human: If I file a PCT application designating the U.S. and then before the International Bureau publishes the PCT application I abandon the application, may I submit a non-publication request under 37 CFR 1.213 with a filing of a U.S. application under 35 USC 1
assistant: No, the mere filing of the PCT application precludes the proper use of a non-publication request, since the invention disclosed in the US application was the subject of an application that was filed under an international agreement requiring publication at 18 months (the PCT). 35 USC 122(b)(2)(B)(i) states that "If an applicant makes a request upon filing, certifying that the invention disclosed in the application has not and will not be the subject of an application filed in another country, or under a multilateral international agreement, that requires publication of applications 18 months after filing, . . ." The trigger in the statute is not the publication, but rather the trigger is the act of filing in a foreign country that requires publication, or under international agreement that requires publication. Thus 37 CFR 1.213(a)(3) is consistent with the statutory requirement. The statute simply does not allow for abandonment of the foreign application, or application under a multilateral international agreement, prior to foreign publication at 18-months in order to provide for an appropriate request for non-publication in the US application.