Key Benefits:
Original text
(State on 7 April 2014)
The Contracting States,
Wishing to contribute to the development of science and technology,
Wishing to improve the legal protection of inventions,
Seeking to simplify and make more economical the obtaining of the protection of inventions when desired in several countries,
Wishing to facilitate and hasten the access of all to the technical information contained in documents that describe new inventions,
Wishing to stimulate and accelerate the economic progress of developing countries by adopting measures to increase the effectiveness of their legal systems for the protection of inventions, be they national or regional, in their Providing easy access to information on technical solutions tailored to their specific needs and facilitating access to the ever-growing volume of modern technology,
Convinced that international cooperation will greatly facilitate the achievement of these goals,
Concluded this Treaty:
(1) The States Parties to this Treaty (hereinafter referred to as "the Contracting States") shall be constituted as a Union for cooperation in the field of deposit, search and examination of applications for the protection of inventions, and Provision of special technical services. This Union is known as the International Patent Cooperation Union.
(2) Nothing in this Treaty shall be construed as restricting the rights provided for by the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1 In favour of nationals of the countries party to that Convention or of persons domiciled in those countries.
For the purposes of this Treaty and the Regulations 1 , and except where a different meaning is expressly stated:
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(1) Applications for the protection of inventions in any Contracting State may be filed as international applications within the meaning of this Treaty.
(2) An international application shall contain, in accordance with this Treaty and the Regulations 1 , a request, a description, one or more claims, one or more drawings (where required) and an abstract.
(3) The abstract shall be used exclusively for technical information purposes; it shall not be taken into account for any other purpose, in particular to assess the extent of the protection sought.
(4) The international application:
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(1) The request shall contain:
(2) Any designation shall be subject to the payment of prescribed fees within the prescribed time limit.
(3) If the applicant does not request other titles of protection referred to in Art. 43, the designation means that the protection sought consists of the grant of a patent by or for the designated State. For the purposes of this paragraph, s. 2.ii) does not apply.
(4) The absence, in the request, of the name of the inventor and of the other information concerning the inventor shall not result in any consequence in the designated States whose national law requires such indications but permits them to be given After the filing of the national application. The absence of such indications in a separate notice shall not result in any consequence in the designated States where such indications are not required by national law.
The description must disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for a person skilled in the art to perform it.
The claim or claims shall define the subject matter of the protection sought. The claims must be clear and concise. They must be based entirely on the description.
(1) Subject to para. (2) (ii), drawings shall be furnished where they are necessary for the understanding of the invention.
(2) If the invention is of a nature such that it may be illustrated by drawings, even if they are not necessary for its intelligence:
(1) The international application may contain a declaration, in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations 1 , claiming the priority of one or more earlier applications filed in or for any country party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 2 .
(1) Any person domiciled in a Contracting State and any national of such a State may file an international application.
(2) The Assembly may decide to allow persons domiciled in any country party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1 Which is not a party to this Treaty, and to nationals of that country, to file international applications.
(3) The concepts of residence and nationality, as well as the application of such concepts where there are several applicants or where applicants are not the same for all designated States, are defined in the Regulations 2 .
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The international application shall be filed with the prescribed receiving Office, which shall control and treat it in accordance with this Treaty and the Regulations 1 .
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(1) The receiving Office shall grant, as the international filing date, the date of receipt of the international application in so far as it finds, at the time of receipt, that:
(3) Subject to s. 64.4), any international application meeting the conditions listed in items (i) to (iii) of para. (1) and to which an international filing date has been accorded, as from the date of international filing, the effects of a regular national filing in each designated State; that date shall be considered as the effective date of filing in each designated State.
(4) Any international application complying with the conditions listed in items (i) to (iii) of para. (1) shall be deemed to have the value of a regular national deposit within the meaning of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 2 .
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(1) A copy of the international application shall be retained by the receiving Office ("copy for the receiving Office"), one copy ("original copy") shall be transmitted to the International Bureau and one copy ("search copy") shall be transmitted to The competent International Searching Authority referred to in Article 16, in accordance with the Regulations 1 .
(2) The record copy shall be regarded as the authentic copy of the international application.
(3) The international application shall be considered withdrawn if the International Bureau does not receive the record copy within the prescribed time limit.
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(1) Any designated Office may apply to the International Bureau for a copy of the international application before the communication provided for in Art. 20; the International Bureau shall furnish the copy thereof as soon as possible after the expiration of one year from the priority date.
(2) If the international application refers to drawings although they are not included in the application, the receiving Office notifies the applicant, who may furnish such drawings within the prescribed time limit; the international filing date is then the Date of receipt of the said drawings by the receiving Office. Otherwise, any reference to such drawings shall be considered non-existent.
(4) If, after granting the international application an international filing date, the receiving Office finds, within the prescribed time limit, that any of the conditions listed in items (i) to (iii) of Art. 11.1) was not complied with on that date, that application shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare.
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(1) Each international application shall be the subject of international search.
(2) The purpose of the international search is to discover the relevant state of the art.
(3) The international search shall be carried out on the basis of the claims, taking into account the description and drawings (if any).
(4) The International Searching Authority referred to in Art. 16 shall endeavour to discover the relevant prior art to the extent that its means permit it and, in any event, shall consult the documentation specified in the Regulations 1 .
