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>To begin entry into the national stage, applicant is required to comply with 37 CFR 1.495(b) within 30 months from the priority date. Thus, applicant must pay the basic national fee on or before 30 months from the priority date and be sure that a copy of the international application has been received by the U.S. Designated or Elected Office prior to expiration of 30 months from the priority date. The notice referred to in PCT Rule 47.1(c) constitutes conclusive evidence of transmission of the international application. Payment of the basic national fee will indicate applicant's intention to enter the national stage and will provide a U.S. correspondence address in most instances.
Facsimile transmission is not acceptable for submission of the basic national fee and/or the copy of the international application. See 37 CFR 1.6(d). Likewise, the certificate of mailing procedures of 37 CFR 1.8 do not apply to the filing of the copy of the international application and payment of the basic national fee. See 37 CFR 1.8(a)(2)(i)(F).
Applicants cannot pay the basic national fee with a surcharge after the 30 month deadline. Failure to pay the basic national fee within 30 months from the priority date will result in abandonment of the application. The time for payment of the basic fee is not extendable.
Similarly, the copy of the international application is required to be provided within 30 months from the priority date. A copy of the international application is provided to the U.S. Designated or Elected Office by the International Bureau (the copy is ordinarily received shortly after publication at about 18 months from the priority date). The International Bureau also mails a confirmation (Form IB/308) to applicant upon which applicant can rely that the copy has been provided. See PCT Rule 47.1(c). The copy is placed in a file to await applicant's submission of the basic national fee and other national stage requirements.
If the basic national fee has been paid by expiration of 30 months from the priority date but the required oath, declaration, or translation has not been filed within 30 months from the priority date, as appropriate, the Office will send applicant a notice and provide a period of time to supply the deficiency as set forth in 37 CFR 1.495(c). The time period usually set is 2 months from the date of the notification by the Office or 32 months from the priority date, whichever is later. This period may be extended for up to 5 additional months pursuant to the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). Thus, payment of the basic national fee on or before 30 months from the priority date will (1) cause the Office, after a check of the national stage papers at 30 months, to mail a Notification of Missing Requirements (PCT/DO/EO/905) identifying any deficiencies and affording applicant a period for correction of those deficiencies, and (2) as in national practice under 37 CFR 1.53, enable applicants to extend the period of time under 37 CFR 1.136(a) for submission of a proper oath, declaration, or translation. The date the national stage commences is defined in 37 CFR 1.491(a). The date the international application enters the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 is defined in 37 CFR 1.491(b).
(a) Subject to 35 U.S.C. 371(f), the national stage shall commence with the expiration of the applicable time limit under PCT Article 22(1) or (2), or under PCT Article 39(1)(a).
(b) An international application enters the national stage when the applicant has filed the documents and fees required by 35 U.S.C. 371(c) within the period set in § 1.495.
For purposes of 35 U.S.C. 154(b)(1)(A)(i)(II) relating to patent term adjustment, an international application has "fulfilled the requirements" of 35 U.S.C. 371 on the date of commencement of the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371(b) or (f), or the date the application has fulfilled the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 371(c) if that date is later than the date of commencement of the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371(b) or (f). See MPEP § 2730.
An international application becomes abandoned if the copy of the international application or the basic national fee has not been received by the U.S. Designated or Elected Office prior to the expiration of 30 months from the priority date. A Notification of Missing Requirements (PCT/DO/EO/905) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.495 will only be mailed in those instances where the applicant has paid the basic national fee within 30 months from the priority date.
The Notification of Missing Requirements (PCT/DO/EO/905) lists several items which 37 CFR 1.497(a) and (b) require and all of those items will have to be satisfied before the oath or declaration is considered accepted. If the oath or declaration does not also meet the requirements of 37 CFR 1.63, these requirements may be fulfilled by filing a supplemental oath or declaration under 37 CFR 1.67 after the Notification of Acceptance (PCT/DO/EO/903) has been mailed. The requirements of 37 CFR 1.63(c) (i.e., inventor address information and foreign priority application information) may be included in an application data sheet under 37 CFR 1.76 rather than in an oath or declaration itself. See 37 CFR 1.63(c).
The translation required under 35 U.S.C. 371(c)(2) and 37 CFR 1.495 must be a translation of the international application as filed. A translation of less than all of the international application (e.g., untranslated words in the drawings or translations of those untranslated words in a different part of the document) or a translation that includes modifications, e.g., the insertion of headings, is unacceptable. A "Sequence Listing" need not be translated if the "Sequence Listing" complies with PCT Rule 12.1(d) and the description complies with PCT Rule 5.2(b). See 37 CFR 1.495(c).<
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