MPEP § 1810 — MPEP § 1810
Current through: 2022-07-01

1810-Filing Date Requirements 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Chapter 1800 

 Section 1810 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 1810 Filing Date Requirements [R-07.2022]

 
 PCT Article 11 

 Filing Date and Effects of the
 International Application 

 
 (1) The receiving Office shall accord as the international
 filing date the date of receipt of the international application, provided
 that that Office has found that, at the time of receipt:
 
 (i) the applicant does not obviously lack, for reasons
 of residence or nationality, the right to file an international
 application with the receiving Office,
 

 (ii) the international application is in the prescribed
 language,
 

 (iii) the international application contains at least the
 following elements:
 
 (a) an indication that it is intended as an
 international application,
 

 (b) the designation of at least one Contracting
 State,
 

 (c) the name of the applicant, as
 prescribed,
 

 (d) a part which on the face of it appears to be
 a description
 

 (e) a part which on the face of it appears to be
 a claim or claims.
 

 
 

 
 

 
 *****

 

 
 35 U.S.C. 363 
 International application designating the United States: Effect. 

 [Editor Note: Applicable to any patent application
 subject to the first inventor to file provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA).
 See 35
 U.S.C. 100 (note) .]
 

 An international application designating the United States shall
 have the effect, from its international filing date under article 11 of
 the treaty, of a national application for patent regularly filed in the Patent and
 Trademark Office. 
 

 

 
 35 U.S.C. 363 
 (pre-AIA) International application designating the United States:
 Effect. 

 [Editor Note: Applicable to applications not subject
 to the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA (see 35 U.S.C. 100
 (note) ). See 35 U.S.C. 363 immediately above
 for the law otherwise applicable.]
 

 An international application designating the United
 States shall have the effect, from its international filing date under article 11 of
 the treaty, of a national application for patent regularly filed in the Patent and
 Trademark Office except as otherwise provided in section 102(e) . 
 

 

 
 37 CFR 1.431 International application requirements. 

 [Editor Note: See pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.431 in
 Appendix R for para. (b)(3)(iii) applicable to applications filed before September
 16, 2012]
 

 
 (a) An international application shall contain, as specified in
 the Treaty and the Regulations, a Request, a description, one or more
 claims, an abstract, and one or more drawings (where required). (
 PCT
 Art. 3(2) and Section 207 
 of the Administrative Instructions.)
 

 (b) An international filing date will be accorded by the United
 States Receiving Office, at the time of receipt of the international
 application, provided that:
 
 (1) At least one applicant (§ 1.421 ) is a United States resident or
 national and the papers filed at the time of receipt of the
 international application so indicate ( 35 U.S.C.
 361(a) , PCT Art.
 11(1)(i) ).
 

 (2) The international application is in the English
 language ( 35 U.S.C.
 361(c) , PCT Art.
 11(1)(ii) ). 
 

 (3) The international application contains at least the
 following elements ( PCT Art.
 11(1)(iii) ): 
 
 (i) An indication that it is intended as an
 international application ( PCT Rule
 4.2 ); 
 

 (ii) The designation of at least one Contracting
 State of the International Patent Cooperation Union (§
 1.432 );
 
 

 (iii) The name of the applicant, as prescribed
 (note §§ 1.421 ,
 1.422 ,
 and 1.424 );
 
 

 (iv) A part which on the face of it appears to be
 a description; and
 

 (v) A part which on the face of it appears to be
 a claim.
 

 
 

 
 

 (c) Payment of the international filing fee (PCT Rule
 15.2 ) and the transmittal and search fees (§
 1.445 ) may be made in full at the time the
 international application papers required by paragraph (b) of this section
 are deposited or within one month thereafter. The international filing,
 transmittal, and search fee payable is the international filing,
 transmittal, and search fee in effect on the receipt date of the
 international application. If the international filing, transmittal and
 search fees are not paid within one month from the date of receipt of the
 international application and prior to the sending of a notice of
 deficiency, which imposes a late payment fee (§ 1.445(a)(6) ), the applicant will be notified and
 given a one month non-extendable time limit within which to pay the
 deficient fees plus the late payment fee.
 

