Amendments to the PCT Regulations (entry into force: 1 July 2010)

Selon le PCT Newsletter de mai 2010:

It is recalled that the Assembly of the PCT Union adopted, in September 2009, amendments to the PCT Regulations which will enter into force on 1 July 2010. The amendments provide for:

(a) clarification as to the different types of limitations and conditions which an International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority may wish to set in the applicable agreement under PCT Article 16(3)(b) with regard to its preparedness to carry out supplementary searches, as to the conditions of refund of the supplementary search handling fee and the supplementary search fee, and as to the currency and the inclusion in the Schedule of Fees annexed to the PCT Regulations of the fees referred to in PCT Rule 45bis.2 (amendments to PCT Rules 45bis.1, 45bis.2, 45bis.3, 45bis.5, 45bis.6, 45bis.9 and 96.1);

(b) the obligation for applicants, when making amendments to the description, claims or drawings, to indicate the basis for those amendments in the application as filed (PCT Rules 46.5 and 66.8, and new PCT Rule 70.2(c-bis));

(c) amendment of the procedure for the establishment of equivalent amounts of the search fee, the supplementary search fee, the international filing fee and the handling fee (PCT Rules 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 16.1, 16bis.1, 19.4, 57.2, 57.4, 57.5 and 57.6).

The text of the amendments was reproduced, in English and French, in the Official Notices (PCT Gazette) on 21 January 2010 at:

http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/official_notices/officialnotices.pdf

http://www.wipo.int/pct/fr/official_notices/officialnotices.pdf

and the new consolidated version of the PCT Regulations, as in force from 1 July 2010, will be published on the PCT Resources page shortly.