Reservations Under the PCT Taken by, and Notifications of Incompatibility Made by, the United States of America

The United States of America had originally declared that it was not

bound by Chapter II (

PCT Article 64(1)

), but withdrew that reservation on July 1,

1987.

It has also declared that, as far as the United States of America is

concerned, international publication is not required (

PCT Article 64

(3)

). Accordingly, under

PCT Article 64(3)(b)

, if the United

States is the only PCT Contracting State designated in an international application, the

international application will not be published by the International Bureau (IB) at 18

months. Even though the United States Patent and Trademark Office has pre-grant

publication under

35

U.S.C. 122(b)

, the United States has not removed its reservation

under

PCT Article

64(3)

because not all United States patent applications are

published. See

35

U.S.C. 122(b)(2)

. The application will, however, be published

under

35 U.S.C.

122(b)

if it enters the national stage in the United States. It

will be published again if it is allowed to issue as a United States patent. This

reservation is still in effect.

The U.S. Receiving Office continues to accept applications only in

English. See

35 U.S.C.

361(c)

.

PCT Rules 20.1(c)

,

26.3ter(a)

and

26.3ter(c)

permit an international filing

date to be accorded even though portions of an international application are in a

language not acceptable to the Receiving Office.

PCT Rules 20.1(c)

,

26.3ter(a)

and

26.3ter(c)

are not compatible with the

national law applied by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as

receiving Office. Thus, the USPTO has made a notification of incompatibility with

respect to these rules pursuant to

PCT Rules 20.1(d)

,

26.3ter(b)

and

26.3ter(d)

. As a result,

PCT Rules

20.1(c)

,

26.3ter(a)

and

26.3ter(c)

shall not apply to the USPTO

as receiving Office for as long as the aforementioned incompatibility exists.

PCT Rules

49.5(c-bis)

and

49.5(k)

continue

not to be compatible with the national law applied by the USPTO as a designated Office.

See

35 U.S.C.

371(c)(2)

ect to these rules pursuant to

PCT Rules 20.1(d)

,

26.3ter(b)

and

26.3ter(d)

. As a result,

PCT Rules

20.1(c)

,

26.3ter(a)

and

26.3ter(c)

shall not apply to the USPTO

as receiving Office for as long as the aforementioned incompatibility exists.

PCT Rules

49.5(c-bis)

and

49.5(k)

continue

not to be compatible with the national law applied by the USPTO as a designated Office.

See

35 U.S.C.

371(c)(2)

. As a result,

PCT Rules

49.5(c-bis)

and

49.5(k)

shall not

apply to the USPTO as designated Office for as long as the aforementioned

incompatibility exists.

For complete PCT reservations, declarations,

notifications and incompatibilities, please see the International Bureau's notice

published on the WIPO website at:

www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/reservations/ res_incomp.html

.

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