Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Done at Washington, DC on June 19, 1970,
and as amended

Index
Preamble
Introductory Provisions
Article 1 – Establishment of a Union
Article 2 – Definitions
PCT CHAPTER I- International PCT Patent Application and International PCT Patent Search
Article 3 – The International PCT Patent Application
Article 4 – The PCT Request
Article 5 – The Description
Article 6 The Claims
Article 7 – The Drawings
Article 8 – Claiming Priority
Article 9 – The PCT Applicant
Article 10 – The PCT Receiving Office
Article 11 – Filing Date and Effects of the International PCT Patent Application
Article 12 – Transmittal of the International PCT Patent Application to the International PCT Bureau and the International PCT Searching Authority
Article 13 – Availability of Copy of the International PCT Patent Application to PCT Designated Offices
Article 14 – Certain Defects in the International PCT Patent Application
Article 15 – The International PCT Patent Search
Article 16 – The International PCT Searching Authority
Article 17 – Procedure before the International PCT Searching Authority
Article 18 – The International PCT Patent Search Report
Article 19 – Amendment of the Claims before the International PCT Bureau
Article 20 – Communication to PCT Designated Offices
Article 21 – International Publication
Article 22 – Copy, Translation, and Fee, to PCT Designated Offices
Article 23 – Delaying of National Procedure
Article 24 – Possible Loss of Effect in Designated States
Article 25 – Review by PCT Designated Offices
Article 26 – Opportunity to Correct before PCT Designated Offices
Article 27 – National Requirements
Article 28 – Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the Drawings, before PCT Designated Offices
Article 29 – Effects of the International Publication
Article 30 – Confidential Nature of the International PCT Patent Application
PCT CHAPTER II – International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination
Article 31 – PCT Demand for International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination
Article 32 – The International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority
Article 33 – The International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination
Article 34 – Procedure before the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority
Article 35 – The International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination Report
Article 36 – Transmittal, Translation, and Communication, of the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination Report
Article 37 – Withdrawal of PCT Demand or Election
Article 38 – Confidential Nature of the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination
Article 39 – Copy, Translation, and Fee, to PCT elected Offices
Article 40 – Delaying of National Examination and Other Processing
Article 41 – Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the Drawings, before PCT elected Offices
Article 42 – Results of National Examination in PCT elected Offices
PCT 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Treaty
CHAPTER V – Administrative Provisions
Article 53 Assembly
Article 54 – PCT Executive Committee
Article 55 – International PCT Bureau
Article 56 – Committee for Technical Cooperation
Article 57 – Finances
Article 58 – PCT Regulations
CHAPTER VI – Disputes
Article 59 – Disputes
CHAPTER VII – Revision and Amendment
Article 60 – Revision of the PCT Treaty
Article 61 – Amendment of Certain Provisions of the PCT Treaty
CHAPTER VIII – Final Provisions
Article 62 – Becoming Party to the PCT Treaty
Article 63 – Entry into Force of the PCT Treaty
Article 64 – Reservations
Article 65 – Gradual Application
Article 66 – Denunciation
Article 67 – Signature and Languages
Article 68 – Depositary Functions
Article 69 – Notifications

Preamble
The PCT 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 de veloping countries through the adoption of measures designed to in crease the efficiency of their legal systems, whether national or re gional, 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 PCT Treaty.
Introductory Provisions
Article 1 – Establishment of a Union
(1) The States party to this PCT Treaty (hereinafter called “the PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT Treaty and the PCT 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 patent application” means an application for a regional patent;
(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 PCT Treaty;
(vii) “International PCT Patent Application” means an application filed under this PCT Treaty;
(viii) references to an “application” shall be construed as references to International PCT Patent 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 PCT Contracting State or, where a regional patent application or a regional patent is involved, to the PCT Treaty providing for the filing of regional patent applications or the granting of regional patents;
(xi) “priority date,” for the purposes of computing time limits, means:
(a) where the International PCT Patent Application contains a priority claim under Article 8, the filing date of the application whose priority is so claimed;
(b) where the International PCT Patent Application contains several priority claims under Article 8, the filing date of the earliest application whose priority is so claimed;
(c) where the International PCT Patent 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 PCT 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 PCT Contracting State, and provided that the said States have authorized that authority to assume the obligations and exercise the powers which this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations provide for in respect of national Offices;
(xiii) “PCT Designated Office” means the national Office of or acting for the State designated by the PCT Applicant under PCT Chapter Iof this PCT Treaty;
(xiv) “PCT elected Office” means the national Office of or acting for the State elected by the PCT Applicant under PCT Chapter II of this PCT Treaty;
(xv) “PCT Receiving Office” means the national Office or the intergovernmental organization with which the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Bureau” means the International PCT Bureau of the WIPO and, as long as it subsists, the United International PCT Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI);
(xx) “Director General” means the Director General of the WIPO and, as long as BIRPI subsists, the Director of BIRPI.

PCT CHAPTER I- International PCT Patent Application and International PCT Patent Search
Article 3 – The International PCT Patent Application
(1) Applications for the protection of inventions in any of the PCT Contracting States may be filed as International PCT Patent Applications under this PCT Treaty.
(2) An International PCT Patent Application shall contain, as specified in this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations, a PCT 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 informationand 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 PCT Patent Application shall:
(i) be in a prescribed language;
(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 PCT Request
(1) The PCT Request shall contain:
(i) a petition to the effect that the International PCT Patent Application be processed according to this PCT Treaty;
(ii) the designation of the PCT Contracting State or States in which protection for the invention is desired on the basis of the International PCT Patent Application (“designated States”); if for any designated State a regional patent is available and the PCT Applicant wishes to obtain a regional patent rather than a national patent, the PCT Request shall so indicate; if, under a PCT Treaty concerning a regional patent, the PCT Applicant cannot limit his application to certain of the States party to that PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT Request or in separate notices addressed to each PCT 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.