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(1) The international search shall be carried out by an International Searching Authority; the International Searching Authority may be either a national Office or an intergovernmental organization, such as the International Patent Institute, including Functions include the preparation of document search reports on the state of the art relating to inventions subject to patent applications.
(2) If, pending the establishment of a single International Searching Authority, there are several International Searching Authorities, each receiving Office shall specify, in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement Applicable to para. (3) (b) those of those Authorities which will be competent to carry out the search for international applications filed with that Office.
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(1) The procedure in the International Searching Authority shall be determined by this Treaty, the Regulations 1 And the agreement concluded by the International Bureau, in accordance with this Treaty and the Regulations, with that Authority.
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(1) The international search report shall be prepared within the prescribed time limit and in the prescribed form.
(2) The international search report shall, as soon as it has been established, be transmitted by the International Searching Authority to the applicant and to the International Bureau.
(3) The international search report or the declaration referred to in art. 17.2) (a) shall be translated in accordance with the Regulations 1 The translations shall be prepared by or under the responsibility of the International Bureau.
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(1) The applicant, after receipt of the international search report, has the right to amend once the claims of the international application by filing amendments, within the prescribed time limit, with the International Bureau. It may attach a short statement, in accordance with the Regulations 1 , explaining the changes and specifying the effects that the latter may have on the description and drawings.
(2) The amendments shall not go beyond the disclosure in the international application as filed.
(3) Non-compliance with the provisions of para. (2) has no consequence in the designated States whose national law permits the amendments to go beyond the disclosure of the invention.
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(2) If the claims have been amended under s. 19.1), the communication must either contain the full text of the claims as filed and as amended, or contain the full text of the claims as filed and specify the Amendments; and, where applicable, the declaration referred to in s. 19.1).
(3) At the request of the designated Office or the applicant, the International Searching Authority shall address them, in accordance with the Regulations, to copy the documents cited in the international search report.
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(1) The International Bureau shall publish international applications.
(3) The international search report or the declaration referred to in art. 17.2) (a) shall be published in accordance with the Regulations.
(4) The language and form of the international publication, as well as other details, shall be fixed by the Regulations.
(5) No international publication shall be made if the international application is withdrawn or considered withdrawn prior to the completion of the technical preparations for publication.
(6) If the International Bureau considers that the international application contains expressions or drawings contrary to morality or public order, or derogatory statements within the meaning of the Regulations, it may omit them from its Publications, indicating the place and number of words or drawings omitted. It shall provide, upon request, special copies of the passages thus omitted.
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(1) The applicant shall furnish to each designated Office a copy of the international application (unless the communication referred to in Art. 20 has already taken place) and a translation (as prescribed) of that application and pays (if applicable) the national fee at the latest on the expiration of thirty months from the priority date. In the case where the name of the inventor and the other information, prescribed by the law of the designated State, relating to the inventor are not required upon the filing of a national application, the applicant shall, if they are not already included in the Request, communicate them to the national Office of that State or to the Office acting for the latter at the latest by the expiration of thirty months from the priority date. 1
(2) Where the International Searching Authority declares, in accordance with Article 17 (2) (a), that an international search report shall not be established, the time limit for the completion of the acts referred to in para. 1) of this Article is the same as that provided for in para. 1). 2
(3) The law of any Contracting State may, for the performance of the acts referred to in para. 1) and (2), fix time limits after those set out in those paragraphs.
1 New content according to the c. I of the mod. Oct. 3. 2001, effective from 1 Er April 2002 ( RO 2005 1507 ).
2 New content according to the mod. Entry into force on 1 Er Jan 1985 (RO) 1984 1538).
(1) No designated Office shall process or examine the international application before the expiration of the applicable time limit under Art. 22.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of para. (1), any designated Office may, on the express request of the applicant, process or examine at any time the international application.
(1) Subject to s. 25 in the case referred to in item (ii) below, the effects of the international application provided for in Art. 11.3) shall cease in any designated State and such termination shall have the same consequences as the withdrawal of a national application in that State:
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of para. (1), any designated Office may maintain the effects provided for in s. 11.3) even where it is not required that such effects be maintained as a result of s. 25.2).
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No designated Office may reject an international application on the ground that the international application does not comply with the requirements of this Treaty and the Regulations 1 Without first giving the applicant the opportunity to correct the said application to the extent and according to the procedure provided for in the national law for identical or comparable situations concerning national applications.
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(1) No national law may require that the international application satisfy, in respect of its form or contents, different requirements than those provided for in this Treaty and in the Regulations 1 Or additional requirements.
(2) The provisions of para. 1) cannot affect the application of s. 7.2) or prevent any national legislation from requiring, once the processing of the international application has commenced in the designated Office:
(3) Where the applicant, for the purposes of any designated State, is not entitled under the national law of that State to make the filing of a national application for the reason that he is not the inventor, the international application may be rejected by The designated Office.
(4) Where national law provides, as regards the form or contents of national applications, requirements which, from the viewpoint of applicants, are more favourable than those provided for in this Treaty and the Regulations For international applications, the national Office, the courts and other competent bodies of the designated State or acting for the latter may apply the first requirements, in place of the latter, to international applications, Unless the applicant requires that the requirements of this Treaty and the Regulations shall be applied to its international application.