 (d) If the payment needed to cover the transmittal fee, the
 international filing fee, the search fee, and the late payment fee pursuant
 to paragraph (c) of this section is not timely made in accordance with
 PCT
 Rule 16bis.1(e) , the Receiving
 Office will declare the international application withdrawn under
 PCT
 Article 14(3)(a) .
 

 
 
 THE “INTERNATIONAL FILING DATE” An international filing date is accorded to the earliest date on
 which the requirements under PCT Article 11(1) were
 satisfied. If the requirements under PCT Article 11(1) are not
 satisfied as of the date of initial receipt of the international application papers,
 the receiving Office will invite applicant to correct the deficiency within a set
 time limit. See PCT Article 11(2) and PCT Rule 20.3 . In such case,
 the international filing date will be the date on which a timely filed correction is
 received by the receiving Office. If the defect under PCT Article 11(1) is that
 the purported international application fails to contain a portion which on its face
 appears to be a description or claims, and if the application, on its initial
 receipt date, contained a priority claim and a proper incorporation by reference
 statement, the initial receipt date may be retained as the international filing date
 if the submitted correction was completely contained in the earlier application. See
 PCT Rules
 4.18 and 20.6 . If the defect under
 PCT Article
 11(1) is not timely corrected, the receiving Office will
 promptly notify the applicant that the application is not and will not be treated as
 an international application. See PCT Rule 20.4 . Where all the
 sheets pertaining to the same international application are not received on the same
 day by the receiving Office, in most instances, the date of receipt of the
 application will be amended to reflect the date on which the last missing sheets
 were received. As an amended date of receipt may cause the priority claim to be
 forfeited, applicants should assure that all sheets of the application are deposited
 with the receiving Office on the same day. If the application, on its initial
 receipt date, contained a priority claim and a proper incorporation by reference
 statement, the initial receipt date may be retained as the international filing date
 if the submitted correction was completely contained in the earlier application.
 Again see PCT
 Rules 4.18 and 20.6 . 
 

 An all too common occurrence is that applicants will file an
 international application in the U.S. Receiving Office and no applicant has a U.S.
 residence or nationality. Applicants are cautioned to be sure that at least one
 applicant is a resident or national of the U.S. before filing in the U.S. Receiving
 Office. Where no applicant indicated on the request papers is a resident or national
 of the United States, the USPTO is not a competent receiving Office for the
 international application under PCT Rule 19.1(a) . Nonetheless,
 the date the international application was filed in the USPTO will not be lost as a
 filing date for the international application if at least one applicant is a
 resident or national of any PCT Contracting State. Under PCT Rule
 19.4 , the USPTO will receive the application on behalf of the
 International Bureau as receiving Office ( PCT Rule 19.4(a)) and, upon
 payment of a fee equal to the transmittal fee, the USPTO will promptly transmit the
 international application to the International Bureau under PCT Rule
 19.4(b) . However, if all of the applicants are indicated to
 be both residents and nationals of non-PCT Contracting States, PCT Rule 19.4 
 does not apply, and the application is denied an international filing date. 
 

 The USPTO is also not competent to receive international
 applications that are not in the English language and, upon payment of a fee equal
 to the transmittal fee, the USPTO will forward such applications to the
 International Bureau under PCT Rule 19.4 provided they are
 in a language accepted by the International Bureau as receiving Office. 
 

 A discussion of PCT Rule 19.4 is also included
 in MPEP §
 1805 .
 

