

52

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(4) The Regulations provide for the establishment, under the control

of the Assembly, of Administrative Instructions by the Director General.

(5) In the case of conflict between the provisions of the Treaty and

those of the Regulations, the provisions of the Treaty shall prevail.

CHAPTER VI

DISPUTES

Article 59

Disputes

Subject to Article 64(5), any dispute between two or more Contracting

States concerning the interpretation or application of this Treaty or the

Regulations, not settled by negotiation, may, by any one of the States

concerned, be brought before the International Court of Justice by

application in conformity with the Statute of the Court, unless the States

concerned agree on some other method of settlement. The Contracting

State bringing the dispute before the Court shall inform the International

Bureau; the International Bureau shall bring the matter to the attention of

the other Contracting States.

CHAPTER VII

REVISION AND AMENDMENT

Article 60

Revision of the Treaty

(1) This Treaty may be revised from time to time by a special conference

of the Contracting States.

(2) The convocation of any revision conference shall be decided by

the Assembly.

(3) Any intergovernmental organization appointed as International

Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority shall be admitted as

observer to any revision conference.

53

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(4) Articles 53(5), (9) and (11), 54, 55(4) to (8), 56, and 57, may be

amended either by a revision conference or according to the provisions of

Article 61.

Article 61

Amendment of Certain Provisions of the Treaty

(1)(a) Proposals for the amendment of Articles 53(5), (9) and (11), 54,

55(4) to (8), 56, and 57, may be initiated by any State member of the

Assembly, by the Executive Committee, or by the Director General.

(b) Such proposals shall be communicated by the Director General

to the Contracting States at least six months in advance of their consideration

by the Assembly.

(2)(a) Amendments to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall

be adopted by the Assembly.

(b) Adoption shall require three-fourths of the votes cast.

(3)(a) Any amendment to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall

enter into force one month after written notifications of acceptance, effected

in accordance with their respective constitutional processes, have been

received by the Director General from three-fourths of the States members

of the Assembly at the time it adopted the amendment.

(b) Any amendment to the said Articles thus accepted shall bind all

the States which are members of the Assembly at the time the amendment

enters into force, provided that any amendment increasing the financial

obligations of the Contracting States shall bind only those States which

have notified their acceptance of such amendment.

(c) Any amendment accepted in accordance with the provisions of

subparagraph (a) shall bind all States which become members of the

Assembly after the date on which the amendment entered into force in

accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (a).

54

Patent Cooperation Treaty

CHAPTER VIII

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 62

Becoming Party to the Treaty

(1) Any State member of the International Union for the Protection of

Industrial Property may become party to this Treaty by:

(i) signature followed by the deposit of an instrument of

ratification, or

(ii) deposit of an instrument of accession.

(2) Instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the

Director General.

(3) The provisions of Article 24 of the Stockholm Act of the Paris

Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property shall apply to this

Treaty.

(4) Paragraph (3) shall in no way be understood as implying the

recognition or tacit acceptance by a Contracting State of the factual situation

concerning a territory to which this Treaty is made applicable by another

Contracting State by virtue of the said paragraph.

Article 63

Entry into Force of the Treaty

(1)(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), this Treaty shall enter

into force three months after eight States have deposited their instruments

of ratification or accession, provided that at least four of those States each

fulfill any of the following conditions:

(i) the number of applications filed in the State has exceeded

40,000 according to the most recent annual statistics published by the

International Bureau,

(ii) the nationals or residents of the State have filed at least

1,000 applications in one foreign country according to the most recent

annual statistics published by the International Bureau,

55

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(iii) the national Office of the State has received at least 10,000

applications from nationals or residents of foreign countries according to

the most recent annual statistics published by the International Bureau.

(b) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “applications” does

not include applications for utility models.

(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), any State which does

not become party to this Treaty upon entry into force under paragraph (1)

shall become bound by this Treaty three months after the date on which

such State has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.

(3) The provisions of Chapter II and the corresponding provisions of

the Regulations annexed to this Treaty shall become applicable, however,

only on the date on which three States each of which fulfill at least one of

the three requirements specified in paragraph (1) have become party to

this Treaty without declaring, as provided in Article 64(1), that they do not

intend to be bound by the provisions of Chapter II. That date shall not,

however, be prior to that of the initial entry into force under paragraph (1).

Article 64

Reservations

(1)(a) Any State may declare that it shall not be bound by the provisions

of Chapter II.

(b) States making a declaration under subparagraph (a) shall not be

bound by the provisions of Chapter II and the corresponding provisions of

the Regulations.

(2)(a) Any State not having made a declaration under paragraph (1)(a)

may declare that:

(i) it shall not be bound by the provisions of Article 39(1) with

respect to the furnishing of a copy of the international application and a

translation thereof (as prescribed),

(ii) the obligation to delay national processing, as provided for

under Article 40, shall not prevent publication, by or through its national

Office, of the international application or a translation thereof, it being

understood, however, that it is not exempted from the limitations provided

for in Articles 30 and 38.

