PCT AI Section 508 — Manner of Indicating the Claims to Which the Documents Cited in — MPEP Index – BlueIron IP
PCT AI Section 508 Manner of Indicating the Claims to Which the Documents Cited in
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting PCT AI Section 508, including 3 rules from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.
Official MPEP § 508 — Manner of Indicating the Claims to Which the Documents Cited in
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
508 Manner of Indicating the Claims to Which the Documents Cited in the International Search Report Are Relevant
- (a) The claims to which cited documents are relevant shall be
indicated by placing in the appropriate column of the international search
report:
- (i) where the cited document is relevant to one claim, the number of that claim; for example, “2” or “17”;
- (ii) where the cited document is relevant to two or more claims numbered in consecutive order, the number of the first and last claims of the series connected by a hyphen; for example, “1-15” or “2-3”;
- (iii) where the cited document is relevant to two or more claims that are not numbered in consecutive order, the number of each claim placed in ascending order and separated by a comma or commas; for example, “1, 6” or “1, 7, 10”;
- (iv) where the cited document is relevant to more than one series of claims under (ii), above, or to claims of both categories (ii) and (iii), above, the series or individual claim numbers and series placed in ascending order using commas to separate the several series, or to separate the numbers of individual claims and each series of claims; for example, “1-6, 9-10, 12-15” or “1, 3-4, 6, 9-11”.
- (b) Where different categories apply to the same document cited in an international search report in respect of different claims or groups of claims, each relevant claim or group of claims shall be listed separately opposite each indicated category of relevance. Each category and each relevant claim or group of claims may be separated by a line.
The following example illustrates the situation where a document is of particular relevance under Section 505(b) as to claims 1 to 3 and under Section 505(c) as to claim 4, and indicates the general state of the art under Section 507(c) as to claims 11 and 12:
- Pct
- Pct Amendments Article 19
- Pct Description Claims