:: What is it?
“The Cross-Referenced Patent Cooperation Treaty” is a 330-page A4-size book covering the “Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)” and the “Regulations under the PCT”. The large number of references in the articles and rules makes the PCT difficult to read. The idea behind this book is to add cross-references to the articles and rules, thereby giving the reader a much better overview of the structure of the PCT. Numerous references to the “PCT Applicant's Guide” are also given in the book, providing the reader with additional information.
Structure
“The Cross-Referenced Patent Cooperation Treaty” is structured as follows:
- The text of the articles and rules of the PCT is reproduced in its entirety.
- References to articles and rules have been inserted in a column adjacent to the text of the PCT. To show which item in a sentence of the law the reference is related to, the particular part of that sentence is printed in bold.
- References have been inserted to related articles and rules at the beginning of each article and rule or, if appropriate, at the beginning of a subsection of an article or rule.
- Summaries of the contents of the references are included to help the reader to quickly determine the relevance of the article or rule.
The majority of the references in this book are to the PCT. However, because the European Patent Office can act under the PCT as a receiving Office (rO), International Searching Authority (ISA), Supplementary International Searching Authority (SISA), International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA) in the international phase and as a designated Office (dO) and elected Office (eO) in the regional phase:
- Links to the relevant provisions of the European Patent Convention are also included (April 2010).
- References to the "Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office" (April 2010) and the Rules Relating to Fees (April 2010) in as far as relevant for the PCT, have been inserted into the relevant articles and rules of the PCT.