56

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(b) States making such a declaration shall be bound accordingly.

(3)(a) Any State may declare that, as far as it is concerned, international

publication of international applications is not required.

(b) Where, at the expiration of 18 months from the priority date,

the international application contains the designation only of such States

as have made declarations under subparagraph (a), the international

application shall not be published by virtue of Article 21(2).

(c) Where the provisions of subparagraph (b) apply, the international

application shall nevertheless be published by the International Bureau:

(i) at the request of the applicant, as provided in the

Regulations,

(ii) when a national application or a patent based on the

international application is published by or on behalf of the national Office

of any designated State having made a declaration under subparagraph (a),

promptly after such publication but not before the expiration of 18 months

from the priority date.

(4)(a) Any State whose national law provides for prior art effect of its

patents as from a date before publication, but does not equate for prior art

purposes the priority date claimed under the Paris Convention for the

Protection of Industrial Property to the actual filing date in that State, may

declare that the filing outside that State of an international application

designating that State is not equated to an actual filing in that State for

prior art purposes.

(b) Any State making a declaration under subparagraph (a) shall to

that extent not be bound by the provisions of Article 11(3).

(c) Any State making a declaration under subparagraph (a) shall, at

the same time, state in writing the date from which, and the conditions

under which, the prior art effect of any international application designating

that State becomes effective in that State. This statement may be modified

at any time by notification addressed to the Director General.

(5) Each State may declare that it does not consider itself bound by

Article 59. With regard to any dispute between any Contracting State having

57

Patent Cooperation Treaty

made such a declaration and any other Contracting State, the provisions of

Article 59 shall not apply.

(6)(a) Any declaration made under this Article shall be made in writing.

It may be made at the time of signing this Treaty, at the time of depositing

the instrument of ratification or accession, or, except in the case referred

to in paragraph (5), at any later time by notification addressed to the

Director General. In the case of the said notification, the declaration shall

take effect six months after the day on which the Director General has

received the notification, and shall not affect international applications

filed prior to the expiration of the said six-month period.

(b) Any declaration made under this Article may be withdrawn at

any time by notification addressed to the Director General. Such withdrawal

shall take effect three months after the day on which the Director General

has received the notification and, in the case of the withdrawal of a

declaration made under paragraph (3), shall not affect international

applications filed prior to the expiration of the said three-month period.

(7) No reservations to this Treaty other than the reservations under

paragraphs (1) to (5) are permitted.

Article 65

Gradual Application

(1) If the agreement with any International Searching or Preliminary

Examining Authority provides, transitionally, for limits on the number or

kind of international applications that such Authority undertakes to process,

the Assembly shall adopt the measures necessary for the gradual application

of this Treaty and the Regulations in respect of given categories of

international applications. This provision shall also apply to requests for

an international-type search under Article 15(5).

(2) The Assembly shall fix the dates from which, subject to the provision

of paragraph (1), international applications may be filed and demands for

international preliminary examination may be submitted. Such dates shall

not be later than six months after this Treaty has entered into force according

58

Patent Cooperation Treaty

to the provisions of Article 63(1), or after Chapter II has become applicable

under Article 63(3), respectively.

Article 66

Denunciation

(1) Any Contracting State may denounce this Treaty by notification

addressed to the Director General.

(2) Denunciation shall take effect six months after receipt of the said

notification by the Director General. It shall not affect the effects of the

international application in the denouncing State if the international

application was filed, and, where the denouncing State has been elected,

the election was made, prior to the expiration of the said six-month period.

Article 67

Signature and Languages

(1)(a) This Treaty shall be signed in a single original in the English

and French languages, both texts being equally authentic.

(b) Official texts shall be established by the Director General, after

consultation with the interested Governments, in the German, Japanese,

Portuguese, Russian and Spanish languages, and such other languages as

the Assembly may designate.

(2) This Treaty shall remain open for signature at Washington until

December 31, 1970.

Article 68

Depositary Functions

(1) The original of this Treaty, when no longer open for signature,

shall be deposited with the Director General.

(2) The Director General shall transmit two copies, certified by him,

of this Treaty and the Regulations annexed hereto to the Governments of

all States party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial

Property and, on request, to the Government of any other State.

59

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(3) The Director General shall register this Treaty with the Secretariat

of the United Nations.

(4) The Director General shall transmit two copies, certified by him,

of any amendment to this Treaty and the Regulations to the Governments

of all Contracting States and, on request, to the Government of any other

State.

Article 69

Notifications

The Director General shall notify the Governments of all States party

to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of:

(i) signatures under Article 62,

(ii) deposits of instruments of ratification or accession under

Article 62,

(iii) the date of entry into force of this Treaty and the date from

which Chapter II is applicable in accordance with Article 63(3),

(iv) any declarations made under Article 64(1) to (5),

(v) withdrawals of any declarations made under Article 64(6)(b),

(vi) denunciations received under Article 66, and

(vii) any declarations made under Article 31(4).