(5) Nothing in this Treaty or in the Regulations may be construed as limiting the freedom of any Contracting State to prescribe any substantive conditions of patentability that it wishes. In particular, any provision of this Treaty and the Regulations concerning the definition of prior art shall be understood exclusively for the purposes of the international procedure; therefore, any Contracting State shall be free To apply, in determining the patentability of an invention which is the subject of an international application, the criteria of its national law relating to the state of the art and other conditions of patentability which are not Requirements for the form and content of applications.
(6) The national law may require the applicant to furnish evidence as to any substantive requirement of patentability that it prescribes.
(7) Any receiving Office, together with any designated Office which has started to process the international application, may apply any provision of its national law relating to the mandatory representation of the applicant by a qualified representative To that Office and to the mandatory indication of a service address in the designated State for the purpose of receiving notifications.
(8) Nothing in this Treaty or in the Regulations may be construed as limiting the freedom of any Contracting State to apply the measures it considers necessary in the field of national defence or to limit, in order to protect Its economic interests, the right of its nationals or persons domiciled in its territory to file international applications.
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(1) The applicant shall have the opportunity to amend the claims, the description and the drawings, within the prescribed time limit, with each designated Office. No designated Office may grant a patent or refuse to issue a patent before the expiration of that time limit, unless otherwise agreed by the applicant.
(2) The amendments shall not go beyond the disclosure of the invention contained in the international application as filed, unless expressly permitted by the national law of the designated State.
(3) The amendments shall be in accordance with the national law of the designated State for all that is not fixed by this Treaty or the Regulations 1 .
(4) Where the designated Office requires a translation of the international application, the amendments shall be established in the language of the translation.
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(1) With regard to the protection of any right of the applicant in a designated State, the international publication of an international application shall, in that State, subject to the provisions of paras. (2) to (4), the same effects as those attached by the national law of that State to the compulsory national publication of national applications not examined as such.
(2) If the language of the international publication differs from that of the publications required by the national law of the designated State, that national law may provide that the effects provided for in para. 1) occurs only from the date on which:
(3) The national law of any designated State may provide that, where the international publication has been effected, at the request of the applicant, before the expiration of eighteen months from the priority date, the effects provided for in para. (1) shall only occur from the expiration of 18 months from the priority date.
(4) The national law of any designated State may provide that the effects provided for in para. (1) shall only occur from the date of receipt by its national Office or by the Office acting for that State of a copy of the publication made in accordance with Art. 21, of the international application. This Office shall publish, as soon as possible, the date of receipt in its Gazette.
3) L' al. (2) (a) shall apply to any receiving Office, except for transmissions provided for in Art. 12.1).
(4) For the purposes of this Article, the term "access" includes any means by which third parties may become aware, and thus includes individual communication and general publication; however, no national office may publish An international application or its translation before the international publication or before the expiration of twenty months from the priority date if the international publication has not taken place at the expiration of that time limit.
(1) At the request of the applicant, the international application shall be the subject of an international preliminary examination in accordance with the following provisions and the Regulations 1 .
(3) The demand shall be established independently of the international application. It shall contain the prescribed particulars and shall be established in the prescribed language and form.
(5) The demand shall be subject to the payment of the prescribed fees within the prescribed time limit.
(7) Each elected Office shall be notified of its election.
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(1) The international preliminary examination shall be carried out by the International Preliminary Examining Authority.
(2) For international preliminary examination applications referred to in Art. 31.2) (a) and art. 31.2) (b), the receiving Office or the Assembly, respectively, specifies, in accordance with the provisions of the applicable agreement between the International Preliminary Examining Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authorities and the Bureau Those of those jurisdictions that will be competent to carry out the preliminary examination.
(3) The provisions of Art. 16.3) apply, Mutatis mutandis, International Preliminary Examining Authorities.
(1) The purpose of the international preliminary examination is to formulate a preliminary and non-binding opinion on whether the invention for which protection is sought appears to be novel, involve an inventive step (not be Obvious) and be industrially applicable.
(2) For the purposes of the international preliminary examination, the invention for which protection is sought shall be considered as new if it is not found to be prior art as defined in the Regulations 1 .
(3) For the purposes of the international preliminary examination, the invention for which protection is sought shall be considered to involve an inventive step if, having regard to the prior art as defined in the Regulations, it is not Not, on the relevant prescribed date, obvious to a person skilled in the art.
(4) For the purposes of the international preliminary examination, the invention for which protection is sought shall be considered industrially applicable if, in accordance with its nature, it may be produced or used (in the technological sense) in all Type of industry. The term "industry" should be understood in its broadest sense, as in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 2 .
(5) The above criteria shall be used only for the purposes of international preliminary examination. Any Contracting State may apply additional or different criteria in order to decide whether in that State the invention is patentable or not.
(6) The international preliminary examination shall take into account all documents cited in the international search report. It may take into consideration any additional documents considered relevant in the present case.
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(1) The procedure in the International Preliminary Examining Authority shall be determined by this Treaty, the Regulations 1 And the agreement concluded by the International Bureau, in accordance with this Treaty and the Regulations, with that Authority.
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(1) The international preliminary examination report shall be established within the prescribed time limit and in the prescribed form.
