PCT Newsletter Highlights for September 2005

The September 2005 issue of the PCT Newsletter is now available at http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pctndocs/en/2005/pct_news_2005_9.pdf. The highlights for this month include:

Signature Requirements for the Declaration of Inventorship

Starting October 1, 2005, the signature of the inventors will always have to appear on the declaration of inventorship under PCT Rule 4.17(iv), which may be filed during the international phase for the purposes of the designation of the United States of America.

Currently, if the inventor has signed the Request Form (PCT/RO/101) and the declaration of inventorship is filed together with the international application, then the signature of the inventor is not required on the declaration itself (see Section 214(a) of the Administrative Instructions under the PCT). However, starting October 1, 2005, the signature of the inventor in Box No. X of the request form (where the declaration is filed together with the international application) will no longer replace the signature on the declaration. Applicants are therefore advised to change their practice accordingly.

The Notes to Box No. VIII(iv) of the Request Form will be amended accordingly. In the meantime, the information concerning the possibility of not signing the declaration of inventorship itself (in the circumstances mentioned above), which was published in the practical advice in PCT Newsletter Nos. 10/2002 and 04/2005, is superseded.


Upcoming Session of the PCT Assembly

The thirty-fourth session of the Assembly of the PCT Union will be held in Geneva from 26 September to 5 October 2005, as part of the meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO. In addition to discussions on PCT reform, and the presentation of status reports on quality management systems for PCT International Authorities and on PCT automation, two main sets of proposed amendments to the PCT Regulations will be submitted for adoption which would enter into force on 1 April 2006 and 1 April 2007, respectively.

The proposed amendments which would enter into force in 2006 relate to:

• exceptions to the all-inclusive designation system under certain conditions;
• the addition of Arabic as a publication language
• the move towards full and exclusive electronic publication of all international applications, and the publication of the PCT Gazette solely in electronic form; and
• the publication of declarations under PCT Rule 4.17 as part of the international application.

The proposed amendments which would enter into force in 2007 relate to:

• missing elements and parts of the international application;
• restoration of the right of priority;
• rectification of obvious mistakes; and
• PCT minimum documentation: the addition of patent documents from the Republic of Korea.

For further information on these proposals, and others, see documents PCT/A/34/2 and PCT/A/34/1.

United States of America Fax Number

The fax number of the United States Patent and Trademark Office for PCT applications, international and national phase has changed to (1-571) 273 32 01.