(3) Unless the PCT 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 PCT Request the name and other pre scribed 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 PCT Applicant may include such drawings in the International PCT Patent Application when filed,
(ii) any PCT Designated Office may require that the PCT Applicant file such drawings with it within the prescribed time limit.
Article 8 – Claiming Priority
(1) The International PCT Patent Application may contain a declaration, as prescribed in the PCT 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 PCT Patent Application for which the priority of one or more earlier applications filed in or for a PCT Contracting State is claimed may contain the designation of that State. Where, in the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Applicant
(1) Any resident or national of a PCT Contracting State may file an International PCT Patent 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 PCT Treaty to file International PCT Patent Applications.
(3) The concepts of residence and nationality, and the application of those concepts in cases where there are several PCT Applicants or where the PCT Applicants are not the same for all the designated States, are defined in the PCT Regulations.
Article 10 – The PCT Receiving Office
The International PCT Patent Application shall be filed with the prescribed PCT Receiving Office, which will check and process it as provided in this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations.
Article 11 – Filing Date and Effects of the International PCT Patent Application
(1) The PCT Receiving Office shall accord as the international filing date the date of receipt of the International PCT Patent Application, provided that that Office has found that, at the time of receipt:
(i) the PCT Applicant does not obviously lack, for reasons of residence or nationality, the right to file an International PCT Patent Application with the PCT Receiving Office,
(ii) the International PCT Patent Application is in the prescribed language,
(iii) the International PCT Patent Application contains at least the following elements:
(a) an indication that it is intended as an International PCT Patent Application,
(b) the designation of at least one PCT Contracting State,
(c) the name of the PCT 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 PCT Receiving Office finds that the International PCT Patent Application did not, at the time of receipt, fulfill the requirements listed in paragraph (1), it shall, as provided in the PCT Regulations, invite the PCT Applicant to file the required correction.
(b) If the PCT Applicant complies with the invitation, as provided in the PCT Regulations, the PCT 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 PCT Patent 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 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Application to the International PCT Bureau and the International PCT Searching Authority
(1) One copy of the International PCT Patent Application shall be kept by the PCT Receiving Office (“home copy”), one copy (“record copy”) shall be transmitted to the International PCT Bureau, and another copy (“search copy”) shall be transmitted to the competent International PCT Searching Authority referred to in Article 16, as provided in the PCT Regulations.
(2) The record copy shall be considered the true copy of the International PCT Patent Application.
(3) The International PCT Patent Application shall be considered withdrawn if the record copy has not been received by the International PCT Bureau within the prescribed time limit.
Article 13 – Availability of Copy of the International PCT Patent Application to PCT Designated Offices
(1) Any PCT Designated Office may ask the International PCT Bureau to transmit to it a copy of the International PCT Patent Application prior to the communication provided for in Article 20, and the International PCT Bureau shall transmit such copy to the PCT Designated Office as soon as possible after the expiration of one year from the priority date.
(2)
(a) The PCT Applicant may, at any time, transmit a copy of his International PCT Patent Application to any PCT Designated Office.
(b) The PCT Applicant may, at any time, ask the International PCT Bureau to transmit a copy of his International PCT Patent Application to any PCT Designated Office, and the International PCT Bureau shall transmit such copy to the PCT Designated Office as soon as possible.
(c) Any national Office may notify the International PCT 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 PCT Patent Application
(1)
(a) The PCT Receiving Office shall check whether the International PCT Patent Application contains any of the following defects, that is to say:
(i) it is not signed as provided in the PCT Regulations;
(ii) it does not contain the prescribed indications concerning the PCT 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 PCT Regulations with the prescribed physical requirements.
(b) If the PCT Receiving Office finds any of the said defects, it shall invite the PCT Applicant to correct the International PCT Patent Application within the prescribed time limit, failing which that application shall be considered withdrawn and the PCT Receiving Office shall so declare.
(2) If the International PCT Patent Application refers to drawings which, in fact, are not included in that application, the PCT Receiving Office shall notify the PCT 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 PCT Receiving Office. Otherwise, any reference to the said drawings shall be considered non-existent.
(3)
(a) If the PCT 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 PCT Patent Application shall be considered withdrawn and the PCT Receiving Office shall so declare.
(b) If the PCT 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 PCT Receiving Office shall so declare.
(4) If, after having accorded an international filing date to the International PCT Patent Application, the PCT 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 PCT Receiving Office shall so declare.
Article 15 – The International PCT Patent Search
(1) Each International PCT Patent Application shall be the subject of International PCT Patent Search.
(2) The objective of the International PCT Patent Search is to discover relevant prior art.
(3) International PCT Patent Search shall be made on the basis of the claims, with due regard to the description and the drawings (if any).
(4) The International PCT 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 PCT Regulations.
(5)
(a) If the national law of the PCT Contracting State so permits, the PCT 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, PCT Request that a search similar to an International PCT Patent Search (“international-type search”) be carried out on such application.
(b) If the national law of the PCT 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.
(c) The international-type search shall be carried out by the International PCT Searching Authority referred to in Article 16 which would be competent for an International PCT Patent Search if the national application were an International PCT Patent Application and were filed with the Office referred to in subparagraph (a) and subparagraph (b). If the national application is in a language which the International PCT Searching Authority considers it is not equipped to handle, the international-type search shall be carried out on a translation prepared by the PCT Applicant in a language prescribed for International PCT Patent Applications and which the International PCT Searching Authority has undertaken to accept for International PCT Patent Applications. The national application and the translation, when required, shall be presented in the form prescribed for International PCT Patent Applications.