(2) The international preliminary examination report shall not contain any statement as to whether the invention for which protection is sought is or appears to be patentable under any national law. He states, subject to para. (3), in relation to each claim, if that claim appears to meet the criteria of novelty, inventive step (non-obviousness) and industrial application, as defined, for the purposes of the preliminary examination International, art. 33.1) to 4). This declaration must be accompanied by the citation of the documents which appear to support the declared conclusion, and any explanations which may be required in the present case. This declaration must also be accompanied by the other observations provided for in the Regulations 1 .
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(1) The international preliminary examination report shall, together with the prescribed annexes, be transmitted to the applicant and to the International Bureau.
(4) Art. 20.3) applies, Mutatis mutandis, Copies of any document cited in the international preliminary examination report and which has not been cited in the international search report.
(1) The applicant may withdraw all or part of the elections.
(2) If the election of all elected States is withdrawn, the demand shall be considered withdrawn.
(1) Except as requested or authorized by the applicant, the International Bureau and the International Preliminary Examining Authority shall not permit at any time, to any person or administration, other than elected Offices, after The establishment of the international preliminary examination report-to have access, to the meaning and conditions of the art. 30.4), in the file of the international preliminary examination.
(2) Subject to para. 1) and art. 3 (3) and (3) and (3) (b), the International Bureau and the International Preliminary Examining Authority shall not give, unless requested or authorized by the applicant, any information relating to the grant or refusal of the grant of a International preliminary examination report, or the withdrawal or maintenance of the demand or any election.
(2) The effects provided for in art. 11.3) shall cease in the elected State with the same consequences as those resulting from the withdrawal of a national application in that State if the applicant does not carry out the acts referred to in para. 1) (a) within the time limit applicable under para. 1) a) or b).
(3) Any elected Office may maintain the effects provided for in Art. 11.3) even where the applicant does not comply with the conditions laid down in para. 1) a) or b).
1 New content according to the mod. Entry into force on 1 Er Jan 1985 (RO) 1984 1538).
(1) If the election of a Contracting State is effected before the expiration of the nineteenth month from the priority date, s. 23 does not apply to that State and its national Office, or any Office acting for that State, does not carry out the examination and undertakes no other proceedings relating to the international application, subject to para. 2), before the expiry of the time limit applicable under Art. 39.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of para. (1), any elected Office may, on the express request of the applicant, at any time carry out the examination and initiate any other proceedings relating to the international application.
(1) The applicant shall have the opportunity to amend the claims, the description and the drawings, within the prescribed time limit, with each elected Office. No elected Office shall grant a patent or refuse to grant a patent before the expiration of that time limit, unless otherwise agreed by the applicant.
(2) The amendments shall not go beyond the disclosure of the invention contained in the international application as filed, unless expressly permitted by the national law of the elected State.
(3) The amendments shall be in accordance with the national law of the elected State for all that is not fixed by this Treaty or the Regulations 1 .
(4) Where the elected Office requires a translation of the international application, the amendments shall be established in the language of the translation.
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Elected Offices receiving the international preliminary examination report shall not require the applicant to furnish copies of documents relating to the examination relating to the same international application in any other elected Office, or to furnish copies thereof Information on the content of such documents.
The applicant may indicate, in accordance with the Regulations 1 , that its international application extends to the issue of an inventor's certificate, utility certificate or utility model and not to that of a patent, or to the grant of a patent or certificate of addition, of an author's certificate Additional invention or an additional utility certificate in any designated or elected State whose legislation provides for the grant of inventors' certificates, utility certificates, utility models, patents or certificates Addition, inventors' certificates of addition or utility certificates The effects resulting from that indication shall be determined by the choice made by the applicant. For the purposes of this article and any rule relating thereto, s. 2.ii) does not apply.
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For any designated or elected State whose law permits an application for the grant of a patent or one of the other titles of protection mentioned in Article 43 to be equally applicable to another of those titles of protection, the applicant may Indicate, in accordance with the Regulations 1 , the two titles of protection which it seeks to grant; the resulting effects shall be determined by the indications of the applicant. For the purposes of this Article, Art. 2.ii) does not apply.
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(1) Any treaty providing for the grant of a regional patent ("regional patent treaty") and giving to any person, authorized by art. 9 to file international applications, the right to file applications for the grant of such patents may stipulate that international applications containing the designation or election of a State party to both the patent treaty May be filed for the grant of regional patents.
(2) The national law of such a designated or elected State may provide that any designation or election of the said State in the international application shall be regarded as an indication that the applicant wishes to obtain a regional patent in accordance with the Treaty Regional patent.
If, because of an incorrect translation of the international application, the extent of a patent granted as a result of that application exceeds the scope of the international application in its language of origin, the competent authorities of the Contracting State May limit accordingly and in a retroactive manner the scope of the patent and declare that it is null and void to the extent that its extent exceeds that of the international application in its language of origin.
(1) The calculation of the time limits provided for in this Treaty shall be fixed by the Regulations 1 .
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(1) Where a time limit fixed in this Treaty or in the Regulations 1 , shall not be observed because of the interruption of postal services, loss or unavoidable delay in the mail, this period shall be considered to be complied with in the cases specified in the Regulations and provided that the conditions of Evidence and other conditions prescribed in the said Regulations.
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Any lawyer, patent agent or other person, having the right to practice before the national Office with which the international application has been filed, has the right to exercise, in respect of that application, with the International Bureau, The competent International Searching Authority and the competent International Preliminary Examining Authority.
