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WIPO Webinar: 2009 PCT Update and Developments

WIPO Webinar: 2009 PCT Update and Developments. Matthias REISCHLE Deputy Director and Head PCT Legal Affairs Section PCT Legal Division. 2009 PCT Update and Developments. 2008 PCT Statistics PCT Contracting States SIS (Supplementary International Search) effective January 1, 2009

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WIPO Webinar: 2009 PCT Update and Developments

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  1. WIPO Webinar:2009 PCT Update and Developments Matthias REISCHLE Deputy Director and Head PCT Legal Affairs Section PCT Legal Division

  2. 2009 PCT Update and Developments • 2008 PCT Statistics • PCT Contracting States • SIS (Supplementary International Search) effective January 1, 2009 • July 1, 2009 Rule changes • July 1, 2009 Administrative Instruction/practice changes on sequence listings • Things we are working on

  3. PCT Statistics

  4. International Applications Received in 2008 by Country of Origin

  5. =PCT 139 PCT States Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic People's Republic of Korea Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Estonia Finland France, Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad China Colombia Comoros Congo • Malawi • Malaysia • Mali • Malta • Mauritania • Mexico • Monaco • Mongolia • Montenegro • Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Netherlands • New Zealand • Nicaragua • Niger • Nigeria • Norway • Oman • Papua New Guinea • Philippines • St. Kitts and Nevis • Sweden • Switzerland • Syrian Arab Republic • Tajikistan • The former Yugoslav • Republic of Macedonia • Togo • Trinidad and Tobago • Tunisia • Turkey • Turkmenistan • Uganda • Ukraine • United Arab Emirates • United Kingdom • United Republic of Tanzania • United States of America • Uzbekistan • Viet Nam • Yugoslavia • Zambia • Zimbabwe Guinea-Bissau Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kazakhstan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Lao People’s Dem Rep. Latvia Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Poland Portugal Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russian Federation Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Sao Tomé e Principe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Swaziland

  6. New PCT States? • Chile • Chilean government officials announced PCT accession for March 2, so entry into force would be June 2 • Peru • PCT approved by President on January 10, 2008 • Watch the PCT Newsletter and our listserves for more details

  7. Supplementary International Search:Objectives • To reply to PCT applicants’ concerns about new prior art being found once they have already incurred significant costs and entered national phase • To reduce this risk by introducing optional supplementary searches in the PCT international phase • To expand the scope of search in the international phase taking into account the growing linguistic diversity of the prior art

  8. Main Features • An optional service for applicants, • it is currently offered by three Authorities: SE, RU and XN • more Authorities, including at least AT, EP and FI, are expected to offer the service in 2009-2010 • An applicant can request supplementary search by any Authority offering this service, except the one responsible for main international search • Each Authority determines the scope and fees for its supplementary search • Supplementary international search (SIS) covers only one invention – there is no option for paying additional fees • Available for any international application, irrespective of the filing date, for which the time limit of 19 months to request the supplementary international search expires on or after 1 January 2009

  9. Deciding When to Use the Service • The main international search report is intended to be of a high quality, sufficient for normal purposes • Consequently, this service need not be used for every international application, but to give extra information in some cases where the applicant believes that this additional expense in the international phase will be worthwhile • Before requesting supplementary search, applicants should consider: • the main international search report • the commercial value of the particular invention • the number of relevant disclosures in languages that are not a speciality of the main ISA

  10. Timing and Fees • The supplementary search request must be filed with the International Bureau within 19 months from the priority date • Fees must be paid in Swiss francs within 1 month of filing the request: • supplementary search fee* • supplementary search handling fee* • The Authority begins SIS on receipt of the request and international search report (ISR), or 22 months from the priority date, at latest, if the main ISR is late • The SIS Report is established by 28 months from the priority date *(see PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex SISA(RU),(SE),(XN))

  11. SIS in the PCT System Supplementary international search report(s) established Enter national phase International publication (months) 18 19 0 12 16 22 28 30 File localapplication File PCT application International search report & written opinion (optional) File demand for International preliminary examination (optional) International preliminary report on patentability Request for supplementary international search