Article 16 – The International PCT Searching Authority
(1) International PCT Patent Search shall be carried out by an International PCT 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 PCT Searching Authority, there are several International PCT Patent Searching Authorities, each PCT Receiving Office shall, in accordance with the provisions of the applicable agreement referred to in paragraph (3)(b), specify the International PCT Searching Authority or Authorities competent for the searching of International PCT Patent Applications filed with such Office.
(3)
(a) International PCT Patent 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 PCT 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 PCT Bureau. The agreement shall specify 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 PCT Patent Search.
(c) The PCT 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 PCT Searching Authority
(1) Procedure before the International PCT Searching Authority shall be governed by the provisions of this PCT Treaty, the PCT Regulations, and the agreement which the International PCT Bureau shall conclude, subject to this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations, with the said Authority.
(2)
(a) If the International PCT Searching Authority considers
(i) that the International PCT Patent Application relates to a subject matter which the International PCT Searching Authority is not required, under the PCT 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 PCT Applicant and the International PCT Bureau that no International PCT Patent Search report will be established.
(b) If any of the situations referred to in subparagraph (a) is found to exist in connection with certain claims only, the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Searching Authority considers that the International PCT Patent Application does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention as set forth in the PCT Regulations, it shall invite the PCT Applicant to pay additional fees. The International PCT Searching Authority shall establish the International PCT Patent Search report on those parts of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Searching Authority justified and where the PCT Applicant has not paid all additional fees, those parts of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Applicant to the national Office of that State.
Article 18 – The International PCT Patent Search Report
(1) The International PCT Patent Search report shall be established within the prescribed time limit and in the prescribed form.
(2) The International PCT Patent Search report shall, as soon as it has been established, be transmitted by the International PCT Searching Authority to the PCT Applicant and the International PCT Bureau.
(3) The International PCT Patent Search report or the declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a) shall be translated as provided in the PCT Regulations. The translations shall be prepared by or under the responsibility of the International PCT Bureau.
Article 19 – Amendment of the Claims before the International PCT Bureau
(1) The PCT Applicant shall, after having received the International PCT Patent Search report, be entitled to one opportunity to amend the claims of the International PCT Patent Application by filing amendments with the International PCT Bureau within the prescribed time limit. He may, at the same time, file a brief statement, as provided in the PCT 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 PCT Patent Application as filed.
(3) If the national law of any designated State permits amend ments to go beyond the said disclosure, failure to comply with paragraph (2) shall have no consequence in that State.
Article 20 – Communication to PCT Designated Offices
(1)
(a) The International PCT Patent Application, together with the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Designated Office, as provided in the PCT Regulations, unless the PCT 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 PCT Request of the PCT Designated Office or the PCT Applicant, the International PCT Searching Authority shall send to the said Office or the PCT Applicant, respectively, copies of the documents cited in the International PCT Patent Search report, as provided in the PCT Regulations.
Article 21 – International Publication
(1) The International PCT Bureau shall publish International PCT Patent Applications.
(2)
(a) Subject to the exceptions provided for in subparagraph (b) and in Article 64(3), the international publication of the International PCT Patent Application shall be effected promptly after the expiration of 18 months from the priority date of that application.
(b) The PCT Applicant may ask the International PCT Bureau to publish his International PCT Patent Application any time before the expiration of the time limit referred to in subparagraph (a). The International PCT Bureau shall proceed accordingly, as provided in the PCT Regulations.
(3) The International PCT Patent Search report or the declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a) shall be published as prescribed in the PCT Regulations.
(4) The language and form of the international publication and other details are governed by the PCT Regulations.
(5) There shall be no international publication if the International PCT Patent Application is withdrawn or is considered withdrawn before the technical preparations for publication have been completed.
(6) If the International PCT Patent Application contains expressions or drawings which, in the opinion of the International PCT Bureau, are contrary to morality or public order, or if, in its opinion, the International PCT Patent Application contains disparaging statements as defined in the PCT 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 PCT Request, individual copies of the passages omitted.
Article 22 – Copy, Translation, and Fee, to PCT Designated Offices
(1) The PCT Applicant shall furnish a copy of the International PCT Patent Application (unless the communication provided for in Article 20 has already taken place) and a translation thereof (as prescribed), and pay the national fee (if any), to each PCT Designated Office not later than at the expiration of 20 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 PCT Applicant shall, unless they were contained in the PCT Request, furnish the said indications to the national Office of or acting for the State not later than at the expiration of 20 months from the priority date.
(2)* Where the International PCT Searching Authority makes a declaration, under Article 17(2)(a), that no International PCT Patent 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).*
The text of Article 22(2) (“Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), where the International PCT Searching Authority makes a declaration, under Article 17(2)(a), that no International PCT Patent Search report will be established, the time limit for performing the acts referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be two months from the date of the notification sent to the PCT Applicant of the said declaration.”) was modified by a decision taken by the Assembly of the PCT Union on February 3, 1984. In addition to that modification, the decision of the Assembly contains the following provisions: “(2) The modification enters into force on January 1, 1985. However, as long as that time limit is incompatible with the national law applied by the PCT Designated Office, a time limit of two months from the date of the notification sent to the PCT Applicant of the said declaration shall, during that transitory period, apply with respect to that PCT Designated Office, provided that such Office has made a notification to that effect to the International PCT Bureau. “(3) The notification referred to in paragraph (2) shall be addressed to the International PCT Bureau before October 1, 1984. It shall be promptly published by the International PCT Bureau in the Gazette, and it shall become effective on January 1, 1985. “(4) Any notification effected under paragraph (3) may be withdrawn at any time. Such withdrawal shall be promptly published by the International PCT Bureau in the Gazette, and it shall be effective two months after its publication in the Gazette or at any later date as indicated in the notice of withdrawal.”