(1) The International Bureau may provide services (referred to in this Article "information services") , by providing technical information and other relevant information available to it, on the basis of published documents, mainly patents and published applications.
(2) The International Bureau may provide such information services either directly or through one or more International Searching Authorities or other specialized or national institutions, or The international community, with which it may have concluded agreements.
(3) Information services shall operate in such a way as to facilitate, in particular, the acquisition by Contracting States of developing countries of technical knowledge and technology, including the published "know-how" Available.
(4) Information services may be obtained by the governments of the Contracting States, by their nationals and by persons domiciled in their territory. The Assembly may decide to extend these services to others.
(6) Details concerning the application of this Article shall be governed by decisions of the Assembly and, within the limits set by the Assembly, by the working groups it may establish for that purpose.
(7) If it considers it necessary, the Assembly shall recommend alternative means of financing to supplement those provided for in para. 5).
(1) The Assembly shall establish a Technical Assistance Committee (referred to in this Article "the Committee").
(4) With a view to the financing of projects under this Article, the International Bureau shall endeavour to conclude agreements, on the one hand with international funding organizations and intergovernmental organizations, in In particular with the United Nations, United Nations agencies and the specialized agencies of the United Nations with expertise in technical assistance, as well as with the Governments of States Recipients of technical assistance.
(5) The details of the application of this Article shall be governed by decisions of the Assembly and, within the limits set by the Assembly, by the working groups it may establish for that purpose.
Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the financial provisions contained in the other Chapters of this Treaty. These provisions are not applicable to this Chapter or to its implementation.
(3) A delegate may represent only one State and may vote only on behalf of that State.
(4) Each Contracting State shall have one vote.
(7) If these are matters of exclusive concern to States bound by chap. II, any reference to the Contracting States appearing in paras. (4), (5) and (6)) shall be considered to apply only to States bound by chap. II.
(8) Any intergovernmental organization appointed as an International Searching Authority or as an International Preliminary Examining Authority shall be admitted as an observer to the meetings of the Assembly.
(9) When the number of Contracting States exceeds forty, the Assembly shall establish an Executive Committee. Any reference made to the Executive Committee in this Treaty or in the Regulations shall cover the time when that Committee has been established.
(10) Until the establishment of the Executive Committee, the Assembly shall decide, within the limits of the programme and the three-year budget, on the annual programmes and budgets prepared by the Director General.
(12) The Assembly shall adopt its rules of procedure.
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2 New content according to the mod. Entered into force on May 3, 1984 (RO 1984 566).
3 Formerly let. C.
(1) When the Assembly has established an Executive Committee, it shall be subject to the following provisions.
(3) The number of member States of the Executive Committee shall correspond to one quarter of the number of member States of the Assembly. In calculating the seats to be filled, the remainder after division by four shall not be taken into account.
(4) In electing the members of the Executive Committee, the Assembly shall take into account equitable geographical distribution.
(9) Contracting States which are not members of the Executive Committee shall be admitted to its meetings as observers, as well as any intergovernmental organization appointed as an International Searching Authority or As the International Preliminary Examining Authority.
(10) The Executive Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
(1) The administrative tasks of 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 highest official of the Union and shall represent it.
(4) The International Bureau shall publish a Gazette and other publications indicated by the Regulations 1 Or the Assembly.
(5) The Regulations shall specify the services to be provided by the national offices to assist the International Bureau, the International Searching Authorities and the Preliminary Examining Authorities To perform the tasks provided for in 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 pursuant to this Treaty or the Regulations. The Director General, or a staff member designated by him, shall be ex officio secretary of such bodies.
(8) The International Bureau shall carry out any other tasks assigned to it.
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(1) The Assembly shall establish a Technical Cooperation Committee (referred to in this Article as "the Committee").
3) The purpose of the Committee is to contribute, through advice and recommendations, to:
(4) Any Contracting State and any interested international organization may refer questions of its jurisdiction to the Committee in writing.
(5) The Committee may address its opinions and recommendations to the Director General or, through the Director General, to the Assembly, to the Executive Committee, to all International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities Or to some of them and to all receiving Offices or to some of them.
(7) Until the establishment of the Executive Committee, references to the Executive Committee set out in para. 6) shall be considered as relating to the Assembly.
(8) The Assembly shall adopt the details of the procedure of the Committee.
(2) The budget of the Union shall be adopted taking into account the requirements of coordination with the budgets of the other Unions administered by the Organization.
(3) Subject to para. 5), the Union budget shall be financed by the following resources:
(4) The amount of the fees and amounts due to the International Bureau and the sale price of its publications shall be fixed in such a way as to normally cover all expenditure incurred by the International Bureau by the administration of this Treaty.
(6) In the event that the budget is not adopted before the beginning of a new financial year, the budget for the previous year shall be renewed in accordance with the rules laid down in the Financial Regulation.
(9) Account verification shall be carried out in accordance with the arrangements laid down in the Financial Regulation by one or more Contracting States or by external auditors. They shall, with their consent, be appointed by the Assembly.
(1) The Regulations 1 Annexed to this Treaty contains rules concerning:
(4) The Regulations provide that the Director General shall establish administrative instructions under the control of the Assembly.
(5) In the event of a discrepancy between the text of the Treaty and the text of the Regulations, the first shall prevail.
