Digital Access Service for Priority Documents (DAS)
Japan Patent Office (JPO)
The JPO has notified the International Bureau (IB) that, with effect from 1 April 2025, it will extend the scope of its participation in DAS to include operation as a depositing Office for PCT applications filed electronically, unless the applicant requests, at the time of filing, that the application should not be made available to the Service.
The corresponding DAS Notification, which contains further information, is available at:
https://www.wipo.int/web/das/participating-offices/search-details?territoryId=87
Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic
The Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic has notified the IB that, with effect from 1 July 2025, it will commence operation both as a depositing Office and as an accessing Office of DAS. As a depositing Office, it will deposit certified copies of patent applications as priority documents on and after 1 July 2025, which the applicant specifically requests be made available to the service; as an accessing Office it will recognize priority documents available to it through the service for the purposes of any application for which the time limit for furnishing the priority document has not expired by 1 July 2025.
The corresponding DAS Notification, which contains further information, is available at:
https://www.wipo.int/en/web/das/participating-offices/search-details?territoryId=156
It is recalled that, by using DAS, a PCT applicant can request the IB to retrieve a copy of an earlier application from DAS for use as a priority document, instead of providing or arranging for the provision of a certified copy. The best practice for making such a request is by selecting the DAS option for providing the priority document to the IB in ePCT-Filing or, post-filing, using the dedicated “Action” in ePCT. Provided that the access code entered in ePCT matches the access code in DAS, the priority document is automatically made available to the internal processing system at the IB.
Please be aware that, in order to be able to make use of the DAS service, the Office with which the earlier application was filed must be a DAS depositing Office, and not necessarily the receiving Office with which the international application is filed. Information on DAS participating
Offices can be found at: