MPEP § 1857 — MPEP § 1857
Current through: 2022-07-01

1857-International Publication 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Chapter 1800 

 Section 1857 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 1857 International Publication [R-01.2024]

 
 PCT Article 21 

 International Publication 

 
 (1) The International Bureau shall publish international
 applications.
 

 (2) 
 
 (a) Subject to the exceptions provided for in
 subparagraph (b) and in Article 64(3) ,
 the international publication of the international application shall
 be effected promptly after the expiration of 18 months from the
 priority date of that application. 
 

 (b) The applicant may ask the International Bureau to
 publish his international application any time before the expiration
 of the time limit referred to in subparagraph (a). The International
 Bureau shall proceed accordingly, as provided in the
 Regulations.
 

 
 

 (3) The international search report or the declaration referred
 to in Article 17(2)(a) shall be published as prescribed in
 the Regulations.
 

 (4) The language and form of the international publication and
 other details are governed by the Regulations.
 

 (5) There shall be no international publication if the
 international application is withdrawn or is considered withdrawn before the
 technical preparations for publication have been completed.
 

 (6) If the international application contains expressions or
 drawings which, in the opinion of the International Bureau, are contrary to
 morality or public order, or if, in its opinion, the international
 application contains disparaging statements as defined in the Regulations,
 it may omit such expressions drawings, and statements, from its
 publications, indicating the place and number of words or drawings omitted,
 and furnishing, upon request, individual copies of the passages omitted.
 

 
 

 
 PCT Article 29 

 Effects of the International
 Publication 

 
 (1) As far as the protection of any rights of the applicant in a
 designated State is concerned, the effects, in that State, of the
 international publication of an international application shall, subject to
 the provisions of paragraphs (2) to (4), be the same as those which the
 national law of the designated State provides for the compulsory national
 publication of unexamined national applications as such.
 

 (2) If the language in which the international publication has
 been effected is different from the language in which publications under the
 national law are effected in the designated State, the said national law may
 provide that the effects provided for in paragraph (1) shall be applicable
 only from such time as:
 
 (i) a translation into the latter language has been
 published as provided by the national law, or
 

 (ii) a translation into the latter language has been made
 available to the public, by laying open for public inspection as
 provided by the national law, or
 

 (iii) a translation into the latter language has been
 transmitted by the applicant to the actual or prospective
 unauthorized user of the invention claimed in the international
 application, or
 

 (iv) both the acts described in (i) and (iii), or both
 the acts described in (ii) and (iii), have taken place.
 

 
 

 (3) The national law of any designated State may provide that,
 where the international publication has been effected, on the request of the
 applicant, before the expiration of 18 months from the priority date, the
 effects provided for in paragraph (1) shall be applicable only from the
 expiration of 18 months from the priority date.
 

 (4) The national law of any designated State may provide that
 the effects provided for in paragraph (1) shall be applicable only from the
 date on which a copy of the international application as published under
 Article 21 has been received in the national Office
 of or acting for such State. The said Office shall publish the date of
 receipt in its gazette as soon as possible.
 

 
 

 
 PCT Administrative Instructions Section 404 

 International Publication Number of
 International Application 

 The International Bureau shall assign to each published
 international application an international publication number which shall be
 different from the international application number. The international publication
 number shall be used on the published international application and in the Gazette
 entry. It shall consist of the two-letter code “WO” followed by a four-digit
 indication of the year of publication, a slant, and a serial number consisting of
 six digits (e.g., “WO 2004/123456”).
 

 

 
 35 U.S.C. 374 
 Publication of international application. 

 The publication under the treaty defined in section
 351(a) , of an international application designating the
 United States shall be deemed a publication under section 122(b) ,
 except as provided in section 154(d) .
 

 

 The publication of international applications currently occurs every
 Thursday. Under PCT
 Article 20 and PCT Rules 47.1(a) and
 93bis.1 , the International Bureau
 communicates published international applications to each of the designated Offices that
 have requested to receive such documents on the date specified by that Office. Published
 international applications are available from the WIPO’s Patentscope ( www.wipo.int/
 patentscope/en/ ).
 

 I. PUBLICATION OF SEQUENCE LISTING FILED IN ELECTRONIC FORM As of August 2, 2001, WIPO began to publish sequence listing parts
 of the description on the internet. Sequence listing parts of the description may be
 viewed and downloaded on the page containing the published international application
 or at https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/ sequences.jsf . This
 page also contains a link to the remainder of the published international
 application.
 

 The bibliographic page of a published international
 application includes the statement: “Published with sequence listing part of
 description.”
 

 II. OMISSION OF CERTAIN
 INFORMATION 
 PCT Rule 48 

 International
 Publication 

 
 48.2 Contents

 *****

 
 (l) The International Bureau shall, upon a
 reasoned request by the applicant received by the International
 Bureau prior to the completion of the technical preparations for
 international publication, omit from publication any information, if
 it finds that:
 
 (i) this information does not
 obviously serve the purpose of informing the public about
 the international application;
 

 (ii) publication of such
 information would clearly prejudice the personal or economic
 interests of any person; and
 

 (iii) there is no prevailing public
 interest to have access to that information.
 

 
 

 
 

 *****

 

 Where the receiving Office, the International
 Searching Authority, the Authority specified for supplementary search, or the
 International Bureau notes any information satisfying the requirements of
 PCT
 Rule 48.2(l) , above, that Office, Authority or Bureau may
 suggest to the applicant to request the omission of that information from the
 international publication. See PCT Rule 48.2(m) .
 

 Where the International Bureau has omitted such
 information from the international publication and that information is also
 contained in the file of the international application held by the receiving Office,
 the International Searching Authority, the Authority specified for supplemental
 search or the International Preliminary Examining Authority, the International
 Bureau shall promptly notify that Office and Authority accordingly. See
 PCT Rule 48.2(n) .
 

 The International Bureau shall not provide access to
 any information contained in its file which has been omitted from publication as
 described above, nor to any document contained in its file relating to a request for
 such omission.
 

 Upon a reasoned request by the applicant, the
 International Bureau shall not provide access to any information contained in its
 file and to any document contained in its file relating to such a request, if it
 finds that (i) this information does not obviously serve the purpose of informing
 the public about the international application; (ii) publication of such information
 would clearly prejudice the personal or economic interests of any person; and (iii)
 there is no prevailing public interest to have access to that information. The
 International Bureau will promptly notify the receiving Office, the International
 Searching Authority, the Authority specified for supplemental search or the
 International Preliminary Examining Authority where the International Bureau has
 omitted information from public access and that information is also contained in the
 file of that Office and Authority. See PCT Rule 94.1 .
 

 The receiving Office, the International Searching
 Authority, the Authority specified for supplemental search or the International
 Preliminary Examining Authority shall not provide access to any information in
 respect of which it has been notified by the International Bureau that the
 information has been omitted from publication or from public access.
 

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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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