PCT Receiving Office Guidelines

Chapter XII: Transmittal of International Application to International Bureau as Receiving Office (Rule 19.4)

Transmittal of International Application for Other Reasons (Rule 19.4(a)(iii))

278. Where a purported international application is filed with a national Office which acts as a receiving Office under the Treaty, that national Office and the International Bureau may agree, for any reason other than those specified under Rule 19.4(a)(i) to (ii-bis), and with the authorization of the applicant, that the purported international application is to be transmitted to the International Bureau as receiving Office under Rule 19.4(b).

279. Where a national Office intends to proceed under Rule 19.4(b), having regard to Rule 19.4(a)(iii), it promptly requests the International Bureau as receiving Office to agree to the transmittal of the purported international application. Where, upon request from the Office, the International Bureau agrees to the proposed transmittal, and unless the proposed transmittal has already been authorized by the applicant, the national Office promptly invites the applicant to submit to that Office, within a time limit of 15 days from the date of the invitation, an authorization for the proposed transmittal (Section 333(b)). Where the International Bureau as receiving Office agrees to, and the applicant authorizes, the proposed transmittal, the procedure outlined in paragraphs 275 to 277 applies. Form PCT/RO/152 is used for those purposes.

280. Where the International Bureau as receiving Office does not agree to, or where the applicant does not authorize, the proposed transmittal under Rule 19.4(a)(iii), or where the authorization of the applicant is not received within the time limit, the national Office does not transmit the purported international application to the International Bureau as receiving Office but processes the purported international application itself.

281. Where a national Office which is competent to receive the international application intends to proceed under Rule 19.4(b), having regard to Rule 19.4(a)(iii), that national Office should preferably not subject the transmittal of the purported international application to the payment of a fee. If, however, the receiving Office does charge such a fee and the applicant does not pay that fee, the receiving Office proceeds, with regard to the unpaid fees, as outlined in paragraph 275, and, in the case of non-payment, processes the purported international application itself.