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PCT Notification No. 226
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Certified Copy
Amendments to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Adopted on July 17, 2024, by the Assembly of the International Patent Cooperation Union (PCT Union) at its Fifty-Sixth (32nd Extraordinary) Session held from July 9 to 17, 2024, with effect from January 1, 2026

Table of Amendments [1]

Rule 33
Rule 64

AMENDMENTS

Rule 33
Relevant Prior Art for the International Search

33.1 Relevant Prior Art for the International Search

(a) For the purposes of Article 15(2), relevant prior art shall consist of everything which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world by any means which is capable of being of assistance in determining that the claimed invention is or is not new and that it does or does not involve an inventive step (i.e., that it is or is not obvious), provided that the making available to the public occurred prior to the international filing date.

b) and c) [No change]

33.2 and 33.3 [No change]

Rule 64
Relevant Prior Art for the International Preliminary Examination

64.1 Prior Art

(a) For the purposes of Article 33(2) and (3), everything made available to the public anywhere in the world by any means shall be considered prior art provided that such making available occurred prior to the relevant date.

(b) [No change]

64.2 Non-Written Disclosures

In cases where the making available to the public occurred by means of an oral disclosure, use, exhibition or other non-written means ("non-written disclosure") before the relevant date as defined in Rule 64.1(b) and the date of such non-written disclosure is indicated in a written disclosure which has been made available to the public on a date which is the same as, or later than, the relevant date, the international preliminary examination report shall call attention to such non-written disclosure in the manner provided for in Rule 70.9.

64.3 [No change]

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original text, in English, of the amendments to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) adopted on July 17, 2024, by the Assembly of the International Patent Cooperation Union (PCT Union) at its fifty sixth (32nd extraordinary) session held from July 9 to 17, 2024, with effect from January 1, 2026.

For the Director General,
Anna Morawiec Mansfield
Legal Counsel
World Intellectual Property Organization

December 3, 2024

1. The amendments to Rules 33 and 64 shall enter into force on January 1, 2026, and shall apply to any international application in relation to which the international search report or declaration under Article 17(2)(a) is established on or after that date.

The proposed entry into force of the amendments to Rules 33 and 64 corresponds to the entry into force of the amendments that the Assembly adopted at its fifty‑fifth session in July 2023 related to the definition of the minimum documentation that the International Searching Authority should consult during international search (see document PCT/A/55/2 and paragraphs 27 to 32 of document PCT/A/55/4).