What happens if an international patent application is filed without the applicant’s signature?
If an international patent application is filed without the applicant’s signature, it is considered a correctable defect. According to MPEP 1820:
“The international application can be filed without applicant’s signature on the request. The lack of any required signature on the request is a correctable defect under PCT Article 14(1)(a)(i) and (b), and can be remedied by filing a copy of the request (or, where the request has been signed by an agent, of a power of attorney) duly signed by the applicant within the time limit fixed by the receiving Office for the correction of this defect.”
This means that applicants have an opportunity to provide the missing signature after the initial filing, within a specified time frame set by the receiving Office.
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