(3) Any national law may, for performing the acts referred to in paragraph (1) or paragraph (2), fix time limits which expire later than the time limit provided for in those paragraphs.
Article 23 – Delaying of National Procedure
(1) No PCT Designated Office shall process or examine the International PCT Patent Application prior to the expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 22.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), any PCT Designated Office may, on the express PCT Request of the PCT Applicant, process or examine the International PCT Patent Application at any time.
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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Applicant withdraws his International PCT Patent Application or the designation of that State;
(ii) if the International PCT Patent Application is considered withdrawn by virtue of Article 12(3), Article 14(1)(b), Article 14(3)(a), or Article 14(4), or if the designation of that State is considered withdrawn by virtue of Article 14(3)(b);
(iii) if the PCT Applicant fails to perform the acts referred to in Article 22 within the applicable time limit.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), any PCT 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 PCT Designated Offices
(1)
(a) Where the PCT Receiving Office has refused to accord an international filing date or has declared that the International PCT Patent Application is considered withdrawn, or where the International PCT Bureau has made a finding under Article 12(3), the International PCT Bureau shall promptly send, at the PCT Request of the PCT Applicant, copies of any document in the file to any of the PCT Designated Offices named by the PCT Applicant.
(b) Where the PCT Receiving Office has declared that the designation of any given State is considered withdrawn, the International PCT Bureau shall promptly send, at the PCT Request of the PCT Applicant, copies of any document in the file to the national Office of such State.
(c) The PCT Request under subparagraph (a) or subparagraph (b) shall be presented within the prescribed time limit.
(2)
(a) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), each PCT Designated Office shall, provided that the national fee (if any) has been paid and the 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 PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations, and, if it finds that the refusal or declaration was the result of an error or omission on the part of the PCT Receiving Office or that the finding was the result of an error or omission on the part of the International PCT Bureau, it shall, as far as effects in the State of the PCT Designated Office are concerned, treat the International PCT Patent Application as if such error or omission had not occurred.
(b) Where the record copy has reached the International PCT 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 PCT Applicant, the provisions of subparagraph (a) shall apply only under the circumstances referred to in Article 48(2).
Article 26 – Opportunity to Correct before PCT Designated Offices
No PCT Designated Office shall reject an International PCT Patent Application on the grounds of non-compliance with the requirements of this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations without first giving the PCT 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 PCT Patent Application different from or additional to those which are provided for in this PCT Treaty and the PCT 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 PCT Patent Application has started in the PCT Designated Office, the furnishing:
(i) when the PCT 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 PCT Patent Application but which constitute proof of allegations or statements made in that application, including the confirmation of the International PCT Patent Application by the signature of the PCT Applicant when that application, as filed, was signed by his representative or agent.
(3) Where the PCT 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 PCT Patent Application may be rejected by the PCT Designated Office.
(4) Where the national law provides, in respect of the form or contents of national applications, for requirements which, from the view point of PCT Applicants, are more favorable than the requirements provided for by this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations in respect of International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Applications, except where the PCT Applicant insists that the requirements provided for by this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations be applied to his International PCT Patent Application.
(5) Nothing in this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations is intended to be construed as prescribing anything that would limit the freedom of each PCT Contracting State to prescribe such substantive conditions of patentability as it desires. In particular, any provision in this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations concerning the definition of prior art is exclusively for the purposes of the international procedure and, consequently, any PCT Contracting State is free to apply, when determining the patentability of an invention claimed in an International PCT Patent 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 PCT Applicant furnish evidence in respect of any substantive condition of patentability prescribed by such law.
(7) Any PCT Receiving Office or, once the processing of the International PCT Patent Application has started in the PCT Designated Office, that Office may apply the national law as far as it relates to any requirement that the PCT Applicant be represented by an agent having the right to represent PCT Applicants before the said Office andaor that the PCT Applicant have an address in the designated State for the purpose of receiving notifications.
(8) Nothing in this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations is intended to be construed as limiting the freedom of any PCT 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 PCT Patent Applications.
Article 28 – Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the Drawings, before PCT Designated Offices
(1) The PCT Applicant shall be given the opportunity to amend the claims, the description, and the drawings, before each PCT Designated Office within the prescribed time limit. No PCT 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 PCT Applicant.
(2) The amendments shall not go beyond the disclosure in the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations.
(4) Where the PCT Designated Office requires a translation of the International PCT Patent Application, the amendments shall be in the language of the translation.
Article 29 – Effects of the International Publication
(1) As far as the protection of any rights of the PCT Applicant in a designated State is concerned, the effects, in that State, of the international publication of an International PCT Patent Application shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) to paragraph (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 PCT Applicant to the actual or prospective unauthorized user of the invention claimed in the International PCT Patent Application, or
(iv) both the acts described in subparagraph (i) and subparagraph (iii), or both the acts described in subparagraph (ii) and subparagraph (iii), have taken place.
(3) The national law of any designated State may provide that, where the international publication has been effected, on the PCT Request of the PCT 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 PCT Patent 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.
Article 30 – Confidential Nature of the International PCT Patent Application
(1)
(a) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), the International PCT Bureau and the International PCT Patent Searching Authorities shall not allow access by any person or authority to the International PCT Patent Application before the international publication of that application, unless PCT Requested or authorized by the PCT Applicant.
(b) The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not apply to any transmittal to the competent International PCT 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 PCT Patent Application by third parties, unless PCT Requested or authorized by the PCT Applicant, before the earliest of the following dates:
(i) date of the international publication of the International PCT Patent Application,
(ii) date of the receipt of the communication of the International PCT Patent Application under Article 20,
(iii) date of the receipt of a copy of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Receiving Office, name of the PCT Applicant, international filing date, International PCT Patent Application number, and title of the invention.