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Subject to Art. 64.5), any dispute between two or more Contracting States concerning the interpretation or application of this Treaty and the Regulations 1 Which will not be settled by negotiation may be brought by any of the States in question before the International Court of Justice by way of a request in accordance with the Statute of the Court 2 , unless the States in question agree to another method of settlement. The International Bureau will be informed by the Contracting State requesting the dispute submitted to the Court and will give notice to the other Contracting States.
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(1) This Treaty may be subject to periodic reviews by means of special conferences of the Contracting States.
(2) The convocation of a Review Conference shall be decided by the Assembly.
(3) Any intergovernmental organization appointed as an International Searching Authority or as an International Preliminary Examining Authority shall be admitted as an observer to any conference of Revision.
(4) Art. 53.5), 9), and 11), 54, 55.4) to 8), 56 and 57 may be amended either by a revision conference or by the provisions of s. 61.
(1) Any State member of the International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property may become party to this Treaty by:
(2) Instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the Director General.
(3) The provisions of Art. 24 of the Stockholm Act of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1 Apply to this Treaty.
4) L' al. (3) in no case shall be construed as implying the recognition or tacit acceptance by any of the Contracting States of the factual situation in any territory to which this Treaty is made applicable by another State Contractor under that paragraph.
(2) Subject to para. (3), any State which does not become a party to this Treaty at the time of entry into force according to para. (1) is bound by this Treaty three months after the date on which it deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.
(3) The provisions of Chapter II and the corresponding rules of the Regulations 1 Annexed to this Treaty, however, shall apply only on the date on which three States meeting at least one of the conditions listed in para. (1) have become party to this Treaty without declaring, according to Art. 64.1), that they do not intend to be bound by the provisions of the chap. II. However, that date cannot be earlier than that of the original entry into force under para. 1).
1 RS 0.232.141.11
(5) Any State may declare that it does not consider itself bound by s. 59. As regards any dispute between a Contracting State which has made such a declaration and any other Contracting State, the provisions of Art. 59 are not applicable.
(7) No reservations other than those authorized to paras. (1) to (5) shall not be admitted to this Treaty.
1 RS 0.232.141.11
2 RS 0.232.01 /.04
(1) If the agreement concluded with an International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority provides, on a transitional basis, a limitation of the number or type of international applications that this Authority undertakes To be dealt with, the Assembly shall take the measures necessary for the progressive application of this Treaty and the Regulations 1 Specific categories of international applications. This provision is. Also applicable to applications for international-type search according to Art. 15.5).
(2) The Assembly shall fix the dates on which, subject to para. (1), international applications may be filed and applications for international preliminary examination may be submitted. Such dates shall not be after the sixth month following, as the case may be, the entry into force of this Treaty in accordance with the provisions of Art. 63.1) or the application of the chap. II in accordance with Art. 63.3).
1 RS 0.232.141.11
(1) Any Contracting State may denounce this Treaty by notification addressed to the Director General.
(2) Denunciation shall take effect six months after the date of receipt of the notification by the Director General. Such denunciation shall not affect the effects of the international application in the State making the denunciation if it is before the expiration of that six-month period that the application has been filed and, if the State concerned has been elected, the election has been Performed.
(2) This Treaty shall remain open for signature in Washington until 31 December 1970.
(1) The record copy of this Treaty, when no longer open for signature, shall be deposited with the Director General.
(2) The Director General shall certify and transmit two copies of this Treaty and the Regulations 1 Which is annexed to the Governments of all States Parties to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 2 And, upon request, the Government of any other State.
(3) The Director General shall register this Treaty with the Secretariat of the United Nations.
(4) The Director General shall certify and transmit two copies of any amendment of this Treaty and the Regulations to the Governments of all Contracting States and, upon request, to the Government of any other State.
1 RS 0.232.141.11
2 RS 0.232.01 /.04
The Director General shall notify the Governments of all States Parties to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1 :
In witness whereof, The undersigned, duly authorized to that effect, have signed this Treaty.
Done at Washington on June 19th, mil nine hundred and seventy.
