Patent Cooperation Treaty; with Regulations

 

Article 52
Relations with Other provisions of the Treaty

Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the financial provisions contained in
any other Chapter of this Treaty. Such provisions are not applicable to the
present Chapter or to its implementation.

CHAPTER V

ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Article 53
Assembly

(1)(a) The Assembly shall, subject to Article 57(8), consist of the
Contracting States.

(b) The Government of each Contracting State shall be represented by one
delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and
experts.

(2)(a) The Assembly shall:
(i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and
development of the Union and the implementation of this Treaty;
(ii) perform such tasks as are specifically assigned to it under
Other provisions of this Treaty;
(iii) give directions to the International Bureau concerning the
preparation for revision conferences;
(iv) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director
General concerning the Union, and give him all necessary
instructions concerning matters within the competence of the
Union;
(v) review and approve the reports and activities of the Executive
Committee established under paragraph (9), and give
instructions to such Committee;
(vi) determine the program and adopt the triennial budget of the
Union, and approve its final accounts;
(vii) adopt the financial regulations of the Union;
(viii) establish such committees and working groups as it deems
appropriate to achieve the objectives of the Union;
(ix) determine which States other than Contracting States and,
subject to the provisions of paragraph (8), which
intergovernmental and international non-governmental
organizations shall be admitted to its meetings as observers;
(x) take any other appropriate action designed to further the
objectives of the Union and perform such other functions as are
appropriate under this Treaty.

(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions
administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions
after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the
Organization.

(3) A delegate may represent, and vote ln the name of, one State only.

(4) Each Contracting State shall have one vote.

(5)(a) One-half of the Contracting States shall constitute a quorum.

(b) In the absence of the quorum, the Assembly may make decisions but,
with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure, all such
decisions shall take effect only if the quorum and the required majority
are attained through voting by correspondence as provided in the
Regulations.

(6)(a) Subject to the provisions of Articles 47(2)(b), 58(2)(b), 58(3) and
61(2)(b), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the
votes cast.

(b) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

(7) In connection with matters of exclusive interest to States bound by
Chapter II, any reference to Contracting States in paragraphs (4), (5), and
(6), shall be considered as applying only to States bound by Chapter II.

(8) Any intergovernmental organization appointed as International Searching
or Preliminary Examining Authority shall be admitted as observer to the
Assembly.

(9) When the number of Contracting States exceeds forty, the Assembly shall
establish an Executive Committee. Any reference to the Executive Committee
in this Treaty and the Regulations shall be construed as references to such
Committee once it has been established.

(10) Until the Executive Committee has been established, the Assembly shall
approve, within the limits of the program and triennial budget, the annual
programs and budgets prepared by the Director General.

(11)(a) Until the Executive Committee has been established, the Assembly
shall meet once in every calendar year in ordinary session upon convocation
by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances,
during the same period and at the same place as the Coordination Committee
of the Organization.

(b) Once the Executive Committee has been established, the Assembly
shall meet once only in every third calendar year in ordinary session upon
convocation by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptional
circumstances, during the same period and at the same place as the General
Assembly of the Organization.

(c) The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by
the Director General, at the request of the Executive Committee, or at the
request of one-fourth of the Contracting States.

(12) The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 54
Executive Committee

(1) When the Assembly has established an Executive Committee that Committee
shall be subject to the provisions set forth hereinafter.

(2)(a) The Executive Committee shall, subject to Article 57(8), consist of
States elected by the Assembly from among States members of the Assembly.

(b) The Government of each State member of the Executive Committee shall
be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates,
advisors, and experts.

(3) The number of States members of the Executive Committee shall
correspond to one-fourth of the number of States members of the Assembly.
In establishing the number of seats to be filled, remainders after division
by four shall be disregarded.

(4) In electing the members of the Executive Committee, the Assembly shall
have due regard to an equitable geographical distribution.

(5)(a) Each member of the Executive Committee shall serve from the close of
the session of the Assembly which elected lt to the close of the next
ordinary session of the Assembly.

(b) Members of the Executive Committee may be reelected but only up to a
maximum of two-thirds of such members.

(c) The Assembly shall establish the details of the rules governing the
election and possible re-election of the members of the Executive
Committee.

(6)(a) The Executive Committee shall:
(i) prepare the draft agenda of the Assembly;
(ii) submit proposals to the Assembly in respect of the draft
program and triennial budget of the Union prepared by the
Director General;
(iii) approve, within the limits of the program and triennial budget,
the specific yearly budgets and programs prepared by the
Director General;
(iv) submit, with appropriate comments, to the Assembly the
periodical reports of the Director General and the yearly audit
reports on the accounts;
(v) take all necessary measures to ensure the execution of the
program of the Union by the Director General, in accordance
with the decisions of the Assembly and having regard to
circumstances arising between two ordinary sessions of the
Assembly;
(vi) perform such other functions as are allocated to it under this
Treaty.

(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions
administered by the Organization, the Executive Committee shall make its
decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of
the Organization.

(7)(a) The Executive Committee shall meet once a year in ordinary session
upon convocation by the Director General, preferably during the same period
and at the same place as the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(b) The Executive Committee shall meet in extraordinary session upon
convocation by the Director General, either on his own initiative or at the
request of its Chairman or one-fourth of its members.

(8)(a) Each State member of the Executive Committee shall have one vote.

(b) One-half of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute
a quorum.

(c) Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of the votes cast.

(d) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

(e) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one State only.

(9) Contracting States not members of the Executive Committee shall be
admitted to its meetings as observers, as well as any intergovernmental
organization appointed as International Searching or Preliminary Examining
Authority.

(10) The Executive Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 55
International Bureau

(1) Administrative tasks concerning the Union shall be performed by the
International Bureau.

(2) The International Bureau shall provide the secretariat of the various
organs of the Union.

(3) The Director General shall be the chief executive of the Union and
shall represent the Union.

(4) The International Bureau shall publish a Gazette and other publications
provided for by the Regulations or required by the Assembly.

(5) The Regulations shall specify the services that national Offices shall
perform in order to assist the International Bureau and the International
Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities in carrying out their tasks
under this Treaty.

(6) The Director General and any staff member designated by him shall
participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Assembly,
the Executive Committee and any other committee or working group
established under this Treaty or the Regulations. The Director General, or
a staff member designated by him, shall be ex officio secretary of these
bodies.

(7)(a) The International Bureau shall, in accordance with the directions of
the Assembly and in cooperation with the Executive Committee, make the
preparations for the revision conferences.

(b) The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental and
international non-governmental organizations concerning preparations for
revision conferences.
(c) The Director General and persons designated by him shall take part,
without the right to vote, in the discussions at revision conferences.

(8) The International Bureau shall carry out any other tasks assigned to
it.

Article 56
Committee for Technical Cooperation

(1) The Assembly shall establish a Committee for Technical Cooperation
(referred to in this Article as “the Committee”).

(2)(a) The Assembly shall determine the composition of the Committee and
appoint its members, with due regard to an equitable representation of
developing countries.

(b) The International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities
shall be ex officio members of the Committee. In the case where such an
Authority is the national Office of a Contracting State, that State shall
not be additionally represented on the Committee.

(c) If the number of Contracting States so allows, the total number of
members of the Committee shall be more than double the number of ex officio
members.

(d) The Director General shall, on his own initiative or at the request
of the Committee, invite representatives of interested organizations to
participate in discussions of interest to them.

(3) The aim of the Committee shall be to contribute, by advice and
recommendations:

(i) to the constant improvement of the services provided for under
this Treaty,
(ii) to the securing, so long as there are several International
Searching Authorities and several International Preliminary
Examining Authorities, of the maximum degree of uniformity in
their documentation and working methods and the maximum degree
of uniformly high quality in their reports, and
(iii) on the initiative of the Assembly or the Executive Committee,
to the solution of the technical problems specifically involved
in the establishment of a single International Searching
Authority.

(4) Any Contracting State and any interested international organization may
approach the Committee in writing on questions which fall within the
competence of the Committee.

(5) The Committee may address its advice and recommendations to the
Director General or, through him, to the Assembly, the Executive Committee,
all or some of the International Searching and Preliminary Examining
Authorities, and all or some of the receiving Offices.

(6)(a) In any case, the Director General shall transmit to the Executive
Committee the texts of all the advice and recommendations of the Committee.
He may comment on such texts.

(b) The Executive Committee may express its views on any advice,
recommendation, or other activity of the Committee, and may invite the
Committee to study and report on questions falling within its competence.
The Executive Committee may submit to the Assembly, with appropriate
comments, the advice, recommendations and report of the Committee.

(7) Until the Executive Committee has been established, references in
paragraph (6) to the Executive Committee shall be construed as references
to the Assembly.

(8) The details of the procedure of the Committee shall be governed by the
decisions of the Assembly.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Other provisions, Patent Cooperation Treaty; with Regulations.