(c) The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not prevent any PCT Designated Office from allowing access to the International PCT Patent Application for the purposes of the judicial authorities.
(3) The provisions of paragraph (2)(a) shall apply to any PCT 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 communication and general publication, provided, however, that no national Office shall generally publish an International PCT Patent 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.

PCT CHAPTER II – International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination
Article 31 – PCT Demand for International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination
(1) On the PCT Demand of the PCT Applicant, his International PCT Patent Application shall be the subject of an International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination as provided in the following provisions and the PCT Regulations.
(2)
(a) Any PCT Applicant who is a resident or national, as defined in the PCT Regulations, of a PCT Contracting State bound by PCT Chapter II, and whose International PCT Patent Application has been filed with the PCT Receiving Office of or acting for such State, may make a PCT Demand for International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination.
(b) The Assembly may decide to allow persons entitled to file International PCT Patent Applications to make a PCT Demand for International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination even if they are residents or nationals of a State not party to this PCT Treaty or not bound by PCT Chapter II.
(3) The PCT Demand for International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination shall be made separately from the International PCT Patent Application. The PCT Demand shall contain the prescribed particulars and shall be in the prescribed language and form.
(4)
(a) The PCT Demand shall indicate the PCT Contracting State or States in which the PCT Applicant intends to use the results of the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination (“elected States”). Additional PCT Contracting States may be elected later. Election may relate only to PCT Contracting States already designated under Article 4.
(b) PCT Applicants referred to in paragraph (2)(a) may elect any PCT Contracting State bound by PCT Chapter II. PCT Applicants referred to in paragraph (2)(b) may elect only such PCT Contracting States bound by PCT Chapter II as have declared that they are prepared to be elected by such PCT Applicants.
(5) The PCT Demand shall be subject to the payment of the prescribed fees within the prescribed time limit.
(6) (a) The PCT Demand shall be submitted to the competent Interna tional Preliminary Examining Authority referred to in Article 32. (b) Any later election shall be submitted to the International PCT Bureau.
(7) Each PCT elected Office shall be notified of its election.
Article 32 – The International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority
(1) International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination shall be carried out by the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority.
(2) In the case of PCT Demands referred to in Article 31(2)(a), the PCT Receiving Office, and, in the case of PCT Demands referred to in Article 31(2)(b), the Assembly, shall, in accordance with the applicable agreement between the interested International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority or Authorities and the International PCT Bureau, specify the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examination
(1) The objective of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examination, a claimed invention shall be considered novel if it is not anticipated by the prior art as defined in the PCT Regulations.
(3) For the purposes of the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination, a claimed invention shall be considered to involve an inventive step if, having regard to the prior art as defined in the PCT Regulations, it is not, at the prescribed relevant date, obvious to a person skilled in the art.
(4) For the purposes of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examination. Any PCT 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examination shall take into consideration all the documents cited in the International PCT Patent Search report. It may take into consideration any additional documents considered to be relevant in the particular case.
Article 34 – Procedure before the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority
(1) Procedure before the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority shall be governed by the provisions of this PCT Treaty, the PCT Regulations, and the agreement which the International PCT Bureau shall conclude, subject to this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations, with the said Authority.
(2)
(a) The PCT Applicant shall have a right to communicate orally and in writing with the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority.
(b) The PCT 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report is established. The amendment shall not go beyond the disclosure in the International PCT Patent Application as filed.
(c) The PCT Applicant shall receive at least one written opinion from the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Application complies with the requirements of this PCT Treaty and the PCT 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 PCT Applicant may respond to the written opinion.
(3)
(a) If the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority con siders that the International PCT Patent Application does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention as set forth in the PCT Regulations, it may invite the PCT 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 PCT Applicant chooses to restrict the claims under subparagraph (a), those parts of the International PCT Patent Application which, as a consequence of the restriction, are not to be the subject of International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination shall, as far as effects in that State are concerned, be considered withdrawn unless a special fee is paid by the PCT Applicant to the national Office of that State.
(c) If the PCT Applicant does not comply with the invitation referred to in subparagraph (a) within the prescribed time limit, the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority shall establish an International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report on those parts of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority justified, those parts of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Applicant to that Office.
(4)
(a) If the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority considers
(i) that the International PCT Patent Application relates to a subject matter on which the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority is not required, under the PCT Regulations, to carry out an International PCT Patent 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-obvious ness), 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 PCT 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examination Report
(1) The International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report shall be established within the prescribed time limit and in the prescribed form.
(2) The International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examination in Article 33(1) to Article 33(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 PCT Regulations provide for.
(3)
(a) If, at the time of establishing the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report, the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Preliminary Examination Report
(1) The International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report, together with the prescribed annexes, shall be transmitted to the PCT Applicant and to the International PCT Bureau.
(2)
(a) The International PCT Patent 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 PCT Bureau, whereas any translation of the said annexes shall be prepared by the PCT Applicant.
(3)
(a) The International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report, together with its translation (as prescribed) and its annexes (in the original language), shall be communicated by the International PCT Bureau to each PCT elected Office.
(b) The prescribed translation of the annexes shall be transmitted within the prescribed time limit by the PCT Applicant to the PCT elected Offices.
(4) The provisions of Article 20(3) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to copies of any document which is cited in the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report and which was not cited in the International PCT Patent Search report.
Article 37 – Withdrawal of PCT Demand or Election
(1) The PCT Applicant may withdraw any or all elections.
(2) If the election of all elected States is withdrawn, the PCT Demand shall be considered withdrawn.
(3)
(a) Any withdrawal shall be notified to the International PCT Bureau.
(b) The PCT elected Offices concerned and the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority concerned shall be notified accordingly by the International PCT Bureau.