(Suivent signatures)
States Parties |
Ratification Accession (A) Statement of Succession (S) |
Entry into force |
||
South Africa * |
16 December |
1998 A |
March 16 |
1999 |
Albania |
4 July |
1995 A |
4 October |
1995 |
Algeria * |
8 December |
1999 |
8 March |
2000 |
Germany |
19 July |
1976 |
24 January |
1978 |
Angola |
27 September |
2007 A |
27 December |
2007 |
Antigua and Barbuda |
17 December |
1999 A |
March 17 |
2000 |
Saudi Arabia |
3 May |
2013 A |
August 3 |
2013 |
Armenia * |
17 May |
1994 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Australia |
31 December |
1979 A |
March 31 |
1980 |
Austria |
23 January |
1979 |
April 23 |
1979 |
Azerbaijan |
September 25 |
1995 A |
25 December |
1995 |
Bahrain * |
18 December |
2006 A |
18 March |
2007 |
Barbados |
12 December |
1984 A |
12 March |
1985 |
Belarus * |
April 14 |
1993 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Belgium |
September 14 |
1981 |
14 December |
1981 |
Belize |
March 17 |
2000 A |
17 June |
2000 |
Benin |
26 November |
1986 A |
26 February |
1987 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
7 June |
1996 A |
7 September |
1996 |
Botswana |
July 30 |
2003 A |
30 October |
2003 |
Brazil |
9 January |
1978 |
April 9 |
1978 |
Brunei |
24 April |
2012 A |
24 July |
2012 |
Bulgaria |
21 February |
1984 A |
21 May |
1984 |
Burkina Faso |
21 December |
1988 A |
21 March |
1989 |
Cameroon |
15 March |
1973 A |
24 January |
1978 |
Canada |
2 October |
1989 |
2 January |
1990 |
Chile * |
2 March |
2009 A |
2 June |
2009 |
China A |
1 Er October |
1993 A |
1 Er January |
1994 |
Hong Kong |
6 June |
1997 |
1 Er July |
1997 |
Cyprus |
1 Er January |
1998 A |
1 Er April |
1998 |
Colombia |
29 November |
2000 A |
28 February |
2001 |
Comoros |
3 January |
2005 A |
3 April |
2005 |
Congo (Brazzaville) |
8 August |
1977 A |
24 January |
1978 |
Korea (North) |
April 8 |
1980 A |
July 8 |
1980 |
Korea (South) |
10 May |
1984 A |
10 August |
1984 |
Costa Rica |
3 May |
1999 A |
August 3 |
1999 |
Côte d' Ivoire |
31 January |
1991 |
April 30 |
1991 |
Croatia |
1 Er April |
1998 A |
1 Er July |
1998 |
Cuba * |
April 16 |
1996 A |
July 16 |
1996 |
Denmark |
1 Er September |
1978 |
1 Er December |
1978 |
Dominica |
7 May |
1999 A |
7 August |
1999 |
Egypt |
6 June |
2003 |
September 6 |
2003 |
El Salvador |
17 May |
2006 A |
August 17 |
2006 |
United Arab Emirates |
10 December |
1998 A |
10 March |
1999 |
Ecuador |
7 February |
2001 A |
7 May |
2001 |
Spain |
August 16 |
1989 A |
16 November |
1989 |
Estonia |
24 May |
1994 A |
August 24 |
1994 |
United States * |
26 November |
1975 |
24 January |
1978 |
Finland * |
1 Er July |
1980 |
1 Er October |
1980 |
France * |
25 November |
1977 |
25 February |
1978 |
Overseas Departments and Territories * |
25 November |
1977 |
25 February |
1978 |
Gabon |
6 March |
1975 A |
24 January |
1978 |
Gambia |
9 September |
1997 A |
9 December |
1997 |
Georgia * |
January 18 |
1994 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Ghana |
26 November |
1996 A |
26 February |
1997 |
Greece |
July 9 |
1990 A |
9 October |
1990 |
Grenada |
22 June |
1998 A |
22 September |
1998 |
Guatemala |
July 14 |
2006 A |
14 October |
2006 |
Guinea |
February 27 |
1991 A |
27 May |
1991 |
Equatorial Guinea |
April 17 |
2001 A |
17 July |
2001 |
Guinea-Bissau |
12 September |
1997 A |
12 December |
1997 |
Honduras |
20 March |
2006 A |
20 June |
2006 |
Hungary * |
March 27 |
1980 |
27 June |
1980 |
India * |
7 September |
1998 A |
7 December |
1998 |
Indonesia * |
5 June |
1997 A |
September 5 |
1997 |
Iran * |
4 July |
2013 |
4 October |
2013 |
Ireland |
1 Er May |
1992 |
1 Er August |
1992 |
Iceland |
December 23 |
1994 A |
23 March |
1995 |
Israel |
1 Er March |
1996 |
1 Er June |
1996 |
Italy |
28 December |
1984 |
28 March |
1985 |
Japan |
1 Er July |
1978 |
1 Er October |
1978 |
Kazakhstan * |
February 16 |
1993 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Kenya |
8 March |
1994 A |
8 June |
1994 |
Kyrgyzstan * |
February 14 |
1994 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Laos * |
March 14 |
2006 A |
14 June |
2006 |
Lesotho |
July 21 |
1995 A |
21 October |
1995 |
Latvia |
7 June |
1993 A |
7 September |
1993 |
Liberia |
27 May |
1994 A |
August 27 |
1994 |
Libya |
15 June |
2005 A |
September 15 |
2005 |
Liechtenstein |
19 December |
1979 A |
19 March |
1980 |
Lithuania |
5 April |
1994 A |
July 5 |
1994 |
Luxembourg |
31 January |
1978 |
April 30 |
1978 |
Macedonia |
10 May |
1995 A |
10 August |
1995 |
Madagascar |
March 27 |
1972 |
24 January |
1978 |
Malaysia * |
May 16 |
2006 A |
August 16 |
2006 |
Malawi |
May 16 |
1972 A |
24 January |
1978 |
Mali |
