Patent Cooperation Treaty; with Regulations

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 ln 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application is withdrawn or is considered withdrawn before the technical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.

Article 22
Copy, Translation, and Fee, to Designated Offices

(1) The applicant shall furnish a copy of the international application
(unless the communication provided for in Article 20 has already taken
place) and a translation thereof (as prescribed), and pay the national fee
(if any), to each designated Office not later than at the expiration of 20
months from the priority date. Where the national law of the designated
State requires the indication of the name of and other prescribed data
concerning the inventor but allows that these indications be furnished at a
time later than that of the filing of a national application, the applicant
shall, unless they were contained in the request, furnish the said
indications to the national Office of or acting for that State not later
than at the expiration of 20 months from the priority date.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), where the
International Searching Authority makes a declaration, under Article
17(2)(a), that no international search report will be established, the time
limit for performing the acts referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article
shall be two months from the date of the notification sent to the applicant
of the said declaration.

(3) Any national law may, for performing the acts referred to in paragraphs
(1) or (2), fix time limits which expire later than the time limit provided
for in those paragraphs.

Article 23
Delaying of National Procedure

(1) No designated Office shall process or examine the international
application prior to the expiration of the applicable time limit under
Article 22.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), any designated Office
may, on the express request of the applicant, process or examine the
international application at any time.

Article 24
Possible Loss of Effect in Designated States

(1) Subject, in case (ii) below, to the provisions of Article 25, the
effect of the international application provided for in Article 11(3) shall
cease in any designated State with the same consequences as the withdrawal
of any national application in that State:

(i) if the applicant withdraws his international application or the
designation of that State;
(ii) if the international application is considered withdrawn by virtue
of Articles 12 (3), 14(1) (b), 14(3) (a), or 14(4), or if the designation
of that State is considered withdrawn by virtue of Article 14 (3) (b);
(iii) if the applicant fails to perform the acts referred to in Article
22 within the applicable time limit.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), any designated Office
may maintain the effect provided for in Article 11(3) even where such
effect is not required to be maintained by virtue of Article 25(2).

Article 25
Review By Designated Offices

(1)(a) Where the receiving Office has refused to accord an international
filing date or has declared that the international application is
considered withdrawn, or where the International Bureau has made a finding
under Article 12 (3), the International Bureau shall promptly send, at the
request of the applicant, copies of any document in the file to any of the
designated Offices named by the applicant.

(b) Where the receiving Office has declared that the designation of any
given State is considered withdrawn, the International Bureau shall
promptly send, at the request of the applicant, copies of any document in
the file to the national Office of such State.

(c) The request under subparagraphs (a) or (b) shall be presented within
the prescribed time limit.

(2)(a) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), each designated
Office shall, provided that the national fee (if any) has been paid and the
appropriate translation (as prescribed) has been furnished within the
prescribed time limit, decide whether the refusal, declaration, or finding,
referred to in paragraph (1) was justified under the provisions of this
Treaty and the Regulations, and, if it finds that the refusal or
declaration was the result of an error or omission on the part of the
receiving Office or that the finding was the result of an error or omission
on the part of the International Bureau, it shall, as far as effects in the
State of the designated Office are concerned, treat the international
application as if such error or omission had not occurred.

(b) Where the record copy has reached the International Bureau after the
expiration of the time limit prescribed under Article 12(3) on account of
any error or omission on the part of the applicant, the provisions of
subparagraph (a) shall apply only under the circumstances referred to in
Article 48(2).

Article 26
Opportunity to Correct Before Designated Offices

No designated Office shall reject an international application on the
grounds of non-compliance with the requirements of this Treaty and the
Regulations without first giving the applicant the opportunity to correct
the said application to the extent and according to the procedure provided
by the national law for the same or comparable situations in respect of
national applications.

Author: international

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