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 1801-Basic Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Principles 

 1802-PCT Definitions 

 1803-Reservations Under the PCT Taken by, and Notifications of Incompatibility Made by, the United States of America 

 1804-[Reserved] 

 1805-Where To File an International Application 

 1806-Applicants and Inventors 

 1807-Agent or Common Representative and General Power of Attorney 

 1808-Change in or Revocation of the Appointment of an Agent or a Common Representative 

 1809-Access to the USPTO patent electronic filing system 

 1810-Filing Date Requirements 

 1811-[Reserved] 

 1812-Elements of the International Application 

 1813 - 1816-[Reserved] 

 1817-PCT Member States 

 1818-[Reserved] 

 1819-Earlier Search 

 1820-Signature of Applicant 

 1821-The Request 

 1822-[Reserved] 

 1823-The Description 
 1823.01-Reference to Deposited Biological Material 

 1823.02-Filing Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listings in International Applications 

 
 

 1824-The Claims 

 1825-The Drawings 

 1826-The Abstract 

 1827-Fees 
 1827.01-Refund of International Application Fees 

 
 

 1828-Priority Claim and Document 
 1828.01-Restoration of the Right of Priority 

 1828.02-Continuation or Continuation-in-Part Indication in the Request 

 
 

 1829-[Reserved] 

 1830-International Application Transmittal Letter 

 1831-[Reserved] 

 1832-License Request for Foreign Filing Under the PCT 

 1833-[Reserved] 

 1834-Correspondence 
 1834.01-Filing of Correspondence by Facsimile 

 1834.02-Irregularities in the Mail or Electronic Communications Service 

 
 

 1835-[Reserved] 

 1836-Rectification of Obvious Mistakes 

 1837 - 1839-[Reserved] 

 1840-The International Searching Authority 
 1840.01-The European Patent Office as an International Searching Authority 

 1840.02-The Korean Intellectual Property Office as an International Searching Authority 

 1840.03-The Australian Patent Office (IP Australia) as an International Searching Authority 

 1840.04-[Reserved] 

 1840.05-The Israel Patent Office (ILPO) as an International Searching Authority 

 1840.06-The Japan Patent Office (JPO) as an International Searching Authority 

 1840.07-The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) as an International Searching Authority 

 
 

 1841-[Reserved] 

 1842-Basic Flow Under the PCT 

 1843-The International Search 
 1843.01-Prior Art for Chapter I Processing 

 1843.02-Certain Subject Matter Need Not Be Searched 

 1843.03-No Search Required if Claims Are Unclear 

 1843.04-Procedure for Claims Not Required To Be Searched and for Claims That Are Unclear 

 1843.05-Time Limit for Establishing the International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority 

 
 

 1844-The International Search Report 
 1844.01-Preparing the International Search Report (Form PCT/ISA/210) 

 
 

 1845-Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority 
 1845.01-Preparing the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority (Form PCT/ISA/237) 

 1845.02-Notification of Transmittal of the International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority,
 or the Declaration (Form PCT/ISA/220) 

 
 

 1846 - 1847-[Reserved] 

 1848-Sequence Listings 

 1849-[Reserved] 

 1850-Unity of Invention Before the International Searching Authority 

 1851-Identification of Patent Documents 

 1852-Taking Into Account Results of Earlier Search(es) 

 1853-Amendment Under PCT Article 19 

 1854 - 1855-[Reserved] 

 1856-Supplementary International Searches 

 1857-International Publication 

 1858-[Reserved] 

 1859-Withdrawal of International Application, Designations, or Priority Claims 

 1860-International Preliminary Examination Procedure 

 1861-[Reserved] 

 1862-Agreement With the International Bureau To Serve as an International Preliminary Examining Authority 

 1863-[Reserved] 

 1864-The Demand and Preparation for Filing of Demand 
 1864.01-Amendments Filed Under PCT Article 34 

 1864.02-Applicant’s Right To File a Demand 

 1864.03-States Which May Be Elected 

 1864.04-Agent’s Right To Act 

 
 

 1865-Filing of Demand 

 1866-[Reserved] 

 1867-Preliminary Examination Fees 

 1868-Correction of Defects in the Demand 

 1869-Notification to International Bureau of Demand 

 1870-Priority Document and Translation Thereof 

 1871-Processing Amendments Filed Under Article 19 and Article 34 Prior to or at the Start of International Preliminary Examination 