19 July |
1984 A |
19 October |
1984 |
Malta * |
1 Er December |
2006 A |
1 Er March |
2007 |
Morocco |
July 8 |
1999 A |
8 October |
1999 |
Mauritania |
13 January |
1983 A |
13 April |
1983 |
Mexico |
1 Er October |
1994 A |
1 Er January |
1995 |
Moldova * |
February 14 |
1994 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Monaco |
22 March |
1979 |
22 June |
1979 |
Mongolia |
February 27 |
1991 A |
27 May |
1991 |
Montenegro |
4 December |
2006 S |
3 June |
2006 |
Mozambique * |
18 February |
2000 A |
18 May |
2000 |
Namibia |
1 Er October |
2003 A |
1 Er January |
2004 |
Nicaragua |
6 December |
2002 A |
6 March |
2003 |
Niger |
21 December |
1992 A |
21 March |
1993 |
Nigeria |
February 8 |
2005 A |
8 May |
2005 |
Norway * |
1 Er October |
1979 |
1 Er January |
1980 |
New Zealand |
1 Er September |
1992 A |
1 Er December |
1992 |
Oman |
26 July |
2001 A |
26 October |
2001 |
Uganda |
9 November |
1994 A |
February 9 |
1995 |
Uzbekistan * |
August 18 |
1993 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Panama |
7 June |
2012 A |
7 September |
2012 |
Papua New Guinea |
March 14 |
2003 A |
14 June |
2003 |
Netherlands |
10 April |
1979 |
10 July |
1979 |
Aruba |
10 April |
1979 |
10 July |
1979 |
Curaçao |
10 April |
1979 |
10 July |
1979 |
Caribbean (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) |
10 April |
1979 |
10 July |
1979 |
Sint Maarten |
10 April |
1979 |
10 July |
1979 |
Peru |
6 March |
2009 A |
6 June |
2009 |
Philippines |
17 May |
2001 |
August 17 |
2001 |
Poland * |
September 25 |
1990 A |
25 December |
1990 |
Portugal |
August 24 |
1992 A |
24 November |
1992 |
Qatar * |
3 May |
2011 A |
August 3 |
2011 |
Central African Republic |
September 15 |
1971 A |
24 January |
1978 |
Dominican Republic |
28 February |
2007 A |
28 May |
2007 |
Czech Republic |
18 December |
1992 S |
1 Er January |
1993 |
Romania * |
April 23 |
1979 |
July 23 |
1979 |
United Kingdom * |
24 October |
1977 |
24 January |
1978 |
Isle of Man |
27 July |
1983 |
29 October |
1983 |
Russia * |
29 December |
1977 |
March 29 |
1978 |
Rwanda |
May 31 |
2011 A |
August 31 |
2011 |
Saint Lucia * |
30 May |
1996 A |
August 30 |
1996 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
27 July |
2005 A |
27 October |
2005 |
San Marino |
September 14 |
2004 A |
14 December |
2004 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
6 May |
2002 A |
August 6 |
2002 |
Sao Tome and Principe |
3 April |
2008 A |
3 July |
2008 |
Senegal |
8 March |
1972 |
24 January |
1978 |
Serbia |
1 Er November |
1996 |
1 Er February |
1997 |
Seychelles |
7 August |
2002 A |
7 November |
2002 |
Sierra Leone |
March 17 |
1997 A |
17 June |
1997 |
Singapore |
23 November |
1994 A |
23 February |
1995 |
Slovakia |
December 30 |
1992 S |
1 Er January |
1993 |
Slovenia |
1 Er December |
1993 A |
1 Er March |
1994 |
Sudan |
16 January |
1984 A |
April 16 |
1984 |
Sri Lanka |
26 November |
1981 A |
26 February |
1982 |
Sweden * |
17 February |
1978 |
17 May |
1978 |
Switzerland |
September 14 |
1977 |
24 January |
1978 |
Swaziland |
20 June |
1994 A |
September 20 |
1994 |
Syria |
26 March |
2003 |
26 June |
2003 |
Tajikistan * |
February 14 |
1994 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Tanzania |
14 June |
1999 A |
September 14 |
1999 |
Chad |
12 February |
1974 A |
24 January |
1978 |
Thailand * |
24 September |
2009 A |
24 December |
2009 |
Togo |
28 January |
1975 |
24 January |
1978 |
Trinidad and Tobago |
10 December |
1993 A |
10 March |
1994 |
Tunisia * |
10 September |
2001 A |
10 December |
2001 |
Turkmenistan * |
1 Er March |
1995 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Turkey |
1 Er October |
1995 A |
1 Er January |
1996 |
Ukraine * |
21 September |
1992 S |
25 December |
1991 |
Vietnam |
10 December |
1992 A |
10 March |
1993 |
Zambia |
August 15 |
2001 A |
15 November |
2001 |
Zimbabwe |
March 11 |
1997 A |
11 June |
1997 |
* |
Reservations and declarations. Reservations and declarations are not published in the RO. The texts in English and French can be found at the World Intellectual Property Organization's website: www.wipo.int/treaties/fr or obtained from the Directorate of Public International Law (DDIP), Section of the International treaties, 3003 Berne. |
|||
A |
The Treaty does not apply to Macao. |
|||
1 Art. 1 ch. 2 of the AF of 29 Nov 1976 (RO 1977 1709)
2 RO 1978 1026, 1979 159,1124, 1981 79 1755, 1982 1291, 1984 566, 1985 1469, 1987 706, 1988 1832, 1989 633, 1990 851, 1991 966, 1995 4044, 2004 2587, 2005 1507, 2006 2113, 2007 1335, 2009 2537, 2011 3545, 2014 967. A version of the updated scope of application is published on the DFAE website (www.dfae.admin.ch/traites).