What is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)?

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty that provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in its contracting states. As stated in the MPEP, The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) enables the U.S. applicant to file one application, “an international application,” in a standardized format in English in…

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How can I revive an abandoned international patent application?

To revive an abandoned international patent application, you need to file a petition under 37 CFR 1.137 for unintentional delay. This petition is decided by the Director of International Patent Legal Administration. As stated in MPEP 1002.02(p): “Petitions under 37 CFR 1.137 (unintentional delay) to revive an application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).”…

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What are the recommended headings for a PCT application description?

According to MPEP 1823, the description in a PCT application should generally be divided into six parts with the following headings: Technical Field Background Art Disclosure of Invention Brief Description of Drawings Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention (or Mode(s) for Carrying Out the Invention) Industrial Applicability (where applicable) The MPEP states: “Those parts…

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Can claims in a PCT application refer to the description or drawings?

According to MPEP 1824, claims in a PCT application should generally avoid referring to the description or drawings. However, there are some exceptions: References to the description or drawings are allowed when absolutely necessary Technical features in claims can be followed by reference signs relating to drawings Reference signs should preferably be placed between parentheses…

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