PCT International Search and Preliminary Examination Guidelines

PART III EXAMINER CONSIDERATIONS COMMON TO BOTH THE INTERNATIONAL SEARCHING AUTHORITY AND THE INTERNATIONAL PRELIMINARY EXAMINING AUTHORITY

Chapter 11 Prior Art

Difficulty in Establishing Date of a Document

11.23 The international search may uncover a document where there is difficulty in establishing whether the date of publication or public availability of the document is or is not the same as, or later than, the filing date of the international application. The International Searching Authority should try to remove any doubt that may exist. Additional documents providing evidence in the case of doubt may be cited. Any indication in a document of the date of its publication should be accepted as correct by the examiner unless proof to the contrary has been offered, for example, by the International Searching Authority, showing earlier publication, or by the applicant, showing later publication. It may sometimes be possible to establish the precise date of publication of a document, for example by the date of receipt in a library to which the public has access or by relying on sources such as the "Internet Archive Wayback Machine" to establish dates of web sites. If the applicant presents sound reasons for doubting that the document forms part of the prior art in relation to his international application and any further investigation does not produce evidence sufficient to remove that doubt, the examiner should not pursue the matter further.