Go to MPEP - Table of Contents
Where an international application which designates the United States of America is filed and where one or more inventors refuse to sign the Request for the international application or cannot be found or reached after diligent effort, the Request need not be signed by such inventor if it is signed by another applicant. Such international application must be accompanied by a statement explaining to the satisfaction of the Commissioner the lack of the signature concerned.
[Revised, 62 FR 53131, Oct. 10, 1997, effective Dec. 1, 1997]
(a) An international application shall contain, as specified in the Treaty and the Regulations, a Request, a description, one or more claims, an abstract, and one or more drawings (where required). (PCT Art. 3(2) and Section 207 of the Administrative Instructions.)
(b) An international filing date will be accorded by the United States Receiving Office, at the time of receipt of the international application, provided that:
(1) At least one applicant is a United States resident or national and the papers filed at the time of receipt of the international application so indicate (35 U.S.C. 361(a), PCT Art. 11(1)(i)).
(2) The international application is in the English language (35 U.S.C. 361(c), PCT Art. 11(1)(ii)).
(3) The international application contains at least the following elements (PCT Art. 11(1)(iii)):
(i) An indication that it is intended as an international application (PCT Rule 4.2);
(ii) The designation of at least one Contracting State of the International Patent Cooperation Union (§ 1.432);
(iii) The name of the applicant, as prescribed (note §§1.421-1.424);
(iv) A part which on the face of it appears to be a description; and
(v) A part which on the face of it appears to be a claim.
(c) Payment of the basic portion of the international fee (PCT Rule 15.2) and the transmittal and search fees (§ 1.445) may be made in full at the time the international application papers required by paragraph (b) of this section are deposited or within one month thereafter. The basic, transmittal, and search fee payable is the basic, transmittal, and search fee in effect on the receipt date of the international application.
(1) If the basic, transmittal and search fees are not paid within one month from the date of receipt of the international application and prior to the sending of a notice of deficiency, applicant will be notified and given one month within which to pay the deficient fees plus a late payment fee equal to the greater of:
(i) Fifty percent of the amount of the deficient fees up to a maximum amount equal to the basic fee; or
(ii) An amount equal to the transmittal fee (PCT Rule 16bis).
(2) The one-month time limit set pursuant to this paragraph to pay deficient fees may not be extended.
(d) If the payment needed to cover the transmittal fee, the basic fee, the search fee, one designation fee and the late payment fee pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section is not timely made in accordance with PCT Rule 16bis.1(e), the Receiving Office will declare the international application withdrawn under PCT Article 14(3)(a).
[43 FR 20486, May 11, 1978; paras. (b), (c), (d) and (e), 50 FR 9383, Mar. 7, 1985, effective May 8, 1985; para. (d) amended, 52 FR 20047, May 28, 1987; paras. (b)(1), (b)(3)(ii), (c) and (d) amended, para. (e) deleted, 58 FR 4335, Jan. 14, 1993, effective May 1, 1993; paras. (c) and (d) revised, 63 FR 29614, June 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1998 (adopted as final, 63 FR 66040, Dec. 1, 1998)]
Go to MPEP - Table of Contents