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made, the Receiving Office will declare the international application withdrawn under PCT Article 14(3)(a).

[43 FR 20466, May 11, 1978, as amended at 50 FR 9383, Mar. 7, 1985; 52 FR 20047, May 28, 1987; 58 FR 4344, Jan. 14, 1993]

§ 1.432 Designation of States and payment of designation fees.

(a) The designation of States including an indication that applicant wishes to obtain a regional patent, where applicable, shall appear in the Request upon filing and must be indicated as set forth in PCT Rule 4.9 and section 115 of the Administrative Instructions. Applicant must specify at least one national or regional designation on filing of the international application for a filing date to be granted.

(b) If the fees necessary to cover all the national and regional designations specified in the Request are not paid by the applicant within one year from the priority date or within one month from the date of receipt of the international application if that month expires after the expiration of one year from the priority date, applicant will be notified and given one month within which to pay the deficient designation fees plus a late payment fee equal to the greater of 50% of the amount of the deficient fees up to a maximum amount equal to the basic fee, or an amount equal to the transmittal fee (PCT Rule 16bis). The onemonth time limit set in the notification of deficient designation fees may not be extended. Failure to timely pay at least one designation fee will result in the withdrawal of the international application. The one designation fee may be paid:

(1) Within one year from the priority date,

(2) within one month from the date of receipt of the international application if that month expires after the expiration of one year from the priority date, or

(3) with the late payment fee defined in this paragraph within the time set in the notification of the deficient designation fees. If after a notification of deficient designation fees the applicant makes timely payment, but the amount paid is not sufficient to cover the late payment fee and all des

ignation fees, the Receiving Office will, after allocating payment for the basic, search, transmittal and late payment fees, allocate the amount paid in accordance with PCT Rule 16bis.1(c) and withdraw the unpaid designations. The notification of deficient designation fees pursuant to this paragraph may be made simultaneously with any notification pursuant to § 1.431(c).

(c) On filing the international application, in addition to specifying at least one national or regional designation under PCT Rule 4.9(a), applicant may also indicate under PCT Rule 4.9(b) that all other designations permitted under the Treaty are made. The latter indication under PCT Rule 4.9(b) must be made in a statement on the Request that any designation made under this paragraph is subject to confirmation (PCT Rule 4.9(c)) not later than the expiration of 15 months from the priority date by:

(1) Filing a written notice with the United States Receiving Office specifying the national and/or regional designations being confirmed;

(2) Paying the designation fee for each designation being confirmed; and (3) Paying the confirmation fee specified in § 1.445(a)(4). Unconfirmed designations will be considered withdrawn. If the amount submitted is not sufficient to cover the designation fee and the confirmation fee for each designation being confirmed, the Receiving Office will allocate the amount paid in accordance with any priority of designations specified by applicant. If applicant does not specify and priority of designations, the allocation of the amount paid will be made in accordance with PCT Rule 16bis.1(c).

[58 FR 4344, Jan. 14, 1993]

§ 1.433 Physical requirements of international application.

(a) The international application and each of the documents that may be referred to in the check list of the Request (PCT Rule 3.3(a)(ii)) shall be filed in one copy only.

(b) All sheets of the international application must be on A4 size paper (21.0 x 29.7 cm.).

(c) Other physical requirements for international applications are set forth in PCT Rule 11 and sections 201-207 of the Administrative Instructions.

§ 1.434 The request.

(a) The request shall be made on a standardized form (PCT Rules 3 and 4). Copies of printed Request forms are available from the Patent and Trademark Office. Letters requesting printed forms should be marked "Box PCT."

(b) The Check List portion of the Request form should indicate each document accompanying the international application on filing.

(c) All information, for example, addresses, names of States and dates, shall be indicated in the Request as required by PCT Rule 4 and Administrative Instructions 110 and 201.

(d) International applications which designate the United States of America shall include:

(1) The name, address and signature of the inventor, except as provided by §§ 1.421(d), 1.422, 1.423 and 1.425;

(2) A reference to any copending national application or international application designating the United States of America, if the benefit of the filing date for the prior copending application is to be claimed.

[43 FR 20466, May 11, 1978, as amended at 58 FR 4345, Jan. 14, 1993]

§ 1.435 The description.

(a) Requirements as to the content and form of the description are set forth in PCT Rules 5, 9, 10 and 11 and Administrative Instruction 204, and shall be adhered to.

(b) In international applications designating the United States the description must contain upon filing an indication of the best mode contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the claimed invention.

§ 1.436 The claims.

