WIPO
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
Regulations under the PCT
WOPCR
65/116

PART C

RULES CONCERNING CHAPTER II OF THE TREATY

Rule 53

The Demand

53.1       Form

(a)
The demand shall be made on a printed form or be presented as a computer print-out. The particulars of the printed form and of a demand presented as a computer print-out shall be prescribed by the Administrative Instructions.
(b)
Copies of printed demand forms shall be furnished free of charge by the receiving Office or by the International Preliminary Examining Authority.

53.2       Contents

(a)
The demand shall contain:
(i)
a petition,
(ii)
indications concerning the applicant and the agent if there is an agent,
(iii)
indications concerning the international application to which it relates,
(iv)
election of States,
(v)
where applicable, a statement concerning amendments.
(b)
The demand shall be signed.

53.3       The Petition

        The petition shall be to the following effect and shall preferably be worded as follows: "Demand under Article 31 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty: The undersigned requests that the international application specified below be the subject of international preliminary examination according to the Patent Cooperation Treaty."

53.4       The Applicant

        As to the indications concerning the applicant, Rules 4.4 and 4.16 shall apply, and Rule 4.5 shall apply mutatis mutandis. Only applicants for the elected States are required to be indicated in the demand.

53.5       Agent or Common Representative

        If an agent or common representative is designated, the demand shall so indicate. Rules 4.4 and 4.16 shall apply, and Rule 4.7 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

53.6       Identification of the International Application

        The international application shall be identified by the name and address of the applicant, the title of the invention, the international filing date (if known to the applicant) and the international application number or, where such number is not known to the applicant, the name of the receiving Office with which the international application was filed.

53.7       Election of States

(a)
The demand shall indicate at least one Contracting State, from among those States which are designated and are bound by Chapter II of the Treaty ("eligible States"), as an elected State.
(b)
Election of Contracting States in the demand shall be made:
(i)
by an indication that all eligible States are elected, or,
(ii)
in the case of States which have been designated for the purpose of obtaining national patents, by an indication of those eligible States that are elected, and, in the case of States which have been designated for the purpose of obtaining a regional patent, by an indication of the regional patent concerned together with either an indication that all eligible States party to the regional patent treaty concerned are elected or an indication of those among the said States that are elected.

53.8       Signature

(a)
Subject to paragraph (b), the demand shall be signed by the applicant or, if there is more than one applicant, by all applicants making the demand.
(b)
Where two or more applicants file a demand which elects a State whose national law requires that national applications be filed by the inventor and where an applicant for that elected State who is an inventor refused to sign the demand or could not be found or reached after diligent effort, the demand need not be signed by that applicant ("the applicant concerned") if it is signed by at least one applicant and
(i)
a statement is furnished explaining, to the satisfaction of the International Preliminary Examining Authority, the lack of signature of the applicant concerned, or
(ii)
the applicant concerned did not sign the request but the requirements of Rule 4.15(b) were complied with.

53.9       Statement Concerning Amendments

(a)
If amendments under Article 19 have been made, the statement concerning amendments shall indicate whether, for the purposes of the international preliminary examination, the applicant wishes those amendments
(i)
to be taken into account, in which case a copy of the amendments shall preferably be submitted with the demand, or
(ii)
to be considered as reversed by an amendment under Article 34.
(b)
If no amendments under Article 19 have been made and the time limit for filing such amendments has not expired, the statement may indicate that the applicant wishes the start of the international preliminary examination to be postponed in accordance with Rule 69.1(d).
(c)
If any amendments under Article 34 are submitted with the demand, the statement shall so indicate.
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