  12. Supplementary Search Request (1) • The request must be filed using the supplementary search request (Form PCT/IB/375), specifying • which Authority is to carry out the supplementary search • (in certain circumstances - see Unity of Invention) which claims are to be searched • The request may need to be accompanied by: • a translation of the international application into a language accepted by the Authority • any sequence listing in electronic format* * (see PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex SISA(RU),(SE),(XN))

  13. Supplementary Search Request (2) • An appointed agent can also act before the Authority specified for supplementary international search; applicants may nevertheless, if they so wish, appoint an agent specifically to represent them before this Authority • If fees are not paid within one month from the date of filing of the request, the IB will invite the applicant to pay the missing fees, together with a late payment fee, within a (additional) month from the date of the invitation (Form PCT/IB/377) • The request is considered withdrawn if the fees for the supplementary search are not paid, following the above described invitation procedure

  14. Unity of Invention • Only one invention is searched – there is no option of paying additional search fees for additional inventions • Usually the first claimed invention is searched, but if the main ISA has found lack of unity of invention, the applicant may request supplementary search to focus on an invention other than the first • note that the Authority is not (usually) obliged to search inventions which have not been searched by the main ISA • The Authority is not obliged to follow the views of the main ISA on unity of invention • A review procedure is available which is similar to the “protest” procedure for the main search

  15. Scope of Search (1) • Supplementary search is carried out on the claims as filed, usually on the first claimed invention (Article 19 and 34 amendments are not taken into account) • The Authority is not required to search: • subject matter which it would not normally search in accordance with Article 17(2) • claims which have not been searched by the main ISA • any international application which is subject to a limitation set out in the Agreement between WIPO and the Authority* defining the scope of their service * (see www.wipo.int/pct/en/access/isa_ipea_agreements.html)

  16. Scope of Search (2) • The range of prior art to be searched is determined by the Authority • the search may be either a new search which takes into account all PCT minimum documentation as well as documents held in other languages by that Authority; or • the search may be a complement to the main search, typically including a subset of language-related documentation held by that Authority

  17. Supplementary International Search Report • The supplementary international search report (Form PCT/SISA/501) is very similar to the ISR, but: • it does not contain the classification of the international application or comments on the title and abstract • it need not contain citations of documents contained in the ISR unless cited in conjunction with a new reference not cited in the ISR • it may contain explanations regarding: • citations that are considered relevant (these are more detailed than references in the ISR) • the scope of the SIS (particularly where the ISR is late and assumptions have been made on the likely scope of main search) • No written opinion is issued with the supplementary international search report

  18. Further Processing of Report • The supplementary international search report is transmitted to the applicant and to the IB • The IB makes the report publicly available on PATENTSCOPE® (if the international application has been published) • If the report is not in English, it will be translated into English by the IB • The IB sends the report and translations, where appropriate, to the IPEA and designated Offices

  19. Entry into the National Phase • On the basis of the international search report and supplementary international search report(s), the applicant is in a better position to evaluate, with reasonable accuracy, the chances of obtaining a patent in the national phase and, consequently, whether the expenses associated with national phase entries are justified • Designated Offices can have greater confidence in the results of the international phase - reducing the need for further national searches

  20. Other 2009 PCT Developments • July 1, 2009 Rule changes, including new practice on furnishing claim amendments (“complete set”) • July 1, 2009 Administrative Instruction/practice changes on sequence listings • no page fees payable for sequence listing filed in Annex C/ST.25 text format as part of an IA filed in electronic form, but full page fees payable for all pages of a sequence listing filed in image format (e.g. PDF) or on paper • no longer any page fee benefits for tables relating to sequence listings • mixed mode sequence listing filings no longer available • all sequence listings will be made available via PATENTSCOPE®, whether part of the IA or only furnished for search purposes

  21. Things we’re working on • Private file inspection • Document upload system pilot begins March 2009 (limited number of test users) • Full electronic processing and communication • Email notifications of IB notifications to applicants. • PCT distance learning course • PCT webinars for the user community, in addition to existing program of seminars • Watch for these—no cost updates on PCT practice • Open to providing these for companies and law firms • New resources for PCT applicants • PatentScope® enhancements • Full file contents will be available for IAs filed on or after January 1, 2009 • National phase entry data now for 34 countries

  22. For any further questions… PCT Infoline Telephone +41 22 338 83 38 Fax +41 22 338 83 39 e-mail pct.infoline@wipo.int

  23. THANK YOU

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