PCT Receiving Office Guidelines

Chapter VIII: Missing Parts or Erroneously Filed Elements or Parts in the International Application

Processing of Erroneously Filed Elements or Parts Following Incorporation by Reference of Correct Elements or Parts

205F. Where sheets submitted under Rule 20.6(a)(i) are furnished as a correct element or part to replace an element or part that has been erroneously filed and the receiving Office finds that all the requirements of Rules 4.18 and 20.6(a) have been complied with, it proceeds as described in Section 309(b) and includes the sheets embodying the correct element or part in the international application. Meanwhile, the sheets embodying the erroneously filed element or part should not be removed but still remain in the international application (Rule 20.5bis(d)). The receiving Office marks the words "ERRONEOUSLY FILED (RULE 20.5bis)" in the middle of the bottom margin of each of the sheets, and moves those sheets to the end of the corresponding element of the purported international application. Specifically, each element of the international application should be arranged in such an order that the correct element incorporated by reference is placed first, followed by the erroneously filed element, or, in the case of a part, the correct sheets are inserted in the appropriate place, and the erroneously filed sheets are moved to the end of the description, the claims or the drawings, as the case may be. The sheets of the correct element or part shall be numbered without taking into account the sheets of the erroneously filed element or part (Section 311(b)(iii)). The sheets of the erroneously filed element or part need not be renumbered.

205G. The receiving Office checks for compliance with the physical requirements referred to in Rule 11 to the extent that compliance is necessary for the purpose of reasonably uniform international publication (Rule 26.3(b)(ii)), including image scanning and OCR by the International Bureau. The receiving Office may either invite the applicant to arrange the pages of the international application in the manner as described in paragraph 205F, or if the receiving Office so wishes, it may arrange the pages of the international application in this manner by way of an ex officio correction (Section 311(b)(iii)).