The requirements as to the content and format of claims are set forth in PCT Art. 6 and PCT Rules 6, 9, 10 and 11 and shall be adhered to. The number of the claims shall be reasonable, considering the nature of the invention claimed.

§ 1.437 The drawings.

(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this section, when drawings are necessary for the understanding of the invention, or are mentioned in the description, they must be part of an international application as originally filed in the United States Receiving Office in order to maintain the international filing date during the national stage (PCT Art. 7).

(b) Drawings missing from the application upon filing will be accepted if such drawings are received within 30 days of the date of first receipt of the incomplete papers. If the missing drawings are received within the 30day period, the international filing date shall be the date on which such drawings are received. If such drawings are not timely received, all references to drawings in the international application shall be considered non-existent (PCT Art. 14(2), Administrative Instruction 310).

(c) The physical requirements for drawings are set forth in PCT Rule 11 and shall be adhered to.

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(4) A confirmation fee (PCT Rule 96) equal to 50% of the sum of designation fees for the national and regional designations being confirmed (§ 1.432(c)).

(b) The basic fee and designation fee portions of the international fee shall be prescribed in PCT Rule 15.

(35 U.S.C. 6; 15 U.S.C. 1113, 1123)

[43 FR 20466, May 11, 1978, as amended at 52 FR 20047, May 28, 1987; 54 FR 6903, Feb. 15, 1989; 54 FR 9432, Mar. 7, 1989; 56 FR 65154, Dec, 13, 1991; 57 FR 38195, Aug. 21, 1992; 58 FR 4345, Jan. 14, 1993]

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(d) The international and search fees will be refunded if no international filing date is accorded or if the application is withdrawn before transmittal of the record copy to the International Bureau (PCT Rules 15.6 and 16.2). The search fee will be refunded if the application is withdrawn before transmittal of the search copy to the International Searching Authority. The transmittal fee will not be refunded.

(e) The handling fee (§ 1.482(b)) will be refunded (PCT Rule 57.6) only if:

(1) The Demand is withdrawn before the Demand has been sent by the International Preliminary Examining Authority to the International Bureau, or

(2) The Demand is considered not to have been submitted (PCT Rule 54.4(a)).

(35 U.S.C. 6; 15 U.S.C. 1113, 1123)

[43 FR 20466, May 11, 1978, as amended at 50 FR 9384, Mar. 7, 1985; 50 FR 31826, Aug. 6, 1985; 58 FR 4345, Jan. 14, 1993]

§ 1.451

PRIORITY

The priority claim and priority document in an international application.

(a) The claim for priority must be made on the Request (PCT Rule 4.10) in a manner complying with sections 110 and 115 of the Administrative Instructions.

(b) Whenever the priority of an earlier United States national application is claimed in an international application, the applicant may request in a letter of transmittal accompanying the international application upon filing with the United States Receiving Office or in a separate letter filed in the Receiving Office not later than 16 months after the priority date, that the Patent and Trademark Office prepare a certified copy of the national application for transmittal to the International Bureau (PCT Article 8 and PCT Rule 17). The fee for preparing a certified copy is stated in § 1.19 (b)(1).

(c) If a certified copy of the priority document is not submitted together with the international application on filing, or, if the priority application was filed in the United States and a request and appropriate payment for preparation of such a certified copy do not accompany the international application on filing or are not filed within 16 months of the priority date, the certified copy of the priority document must be furnished by the applicant to the International Bureau or to the United States Receiving Office within the time limit specified in PCT Rule 17.1(a).

(35 U.S.C. 6; 15 U.S.C. 1113, 1123)

[43 FR 20466, May 11, 1978, as amended at 50 FR 9384, Mar. 7, 1985; 50 FR 11366, Mar. 21, 1985; 54 FR 6903, Feb. 15, 1989; 58 FR 4345, Jan. 14, 1993]

REPRESENTATION

§ 1.455 Representation in international

applications.

(a) Applicants of international applications may be represented by attorneys or agents registered to practice before the Patent and Trademark Office or by an applicant appointed as a common representative (PCT Art. 49, Rules 4.8 and 90 and § 10.10). If applicants have not appointed an attorney or agent or one of the applicants to represent them, and there is more than one applicant, the applicant first named in the request and who is entitled to file in the U.S. Receiving Office shall be considered to be the common representative of all the applicants. An attorney or agent having the right to practice before a national office with which an international application is filed and for which the United States is an International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority may be appointed to represent the applicants in the international application before that authority. An attorney or agent may appoint an associate attorney or agent who shall also then be of record (PCT Rule 90.1(d)). The appointment of an attorney or agent, or of a common representative, revokes any earlier appointment unless otherwise indicated (PCT Rule 90.6 (b) and (c)). (b) Appointment of an agent, attorney or common representative (PCT Rule 4.8) must be effected either in the Request form, signed by all applicants, or in a separate power of attorney submitted either to the United States Receiving Office or to the International Bureau.

