MPEP § 1805 — MPEP § 1805
Current through: 2022-07-01

1805-Where To File an International Application 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Chapter 1800 

 Section 1805 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 1805 Where To File an International Application [R-01.2024]

 
 35 U.S.C. 361 
 Receiving Office. 

 (a) The Patent and Trademark Office shall act as a Receiving Office
 for international applications filed by nationals or residents of the United States.
 In accordance with any agreement made between the United States and another country,
 the Patent and Trademark Office may also act as a Receiving Office for international
 applications filed by residents or nationals of such country who are entitled to
 file international applications.
 

 *****

 

 See MPEP § 1806 as to who can file an
 international application. 
 

 Only if at least one of the applicants is a resident or national of the
 United States of America may an international application be filed in the United States
 Receiving Office. See PCT Article 9(1) and (3) , PCT Rules 19.1 and
 19.2 , 35 U.S.C. 361(a) and
 37 CFR
 1.412(a) and 1.421 . The concepts of residence
 and nationality are defined in PCT Rule 18.1 . 
 

 International applications may be filed electronically through the USPTO
 patent electronic filing system. International applications and related papers may also
 be deposited with the United States Receiving Office by addressing the papers to “Mail
 Stop PCT” and hand-delivering them to the Office. See MPEP § 501 ,
 subsection III for information regarding hand-delivery of papers. The mailing address
 for delivery by the U.S. Postal Service is: Mail Stop PCT, Commissioner for Patents,
 P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450. It should be noted that the Priority
 Mail Express® provisions of 37 CFR 1.10 apply to the filing of
 all applications and papers filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including PCT
 international applications and related papers and fees. It should be further noted,
 however, that PCT international applications and papers relating to international
 applications are specifically excluded from the Certificate of Mailing or Transmission
 procedures under 37
 CFR 1.8 . See MPEP § 1834 , subsection III. If
 37 CFR
 1.8 is improperly used, the date to be accorded the paper will be
 the date of actual receipt in the Office unless the receipt date falls on a Saturday,
 Sunday, or federal holiday in which case the date of receipt will be the next succeeding
 day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday ( 37 CFR 1.6 ). 
 

 Irrespective of the Certification practice under 37 CFR 1.8(a) ,
 facsimile transmission (without the benefit of the certificate under 37 CFR 1.8(a) )
 may be used to submit certain papers in international applications. However, facsimile
 transmission may not be used for the filing of an international application, the filing
 of color drawings under 37 CFR 1.437 , or the filing of a
 copy of the international application and the basic national fee to enter the U.S.
 national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 . See 37 CFR 1.6(d)(3) and
 (4) , 1.8(a)(2)(i)(D) , and
 1.8(a)(2)(i)(F) . The Demand for international preliminary
 examination may be filed by facsimile transmission. See MPEP § 1834.01 . 
 

 The United States Receiving Office and PCT Help Desk are available to
 offer guidance on PCT requirements and procedures. See MPEP § 1730 for
 information on contacting the staff and other available means for obtaining
 information.
 

 WARNING - although the United States patent law at 35 U.S.C. 21(a) 
 authorizes the Director to prescribe by rule that any paper or fee required to be filed
 in the Patent and Trademark Office will be considered filed in the Office on the date on
 which it was deposited with the United States Postal Service, PCT Rule 20.1(a) 
 provides for marking the “date of actual receipt on the request.” Although the Priority
 Mail Express® provisions under 37 CFR 1.10 have not been contested
 to date regarding PCT applications, applicants should be aware of a possible different
 interpretation by foreign authorities.
 

 PCT Rule
 19.4 provides for transmittal of an international application to
 the International Bureau as Receiving Office in certain instances. For example, when the
 international application is filed with the United States Receiving Office and the
 language in which the international application is filed is not accepted by the United
 States Receiving Office, or if the applicant does not have the requisite residence or
 nationality, the application may be forwarded to the International Bureau for processing
 in its capacity as a Receiving Office. See 37 CFR 1.412(c)(6) . The Receiving
 Office of the International Bureau will consider the international application to be
 received as of the date accorded by the United States Receiving Office. This practice
 will avoid the loss of a filing date in those instances where the United States
 Receiving Office is not competent to act, but where the international application
 indicates an applicant to be a national or resident of a PCT Contracting state or is in
 a language accepted under PCT Rule 12.1(a) by the
 International Bureau as a Receiving Office. Where questions arise regarding residence or
 nationality, i.e., the U.S. is not clearly competent, the application will be forwarded
 to the International Bureau as Receiving Office. Note, where no residence or nationality
 is indicated, the U.S. is not competent, and the application will be forwarded to the
 International Bureau as Receiving Office so long as the necessary fee is paid. The fee
 is an amount equal to the transmittal fee.
 

 If all of the applicants are indicated to be residents and nationals of
 non-PCT Contracting States, PCT Rule 19.4 does not apply, and
 the application is denied an international filing date.
 

 Any applicant who is a resident or national of a PCT Contracting State
 may also file their application directly with the International Bureau as receiving
 Office. An applicant may wish to consider filing directly with the International Bureau
 as receiving Office instead of the United States Receiving Office in the situation where
 applicant is filing their international application after the expiration of the 12 month
 priority period but within two months of the expiration of the priority period, and
 where applicant desires to request restoration of the right of priority under the in
 spite of due care standard. See MPEP § 1828.01 . An applicant may also
 request that an application be forwarded to the International Bureau for processing in
 its capacity as receiving Office in accordance with PCT Rule 19.4(a)(iii) in situations
 where the international application was filed with the United States Receiving Office
 after the expiration of the 12 month priority period but within two months of the
 expiration of the priority period, and where applicant desires to request restoration of
 the right of priority under the in spite of due care standard. However, any transfer
 request received after substantial processing of the international application by the
 United States Receiving Office has occurred may be declined.
 

 An international application filed with, or forwarded to, the
 International Bureau must have a foreign filing license unless: (1) the invention was
 not made in the United States; or (2) a U.S. national application on the invention was
 filed at least six months prior to the filing of the international application, the U.S.
 national application is not subject to a secrecy order under 37 CFR 5.2 , and
 the international application does not contain modifications, amendments, or supplements
 changing the general nature of the invention in a manner that would require any
 corresponding United States application to be or have been available for inspection
 under 35 U.S.C.
 181 . See 37 CFR 5.11 and 5.15 .
 

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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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 03/09/2026 20:50:36