The Japan Patent Office has sent the following proposal to the International Bureau for posting on this wiki. You can print a version of this proposal by clicking here.
You are invited to submit your comments on this page by October 20, 2022. To post comments, you first need to be given authorization to post on this forum. If you wish to respond, please email pct.bdd@wipo.int, either indicating your WIPO Account username (create one here if necessary) and the Office which you represent, or indicating a message which you would like the International Bureau to post on your behalf.
Proposal
Dear Colleagues,
1. As we commented during the 16th WG in February 2023, we would like to discuss a further amendment to Rule 26.3ter (a)(I). Rule 26.3ter(a), as adopted by the PCT Assembly in July 2023 and will enter into force from July 1, 2024, reads as follows (see Annex III to document PCT/A/55/2).
26.3ter Invitation to Correct Defects under Article 3(4)(i) (a) Where the abstract or any text matter of the drawings is filed in a language which is different from the language, subject to Rules 12.1bis and 26.3ter(e), of the description and the claims, the receiving Office shall, unless (i) a translation of the international application is required under Rule 12.3(a), or (ii) the abstract or the text matter of the drawings is in the language in which the international application is to be published, invite the applicant to furnish a translation of the abstract or the text matter of the drawings into the language in which the international application is to be published. Rules 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.3bis, 26.5 and 29.1 shall apply mutatis mutandis. |
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2. In our understanding, it seems that Rule 26.3ter(a)(i) does not cover cases for which the description and the claims are filed in one of the publication languages, and a translation under Rule 12.3 for the purpose of international search is also required at the same time.
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6. The case shown in paragraph 3 above, where the translation to be provided under Rule 12.3 is not in the language in which the international application is to be published, seems not to have been considered at the 24ththe 24th session of the PCT Assembly.
7. Considering that the PCT system has become more multilingual, and that there are presently a total of ten publication languages, after consulting with the IB, we would like to propose the following amendment which could cover the case referred to in paragraph 3.
26.3ter Invitation to Correct Defects under Article 3(4)(in) (a) Where the abstract or any text matter of the drawings is filed in a language which is different from the language, subject to Rules 12.1bis and 26.3ter(e), of the description and the claims, the receiving Office shall, unless (i) a translation of the international application is required under Rule 12.3(a) into the language in which the international application is to be published, or (ii) the abstract or the text matter of the drawings is in the language in which the international application is to be published, invite the applicant to furnish a translation of the abstract or the text matter of the drawings into the language in which the international application is to be published. Rules 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.3bis, 26.5 and 29.1 shall apply mutatis mutandis. |
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8. It is our view that publishing all the elements of the international application in one language is consistent with Articles 3(4)(i) and Rule 48.3(a). In addition, from third parties’ point of view, the convenience of users would be served by having all of the elements written in one language.
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10. Any feedback received from you by 20 October 2023 regarding this matter and the amendment mentioned in paragraphs 7 to 9 would be greatly appreciated.
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