WIPO
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
Regulations under the PCT
WOPCR
68/116

Rule 56

Later Elections

56.1       Elections Submitted Later than the Demand

(a)
The election of States subsequent to the submission of the demand ("later election") shall be effected by a notice submitted to the International Bureau. The notice shall identify the international application and the demand, and shall include an indication as referred to in Rule 53.7(b)(ii).
(b)
Subject to paragraph (c), the notice referred to in paragraph (a) shall be signed by the applicant for the elected States concerned or, if there is more than one applicant for those States, by all of them.
(c)
Where two or more applicants file a notice effecting a later election of 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 notice or could not be found or reached after diligent effort, the notice 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 Bureau, 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, or did not sign the demand but the requirements of Rule 53.8(b) were complied with.
(d)
An applicant for a State elected by a later election need not have been indicated as an applicant in the demand.
(e)
If a notice effecting a later election is submitted after the expiration of 19 months from the priority date, the International Bureau shall notify the applicant that the election does not have the effect provided for under Article 39(1)(a) and that the acts referred to in Article 22 must be performed in respect of the elected Office concerned within the time limit applicable under Article 22.
(f)
If, notwithstanding paragraph (a), a notice effecting a later election is submitted by the applicant to the International Preliminary Examining Authority rather than the International Bureau, that Authority shall mark the date of receipt on the notice and transmit it promptly to the International Bureau. The notice shall be considered to have been submitted to the International Bureau on the date marked.

56.2       Identification of the International Application

        The international application shall be identified as provided in Rule 53.6.

56.3       Identification of the Demand

        The demand shall be identified by the date on which it was submitted and by the name of the International Preliminary Examining Authority to which it was submitted.

56.4       Form of Later Elections

        The notice effecting the later election shall preferably be worded as follows: "In relation to the international application filed with ... on ... under No. ... by ... (applicant) (and the demand for international preliminary examination submitted on ... to ...), the undersigned elects the following additional State(s) under Article 31 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty: ..."

56.5       Language of Later Elections

        The later election shall be in the language of the demand.

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