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PCT ADMINST 326
Withdrawal by Applicant Under Rule 90bis.1, 90bis.2 or 90bis.3
(a) The receiving Office shall promptly transmit to the International Bureau any notice from the applicant effecting withdrawal of the international application under Rule 90bis.1, of a designation under Rule 90bis.2 or of a priority claim under Rule 90bis.3 which has been filed with it together with an indication of the date of receipt of the notice. If the record copy has not yet been sent to the International Bureau, the receiving Office shall transmit the said notice together with the record copy.
(b) If the search copy has already been sent to the International Searching Authority and the international application is withdrawn under Rule 90bis.1 or a priority claim is withdrawn under Rule 90bis.3, the receiving Office shall promptly transmit a copy of the notice effecting withdrawal to the International Searching Authority.
(c) If the search copy has not yet been sent to the International Searching Authority and the international application is withdrawn under Rule 90bis.1, the receiving Office shall not send the search copy to the International Searching Authority and shall, subject to Section 322, refund the search fee to the applicant unless it has already been transferred to the International Searching Authority. If the search fee has already been transferred to the International Searching Authority, the receiving Office shall send a copy of the request and of the notice effecting withdrawal to that Authority.
(d) If the search copy has not yet been sent to the International Searching Authority and a priority claim is withdrawn under Rule 90bis.3, the receiving Office shall transmit a copy of the notice effecting withdrawal to the International Searching Authority together with the search copy.
PCT ADMINST 414
Notification to the International Preliminary Examining Authority Where the International Application or the Designations of All Elected States Are Considered Withdrawn
If a demand has been submitted and the international application or the designations of all designated States which have been elected are considered withdrawn under Article 14(1), (3) or (4), the International Bureau shall promptly notify the International Preliminary Examining Authority, unless the international preliminary examination report has already issued.
The applicant may withdraw the international application by a notice addressed to the International Bureau or to the receiving Office and received before the expiration of ** 30 months from the priority date. Any such withdrawal is free of charge. A notice of withdrawal must be signed by all the applicants. An appointed agent or appointed common representative may sign such a notice on behalf of the applicant or applicants who appointed him, but an applicant who is considered to be the common representative may not sign such a notice on behalf of the other applicants. As to the case where an applicant inventor for the United States of America refuses to sign or cannot be found or reached see PCT Rule 90bis.5(b).
The applicant may prevent international publication by withdrawing the international application, provided that the notice of withdrawal reaches the International Bureau before the completion of technical preparations for that publication. The notice of withdrawal may state that the withdrawal is to be effective only on the condition that international publication can still be prevented. In such a case the withdrawal is not effective if the condition on which it was made cannot be met that is, if the technical preparations for international publication have already been completed. International publication may be postponed by withdrawing the priority claim.
The applicant may withdraw the designation of any State by a notice addressed to the International Bureau or to the receiving Office and received before the expiration of ** 30 months from the priority date. Any such withdrawal is free of charge. A notice of withdrawal must be signed by all the applicants. An appointed agent or appointed common representative may sign such a notice on behalf of the applicant or applicants who appointed him, but an applicant who is considered to be the common representative may not sign such a notice on behalf of the other applicants. If all designations are withdrawn, the international application will be treated as withdrawn.
The applicant may withdraw a priority claim made in the international application by a notice addressed to the International Bureau or to the receiving Office and received before the expiration of ** 30 months from the priority date. **>Where Article 39(1) applies<, the notice may also be addressed to the International Preliminary Examining Authority. Any or all of the priority claims may be so withdrawn. Any such withdrawal is free of charge. A notice of withdrawal must be signed by all the applicants. An appointed agent or appointed common representative may sign such a notice on behalf of the applicant or applicants who appointed him, but an applicant who is considered to be the common representative may not sign such a notice on behalf of the other applicants.
Where the withdrawal of a priority claim causes a change in the priority date of the international application, any time limit which is computed from the original priority date and which has not yet expired-for example, the time limit before which processing in the national phase cannot start-is computed from the priority date resulting from the change. (It is not possible to extend the time limit concerned if it has already expired when the priority claim is withdrawn.) However, if the notice of withdrawal reaches the International Bureau after the completion of the technical preparations for international publication, the International Bureau may proceed with the international publication on the basis of the time limit for international publication as computed from the original priority date.
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