Administrative Instructions under the Patent Cooperation Treaty

Section 702
Filing, Processing and Communication in Electronic Form of International Applications

(a)  The filing, processing and communication of international applications filed in electronic form, and the processing and communication in electronic form of international applications filed on paper, shall be in accordance with this Part and Annex F.6 

(b)  Subject to this Part, an international application that is filed, processed or communicated in electronic form shall not be denied legal effect merely because it is in electronic form.

(c)  [Deleted]

6.  Editor's Note: Apart from the transitional reservations notified under Section 703(f), the only derogations possible to the requirements of Annex F are provided for by Annex F itself, in the Office-Office communication sector, in the case of an agreement between the sending office and the recipient office in view of the exchange of documents; the recipient office should inform the International Bureau accordingly and specify the technical contents of such an agreement.