(4)
(a) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), withdrawal of the PCT Demand or of the election of a PCT Contracting State shall, unless the national law of that State provides otherwise, be considered to be withdrawal of the International PCT Patent Application as far as that State is concerned.
(b) Withdrawal of the PCT Demand or of the election shall not be considered to be withdrawal of the International PCT Patent Application if such withdrawal is effected prior to the expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 22; however, any PCT 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 PCT Patent Application, together with a translation (as prescribed), and the national fee.
Article 38 – Confidential Nature of the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination
(1) Neither the International PCT Bureau nor the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority shall, unless PCT Requested or authorized by the PCT Applicant, allow access within the meaning, and with the proviso, of Article 30(4) to the file of the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination by any person or authority at any time, except by the PCT elected Offices once the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report has been established.
(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) and Article 36(1) and Article 36(3) and Article 37(3)(b), neither the International PCT Bureau nor the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority shall, unless PCT Requested or authorized by the PCT Applicant, give information on the issuance or non issuance of an International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report and on the withdrawal or nonwithdrawal of the PCT Demand or of any election.
Article 39 – Copy, Translation, and Fee, to PCT elected Offices
(1)
(a)* If the election of any PCT 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 PCT Applicant shall furnish a copy of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT elected Office not later than at the expiration of 30 months from the priority date. * The text of Article 39(1)(a) (“If the election of any PCT 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 PCT Applicant shall furnish a copy of the International PCT Patent 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 PCT elected Office not later than at the expiration of 25 months from the priority date.”) was modified by a decision taken by the Assembly of the PCT Union on February 3, 1984. In addition to that modification, the decision of the Assembly contains the following provisions: “(2) The modification enters into force on January 1, 1985. However, as long as the said time limit of 30 months is incompatible in all cases with the national law applied by the PCT elected Office, a time limit of 25 months from the priority date shall, during that transitory period, apply with respect to that PCT elected Office, provided that such Office has made a notification to that effect to the International PCT Bureau. “(3) The notification referred to in paragraph (2) shall be addressed to the International PCT Bureau before October 1, 1984. It shall be promptly published by the International PCT Bureau in the Gazette, and it shall become effective on January 1, 1985. “(4) Any notification effected under paragraph (3) may be withdrawn at any time. Such withdrawal shall be promptly published by the International PCT Bureau in the Gazette, and it shall be effective two months after its publication in the Gazette or at any later date as indicated in the notice of withdrawal.”
(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 PCT Applicant fails to perform the acts referred to in paragraph (1)(a) within the time limit applicable under paragraph (1)(a) or paragraph (1)(b).
(3) Any PCT elected Office may maintain the effect provided for in Article 11(3) even where the PCT Applicant does not comply with the requirements provided for in paragraph (1)(a) or paragraph (1)(b).
Article 40 – Delaying of National Examination and Other Processing
(1) If the election of any PCT 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), to the examination and other processing of the International PCT Patent Application prior to the expiration of the applicable time limit under Article 39.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), any PCT elected Office may, on the express PCT Request of the PCT Applicant, proceed to the examination and other processing of the International PCT Patent Application at any time.
Article 41 – Amendment of the Claims, the Description, and the Drawings, before PCT elected Offices
(1) The PCT Applicant shall be given the opportunity to amend the claims, the description, and the drawings, before each PCT elected Office within the prescribed time limit. No PCT 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 PCT Applicant.
(2) The amendments shall not go beyond the disclosure in the International PCT Patent 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 PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations.
(4) Where an PCT elected Office requires a translation of the International PCT Patent Application, the amendments shall be in the language of the translation.
Article 42 – Results of National Examination in PCT elected Offices
No PCT elected Office receiving the International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination report may require that the PCT Applicant furnish copies, or information on the contents, of any papers connected with the examination relating to the same International PCT Patent Application in any other PCT elected Office.

PCT 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 PCT Applicant may indicate, as prescribed in the PCT Regulations, that his International PCT Patent 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 PCT 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 PCT Applicant may indicate, as prescribed in the PCT Regulations, the two kinds of protection he is seeking, and the ensuing effect shall be governed by the PCT Applicant’s indications. For the purposes of this Article, Article 2(ii) shall not apply.
Article 45 – Regional Patent Treaties
(1) Any PCT Treaty providing for the grant of regional patents (“regional patent PCT Treaty”), and giving to all persons who, according to Article 9, are entitled to file International PCT Patent Applications the right to file applications for such patents, may provide that International PCT Patent Applications designating or electing a State party to both the regional patent PCT Treaty and the present PCT Treaty may be filed as applications for such patents.
(2) The national law of the said designated or elected State may provide that any designation or election of such State in the International PCT Patent Application shall have the effect of an indication of the wish to obtain a regional patent under the regional patent PCT Treaty.
Article 46 – Incorrect Translation of the International PCT Patent Application
If, because of an incorrect translation of the International PCT Patent Application, the scope of any patent granted on that application exceeds the scope of the International PCT Patent Application in its original language, the competent authorities of the PCT 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 PCT Patent Application in its original language.
Article 47 – Time Limits
(1) The details for computing time limits referred to in this PCT Treaty are governed by the PCT Regulations.
(2)
(a) All time limits fixed in Chapters I and II of this PCT Treaty may, outside any revision under Article 60, be modified by a decision of the PCT 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 PCT Regulations.
Article 48 – Delay in Meeting Certain Time Limits
(1) Where any time limit fixed in this PCT Treaty or the PCT 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 PCT Regulations.
(2)
(a) Any PCT 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.
(b) Any PCT 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 PCT Patent Application was filed, shall be entitled to practice before the International PCT Bureau and the competent International PCT Searching Authority and competent International PCT Patent Preliminary Examining Authority in respect of that application.

CHAPTER IV – Technical Services
Article 50 – Patent Information Services
(1) The International PCT 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 PCT Bureau may provide these information ser vices either directly or through one or more International PCT Patent Searching Authorities or other national or international specialized institutions, with which the International PCT Bureau may reach agreement.
(3) The information services shall be operated in a way particularly facilitating the acquisition by PCT 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 PCT Contracting States and their nationals and residents. The Assembly may decide to make these services available also to others.
(5)
(a) Any service to Governments of PCT Contracting States shall be furnished at cost, provided that, when the Government is that of a PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT Contracting States, with due regard to the representation of developing countries.
(b) The Director General shall, on his own initiative or at the PCT 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 PCT Contracting States which are developing countries in developing their patent systems individually or on a regional basis.
(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 PCT 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 PCT Treaty
Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the financial provisions contained in any other Chapter of this PCT 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 PCT Contracting States.
(b) The Government of each PCT Contracting State shall be represented by one PCT delegate, who may be assisted by alternate PCT delegates, advisors, and experts.
(2)
(a) The Assembly shall:
(i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Union and the implementation of this PCT Treaty;
(ii) perform such tasks as are specifically assigned to it under other provisions of this PCT Treaty;
(iii) give directions to the International PCT 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 PCT 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;* [Editor’s Note: Since 1980, the budget of the Union is biennial.]
(vii) adopt the financial PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT 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.
(3) A PCT delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one State only.
(4) Each PCT Contracting State shall have one vote.
(5)
(a) One-half of the PCT 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 PCT Regulations.
(6)
(a) Subject to the provisions of Article 47(2)(b), Article 58(2)(b), Article 58(3) and Article 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 PCT Chapter II, any reference to PCT Contracting States in paragraph (4), paragraph (5), and paragraph (6), shall be considered as applying only to States bound by PCT Chapter II.
(8) Any intergovernmental organization appointed as International PCT Patent Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority shall be admitted as observer to the Assembly.
(9) When the number of PCT Contracting States exceeds forty, the Assembly shall establish an PCT executive committee. Any reference to the PCT executive committee in this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations shall be construed as references to such Committee once it has been established.
(10) Until the PCT 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.** [Editor’s Note: Since 1980, the program and budget of the Union are biennial.]
(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.
(b) The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, at the PCT Request of the PCT executive committee, or at the PCT Request of one-fourth of the PCT Contracting States.
(12) The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
Article 54 – PCT executive committee
(1) When the Assembly has established an PCT executive committee, that Committee shall be subject to the provisions set forth hereinafter.
(2)
(a) The PCT 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 PCT executive committee shall be represented by one PCT delegate, who may be assisted by alternate PCT delegates, advisors, and experts.
(3) The number of States members of the PCT 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 PCT executive committee, the Assembly shall have due regard to an equitable geographical distribution.
(5)
(a) Each member of the PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT executive committee.
(6)
(a) The PCT executive committee shall:
(i) prepare the draft agenda of the Assembly;
(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 PCT Treaty.
(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the PCT executive committee shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.
(7)
(a) The PCT 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 PCT executive committee shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, either on his own initiative or at the PCT Request of its Chairman or one-fourth of its members.
(8)
(a) Each State member of the PCT executive committee shall have one vote.
(b) One-half of the members of the PCT 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 PCT delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one State only.
(9) PCT Contracting States not members of the PCT executive committee shall be admitted to its meetings as observers, as well as any intergovernmental organization appointed as International PCT Patent Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority.
(10) The PCT executive committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
Article 55 – International PCT Bureau
(1) Administrative tasks concerning the Union shall be performed by the International PCT Bureau.
(2) The International PCT 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 PCT Bureau shall publish a Gazette and other publications provided for by the PCT Regulations or required by the Assembly.
(5) The PCT Regulations shall specify the services that national Offices shall perform in order to assist the International PCT Bureau and the International PCT Patent Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities in carrying out their tasks under this PCT 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 PCT executive committee and any other committee or working group established under this PCT Treaty or the PCT Regulations. The Director General, or a staff member designated by him, shall be ex officio secretary of these bodies.
(7)
(a) The International PCT Bureau shall, in accordance with the directions of the Assembly and in cooperation with the PCT executive committee, make the preparations for the revision conferences.
(b) The International PCT Bureau may consult with intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations concerning preparations for revision conferences.
(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 PCT Bureau shall carry out any other tasks as signed 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Contracting State, that State shall not be additionally represented on the Committee.
(c) If the number of PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT Treaty,
(ii) to the securing, so long as there are several International PCT Patent 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
(iii) on the initiative of the Assembly or the PCT executive committee, to the solution of the technical problems specifically involved in the establishment of a single International PCT Searching Authority.
(4) Any PCT 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 PCT executive committee, all or some of the International PCT Patent Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities, and all or some of the PCT Receiving Offices.
(6)
(a) In any case, the Director General shall transmit to the PCT executive committee the texts of all the advice and recommendations of the Committee. He may comment on such texts.
(b) The PCT 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 PCT executive committee may submit to the Assembly, with appropriate comments, the advice, recommendations and report of the Committee.
(7) Until the PCT executive committee has been established, references in paragraph (6) to the PCT 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 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 PCT Bureau in relation to the Union;
(ii) sale of, or royalties on, the publications of the International PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT Bureau connected with the administration of this PCT Treaty.
(5)
(a) Should any financial year close with a deficit, the PCT Contracting States shall, subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b) and subparagraph (c), pay contributions to cover such deficit.
(b) The amount of the contribution of each PCT Contracting State shall be decided by the Assembly with due regard to the number of International PCT Patent 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 PCT 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 PCT Contracting States which have paid them.
(e) A PCT Contracting State which has not paid, within two years of the due date as established by the Assembly, its contribution under 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 PCT Regulations.
