Adopted on October 11, 2017, by the Assembly of the International Patent Cooperation Union (PCT Union) at its Forty-Ninth (21st Ordinary) Session held from October 2 to 11, 2017, with effect from July 1, 2018
Rule 4
The Request (Contents)
4.1 Mandatory and Optional Contents; Signature
(a) [No change]
(b) The request shall, where applicable, contain:
(i) a priority claim, or
(ii) indications relating to an earlier search as provided in Rules 4.12(i) and 12bis.1(b) and (d),
(iii) a reference to a parent application or parent patent,
(iv) an indication of the applicant's choice of competent International Searching Authority.
(c) and (d) [No change]
4.2 to 4.19 [No change]
Rule 41
Taking into Account Results of Earlier Search and Classification
41.1 [No change]
41.2 Taking into Account Results of Earlier Search and Classification in Other Cases
(a) [No change]
(b) Where the receiving Office has transmitted to the International Searching Authority a copy of the results of any earlier search or of any earlier classification under Rule 23bis.2(a) or (c), or where such a copy is available to the International Searching Authority in a form and manner acceptable to it, for example, from a digital library, the International Searching Authority may take those results into account in carrying out the international search.
| Fees | Amounts | |
| 1. to 3. | [No change] | [No change] |
| Reductions | ||
| 4. | [No change] | |
| 5. | The international filing fee under item 1 (where applicable, as reduced under item 4), the supplementary search handling fee under item 2 and the handling fee under item 3 are reduced by 90% if the international application is filed by: | |
| (a) [No change] | ||
| (b) [No change] | ||
| provided that, at the time of filing of the international application, there are no beneficial owners of the international application who would not satisfy the criteria in sub-item (a) or (b) and provided that, if there are several applicants, each must satisfy the criteria set out in either sub-item (a) or (b). The lists of States referred to in sub-items (a) and (b)[3] shall be updated by the Director General at least every five years according to directives given by the Assembly. The criteria set out in sub-items (a) and (b) shall be reviewed by the Assembly at least every five years. | ||
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original text in English of the amendments to the Regulations under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) adopted on October 11, 2017 by the Assembly of the International Patent Cooperation Union (PCT Union) at its forty-ninth (21st ordinary) session held from October 2 to 11, 2017 with effect from July 1, 2018.
Francis Gurry
Director General
World Intellectual Property Organization
January 23, 2018
1. The amendment of Rules 4.1(b)(ii) and 41.2(b) and of the Schedule of Fees shall enter into force on July 1, 2018, and shall apply to any international application the international filing date of which is on or after that date.
2. The following reproduces, for each Rule that was amended, the amended text. Where a part of any such Rule has not been amended, the indication "[No change]" appears.
3. Editor's Note: The first lists of States were published in the Gazette of February 12, 2015, page 32 (see www.wipo.int/pct/en/official_notices/index.html).