How does the U.S. handle non-English portions in PCT applications?
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has made a notification of incompatibility regarding PCT Rules 20.1(c), 26.3ter(a), and 26.3ter(c), which allow for an international filing date to be accorded even when portions of an application are in a non-accepted language.
According to MPEP 1803, “PCT Rules 20.1(c), 26.3ter(a) and 26.3ter(c) are not compatible with the national law applied by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as receiving Office. Thus, the USPTO has made a notification of incompatibility with respect to these rules pursuant to PCT Rules 20.1(d), 26.3ter(b) and 26.3ter(d).”
This means that the USPTO does not apply these rules, and applications must be submitted entirely in English to receive a filing date.
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