(c) Powers of attorney and revocations thereof should be submitted to the United States Receiving Office until the issuance of the international search report.

(d) The addressee for correspondence will be as indicated in section 108 of the Administrative Instructions.

[43 FR 20466, May 11, 1978, as amended at 50 FR 5171, Feb. 6, 1985; 58 FR 4345, Jan. 14, 1993]

TRANSMITTAL OF RECORD COPY

$ 1.461 Procedures for transmittal of record copy to the International Bureau.

(a) Transmittal of the record copy of the international application to the International Bureau shall be made by the United States Receiving Office. (b) [Reserved]

(c) No copy of an international application may be transmitted to the International Bureau, a foreign Designated Office, or other foreign authority by the United States Receiving Office or the applicant, unless the applicable requirements of part 5 of this chapter have been satisfied.

[43 FR 20466, May 11, 1978, as amended at 50 FR 9384, Mar. 7, 1985]

TIMING

§ 1.465 Timing of application processing based on the priority date.

(a) For the purpose of computing time limits under the Treaty, the priority date shall be defined as in PCT Art. 2(xi).

(b) When a claimed priority date is cancelled under PCT Rule 4.10(d), or considered not to have been made under PCT Rule 4.10(b), the priority date for the purposes of computing time limits will be the date of the earliest valid remaining priority claim of the international application, or if none, the international filing date.

(c) When corrections under PCT Art. 11(2), Art. 14(2) or PCT Rule 20.2(a)(i) or (iii) are timely submitted, and the date of receipt of such corrections falls later than one year from the claimed priority date or dates, the Receiving Office shall proceed under PCT Rule 4.10(d).

§ 1.468 Delays in meeting time limits.

Delays in meeting time limits during international processing of international applications may only be excused as provided in PCT Rule 82. For delays in meeting time limits in a national application, see § 1.137.

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during international processing.

(a) All corrections submitted to the United States Receiving Office must be in the form of replacement sheets and be accompanied by a letter that draws attention to the differences between the replaced sheets and the replacement sheets, except that the deletion of lines of text, the correction of simple typographical errors, and one addition or change of not more than five words per sheet may be stated in a letter and the United States Receiving Office will make the deletion or transfer the correction to the international application, provided that such corrections do not adversely affect the clarity and direct reproducibility of the application (PCT Rule 26.4).

(b) Amendments of claims submitted to the International Bureau shall be as prescribed by PCT Rule 46.

$1.472 Changes in person, name, or address of applicants and inventors.

All requests for a change in person, name or address of applicants and inventor be sent to the United States Receiving Office until the time of issuance of the international search report. Thereafter requests for such changes should be submitted to the International Bureau.

[43 FR 20466, May 11, 1978. Redesignated at 52 FR 20047, May 28, 1987]

UNITY OF INVENTION

$1.475 Unity of invention before the International Searching Authority, the International Preliminary Examining Authority and during the national stage.

(a) An international and a national stage application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept ("requirement of unity of invention”). Where a group of inventions is claimed in an application, the requirement of unity of invention shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship

among those inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expres

sion "special technical features" shall mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of the claimed inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art.

(b) An international or a national stage application containing claims to different categories of invention will be considered to have unity of invention if the claims are drawn only to one of the following combinations of categories:

(1) A product and a process specially adapted for the manufacture of said product; or

(2) A product and a process of use of said product; or

(3) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and a use of the said product; or

(4) A process and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process; or

(5) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process.

(c) If an application contains claims to more or less than one of the combinations of categories of invention set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, unity of invention might not be present.

(d) If multiple products, processes of manufacture or uses are claimed, the first invention of the category first mentioned in the claims of the application and the first recited invention of each of the other categories related thereto will be considered as the main invention in the claims, see PCT Article 17(3)(a) and § 1.476(c).

(e) The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a single general inventive concept shall be made without regard to whether the inventions are claimed in separate claims or as alternatives within a single claim.

[58 FR 4345, Jan. 14, 1993]

§ 1.476 Determination of unity of invention before the International Searching Authority.

(a) Before establishing the international search report, the International

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