 1872-Availability of the International Application File for International Preliminary Examination by the Examining Corps 

 1873-[Reserved] 

 1874-Determination if International Preliminary Examination Is Required and Possible 

 1875-Unity of Invention Before the International Preliminary Examining Authority 
 1875.01-Preparation of Invitation Concerning Unity 

 1875.02-Reply to Invitation Concerning Lack of Unity of Invention 

 
 

 1876-Notation of Errors and Informalities by the Examiner 
 1876.01-Request for Rectification and Notification of Action Thereon 

 
 

 1877-Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listings During the International Preliminary Examination 

 1878-Preparation of the Written Opinion of the International Preliminary Examining Authority 
 1878.01-Includes Subsections Regarding Prior Art, Novelty, Inventive Step, and Industrial Applicability for Purposes of the Written
 Opinion and the International Preliminary Examination Report 
 1878.01(a)-Prior Art for Purposes of the Written Opinion and the International Preliminary Examination Report 
 1878.01(a)(1)-Novelty for Purposes of the Written Opinion and the International Preliminary Examination Report 

 1878.01(a)(2)-Inventive Step for Purposes of the Written Opinion and the International Preliminary Examination Report 

 1878.01(a)(3)-Industrial Applicability for Purposes of the Written Opinion and the International Preliminary Examination Report 

 
 

 
 

 1878.02-Reply to the Written Opinion of the ISA or IPEA 

 
 

 1879-Preparation of the International Preliminary Examination Report 
 1879.01-Time Limit for Preparing Report 

 1879.02-Transmittal of the International Preliminary Examination Report and Related Documents 

 1879.03-Translations 

 1879.04-Confidential Nature of the Report 

 
 

 1880-Withdrawal of Demand or Election 

 1881-Receipt of Notice of Election and Preliminary Examination Report by the United States Patent and Trademark Office 

 1882 - 1892-[Reserved] 

 1893-National Stage (U.S. National Application Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 371) 
 1893.01-Commencement and Entry 
 1893.01(a)-Entry via the U.S. Designated or Elected Office 
 1893.01(a)(1)-Submissions Required by 30 Months from the Priority Date 

 1893.01(a)(2)-Article 19 Amendment (Filed With the International Bureau) 

 1893.01(a)(3)-Article 34 Amendments (Filed with the International Preliminary Examining Authority) 

 1893.01(a)(4)-Claim Amendment (Filed With the U.S. Designated or Elected Office) 

 
 

 1893.01(b)-Applicant for a U.S. National Stage Application 

 1893.01(c)-Fees 

 1893.01(d)-Translation 

 1893.01(e)-Inventor’s Oath or Declaration 

 
 

 1893.02-Abandonment 

 1893.03-Prosecution of U.S. National Stage Applications Before the Examiner 
 1893.03(a)-How To Identify That an Application Is a U.S. National Stage Application 

 1893.03(b)-The Filing Date of a U.S. National Stage Application 

 1893.03(c)-The Priority Date, Priority Claim, and Priority Papers for a U.S. National Stage Application 

 1893.03(d)-Unity of Invention 

 1893.03(e)-Documents Received from the International Bureau and Placed in a U.S. National Stage Application File 
 1893.03(e)(1)-Title of the Invention 

 
 

 1893.03(f)-Drawings and PCT Rule 11 

 1893.03(g)-Information Disclosure Statement in a National Stage Application 

 
 

 
 

 1894-[Reserved] 

 1895-A Continuation, Divisional, or Continuation- in- Part Application of a PCT Application Designating the United States 
 1895.01-Handling of and Considerations in the Handling of Continuations, Divisions, and Continuations-In-Part of PCT Applications 

 
 

 1896-The Differences Between a National Application Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) and a National Stage Application Submitted Under
 35 U.S.C. 371 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
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 Last Modified: 
 
 03/09/2026 20:50:36