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The International Bureau considers that consistency is needed in conversion from DOCX to XML. Differences in drafting rules for applicants filing national, regional, or international applications cause confusion and errors, leading to a loss of confidence in the system.  Ideally, all Offices should use a common and clearly documented piece of software for conversion.  The International Bureau has developed and deployed a converter that is available for use in 10 languages and can easily be extended to others.

DOCX has been chosen for current development work as the de facto primary format in which patent applications are drafted and shared between inventors, applicants and attorneys. In principle, equivalent conversion tools could also be developed for other file formats if a need were established.  However, conversion requirements from other file formats would need to be sufficiently clear and simple over which word processor features could be used.  Moreover, the converted XML file would need to be identical, irrespective of the original file format.

It is proposed that the Task Force advises on a way forward in the development and deployment of a common DOCX converter software that will apply common requirements to the conversion of national, regional and international applications.