PCT Receiving Office Guidelines

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

Sheets Completing an International Application under Rule 20.5(b) or (c)

200. Where the applicant did not confirm the incorporation by reference of missing parts but nevertheless furnished sheets completing the international application within the time limit under Rule 20.7, the receiving Office marks each later submitted sheet in accordance with Section 308bis. The receiving Office marks the date of receipt of the sheets completing the international application in the relevant box on the last sheet of the request, where applicable, corrects the international filing date marked on the first sheet of the request, still leaving legible the earlier date (Sections 310 and 310bis) and notifies (Form PCT/RO/126) the applicant accordingly. Since Rule 20.5(e) permits the applicant, after the international filing date has been corrected, to request that the missing part concerned be disregarded in order to retain the initial international filing date, the receiving Office should not transmit the later submitted sheets to the International Bureau and the International Searching Authority before the expiration of one month from the date of the notification (Form PCT/RO/126), unless the applicant has already confirmed his position before the expiration of that time limit.

200A. Where the applicant requests that the missing part concerned be disregarded, the receiving Office restores the international filing date to that which had applied prior to its correction, proceeds as outlined in Section 310bis(b) and notifies the applicant (Form PCT/RO/129) that the initial filing date has been reinstated. A copy of this form should be sent to the International Bureau and, where the search copy has already been transmitted, to the International Searching Authority.

201. Where the later submitted sheets concern drawings, the receiving Office deletes on the last sheet of the request, in the right-hand side of the box "for receiving Office use only", the marking of the check-box relating to the non-receipt of drawings and marks the check-box relating to the receipt of drawings. The earlier marking should remain legible.

202. If it appears, after clarification with the applicant, that a reference in the text of the international application to a missing drawing is the result of a clerical error (for example, it appears that no drawing is in fact missing and the reference was intended to be a reference to a drawing which is in fact included in the international application), the applicant's attention should be directed to the fact that a request for rectification of an obvious mistake may be submitted by the applicant directly to the International Searching Authority under Rule 91.