(7)
(a) The Union shall have a working capital fund which shall be constituted by a single payment made by each PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT 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.
(9) The auditing of the accounts shall be effected by one or more of the PCT Contracting States or by external auditors, as provided in the financial PCT Regulations. They shall be designated, with their agreement, by the Assembly.
Article 58 – PCT Regulations
(1) The PCT Regulations annexed to this PCT Treaty provide Rules:
(i) concerning matters in respect of which this PCT Treaty expressly refers to the PCT 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 PCT Treaty.
(2)
(a) The Assembly may amend the PCT Regulations.
(b) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), amendments shall require three-fourths of the votes cast.
(3)
(a) The PCT Regulations specify the Rules which may be amended
(i) only by unanimous consent, or
(ii) only if none of the PCT Contracting States whose national Office acts as an International PCT Patent Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority dissents, and, where such Authority is an intergovernmental organization, if the PCT 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 subparagraph (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.
(4) The PCT 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 PCT Treaty and those of the PCT Regulations, the provisions of the PCT Treaty shall prevail.

CHAPTER VI – Disputes
Article 59 – Disputes
Subject to Article 64(5), any dispute between two or more PCT Contracting States concerning the interpretation or application of this PCT Treaty or the PCT 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 PCT Contracting State bringing the dispute before the Court shall inform the International PCT Bureau; the International PCT Bureau shall bring the matter to the attention of the other PCT Contracting States.

CHAPTER VII – Revision and Amendment
Article 60 – Revision of the PCT Treaty
(1) This PCT Treaty may be revised from time to time by a special conference of the PCT Contracting States.
(2) The convocation of any revision conference shall be decided by the Assembly.
(3) Any intergovernmental organization appointed as International PCT Patent Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority shall be admitted as observer to any revision conference.
(4) Article 53(5), Article 53(9) and Article 53(11), Article 54, Article 55(4) to Article 55(8), 56, and Article 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 PCT Treaty
(1)
(a) Proposals for the amendment of Article 53(5), Article 53(9) and (11), Article 54, Article 55(4) to Article 55(8), Article 56, and Article 57, may be initiated by any State member of the Assembly, by the PCT executive committee, or by the Director General.
(b) Such proposals shall be communicated by the Director General to the PCT 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 PCT 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).

CHAPTER VIII – Final Provisions
Article 62 – Becoming Party to the PCT Treaty
(1) Any State member of the International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property may become party to this PCT 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 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 PCT Treaty.
(4) paragraph (3) shall in no way be understood as implying the recognition or tacit acceptance by a PCT Contracting State of the factual situation concerning a territory to which this PCT Treaty is made applicable by another PCT Contracting State by virtue of the said paragraph.
Article 63 – Entry into Force of the PCT Treaty
(1)
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), this PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT Bureau,
(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 PCT 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 PCT Treaty upon entry into force under paragraph (1) shall become bound by this PCT Treaty three months after the date on which such State has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.
(3) The provisions of PCT Chapter II and the corresponding provisions of the PCT Regulations annexed to this PCT 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) become party to this PCT Treaty without declaring, as provided in Article 64(1), that they do not intend to be bound by the provisions of PCT 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 PCT Chapter II.
(b) States making a declaration under subparagraph (a) shall not be bound by the provisions of PCT Chapter II and the corresponding provisions of the PCT 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Application or a translation thereof, it being understood, however, that it is not exempted from the limitations provided for in Article 30 and Article 38.
(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 PCT Patent Applications is not required.
(b) Where, at the expiration of 18 months from the priority date, the International PCT Patent Application contains the designation only of such States as have made declarations under subparagraph (a), the International PCT Patent Application shall not be published by virtue of Article 21(2).
(c) Where the provisions of subparagraph (b) apply, the International PCT Patent Application shall nevertheless be published by the International PCT Bureau:
(i) at the PCT Request of the PCT Applicant, as provided in the PCT Regulations,
(ii) when a national application or a patent based on the International PCT Patent 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 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Contracting State having made such a declaration and any other PCT 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 PCT 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 PCT Patent 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 PCT Patent Applications filed prior to the expiration of the said three-month period.
(7) No reservations to this PCT Treaty other than the reservations under paragraph (1) to paragraph (5) are permitted.
Article 65 – Gradual Application
(1) If the agreement with any International PCT Patent Searching or Preliminary Examining Authority provides, transitionally, for limits on the number or kind of International PCT Patent Applications that such Authority undertakes to process, the Assembly shall adopt the measures necessary for the gradual application of this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations in respect of given categories of International PCT Patent Applications. This provision shall also apply to PCT 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 PCT Patent Applications may be filed and PCT Demands for International PCT Patent Preliminary Examination may be submitted. Such dates shall not be later than six months after this PCT Treaty has entered into force according to the provisions of Article 63(1), or after PCT Chapter II has become applicable under Article 63(3), respectively.
Article 66 – Denunciation
(1) Any PCT Contracting State may denounce this PCT 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 PCT Patent Application in the denouncing State if the International PCT Patent 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 PCT 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 PCT Treaty shall remain open for signature at Washington until December 31, 1970.
Article 68 – Depositary Functions
(1) The original of this PCT 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 PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations annexed hereto to the Governments of all States party to the Paris Convention for the Protection Industrial Property and, on PCT Request, to the Government of any other State.
(3) The Director General shall register this PCT Treaty with the Secretariat of the United Nations.
(4) The Director General shall transmit two copies, certified by him, of any amendment to this PCT Treaty and the PCT Regulations to the Governments of all PCT Contracting States and, on PCT 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 PCT Treaty and the date from which PCT Chapter II is applicable in accordance with Article 63(3),
(iv) any declarations made under Article 64(1) to Article 64(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).