Eligible Parties

The EPO may be used as a RO where the applicant has (A151 EPC together with R157(1) EPC in accordance with A10 PCT together with R19.1.a.i PCT and R19.1.a.ii PCT together with A2.xii PCT):

  • the nationality of a State party to both the EPC and the PCT or their domicile or registered office in a State party to both the EPC and the PCT.

Today, all EPC member States are also members of the PCT.

State Code State PCT Accession EPC Accession
AE United Arab Emirates 10/03/1999
AG Antigua and Barbuda 17/03/2000
AL Albania 04/10/1995 01/05/2010
AM Armenia 25/12/1991
AO Angola 27/12/2007
AT Austria 23/04/1979 01/05/1979
AU Australia 31/03/1980
AZ Azerbaijan 25/12/1995
BA Bosnia and Herzegovina 07/09/1996
BB Barbados 12/03/1985
BE Belgium 14/12/1981 07/10/1977
BF Burkina Faso 21/03/1989
BG Bulgaria 21/05/1984 01/07/2002
BH Bahrain 18/03/2007
BJ Benin 26/02/1987
BN Brunei Darussalam 24/07/2012
BR Brazil 09/04/1978
BW Botswana 30/10/2003
BY Belarus 25/12/1991
BZ Belize 17/06/2000
CA Canada 02/01/1990
CF Central African Republic 24/01/1978
CG Congo 24/01/1978
CH Switzerland 24/01/1978 07/10/1977
CI Côte d’Ivoire 30/04/1991
CL Chile 02/06/2009
CM Cameroon 24/01/1978
CN China 01/01/1994
CO Colombia 28/02/2001
CR Costa Rica 03/08/1999
CU Cuba 16/07/1996
CY Cyprus 01/04/1998 01/04/1998
CZ Czech Republic 01/01/1993 01/07/2002
DE Germany 24/01/1978 07/10/1977
DK Denmark 01/12/1978 01/01/1990
DM Dominica 07/08/1999
DO Dominican Republic 28/05/2007
DZ Algeria 08/03/2000
EC Ecuador 07/05/2001
EE Estonia 24/08/1994 01/07/2002
EG Egypt 06/09/2003
ES Spain 16/11/1989 01/10/1986
FI Finland 01/10/1980 01/03/1996
FR France 25/02/1978 07/10/1977
GA Gabon 24/01/1978
GB United Kingdom 24/01/1978 07/10/1977
GD Grenada 22/09/1998
GE Georgia 25/12/1991
GH Ghana 26/02/1997
GM Gambia 09/12/1997
GN Guinea 27/05/1991
GQ Equatorial Guinea 17/07/2001
GR Greece 09/10/1990 01/10/1986
GT Guatemala 14/10/2006
GW Guinea-Bissau 12/12/1997
HN Honduras 20/06/2006
HR Croatia 01/07/1998 01/01/2008
HU Hungary 27/06/1980 01/01/2003
ID Indonesia 05/09/1997
IE Ireland 01/08/1992 01/08/1992
IL Israel 01/06/1996
IN India 07/12/1998
IR Islamic Republic of Iran 04/10/2013
IS Iceland 23/03/1995 01/11/2004
IT Italy 28/03/1985 01/12/1978
JP Japan 01/10/1978
KE Kenya 08/06/1994
KG Kyrgyzstan 25/12/1991
KM Comoros 03/04/2005
KN Saint Kitts and Nevis 27/10/2005
KP Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 08/07/1980
KR Republic of Korea 10/08/1984
KZ Kazakhstan 25/12/1991
LA Lao People’s Democratic Republic 14/06/2006
LC Saint Lucia 30/08/1996
LI Liechtenstein
19/03/1980 01/04/1980 LK Sri Lanka 26/02/1982 LR Liberia 27/08/1994 LS Lesotho 21/10/1995 LT Lithuania 05/07/1994 01/12/2004 LU Luxembourg 30/04/1978 07/10/1977 LV Latvia 07/09/1993 01/07/2005 LY Libya 15/09/2005 MA Morocco 08/10/1999 MC Monaco 22/06/1979 01/12/1991 MD Republic of Moldova 25/12/1991 ME Montenegro 03/06/2006 MG Madagascar 24/01/1978 MK The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 10/08/1995 01/01/2009 ML Mali 19/10/1984 MN Mongolia 27/05/1991 MR Mauritania 13/04/1983 MT Malta 01/03/2007 MW Malawi 24/01/1978 MX Mexico 01/01/1995 MY Malaysia 16/08/2006 MZ Mozambique 18/05/2000 NA Namibia 01/01/2004 NE Niger 21/03/1993 NG Nigeria 08/05/2005 NI Nicaragua 06/03/2003 NL Netherlands 10/07/1979 07/10/1977 NO Norway 01/01/1980 01/01/2008 NZ New Zealand 01/12/1992 OM Oman 26/10/2001 PA Panama 07/09/2012 PE Peru 06/06/2009 PG Papua New Guinea 14/06/2003 PH Philippines 17/08/2001 PL Poland 25/12/1990 01/03/2004 PT Portugal 24/11/1992 01/01/1992 QA Qatar 03/08/2011 RO Romania 23/07/1979 01/03/2003 RS Serbia 01/02/1997 01/10/2010 RU Russian Federation 29/03/1978 RW Rwanda 31/08/2011 SA Saudi Arabia 03/08/2013 SC Seychelles 07/11/2002 SD Sudan 16/04/1984 SE Sweden 17/05/1978 01/05/1978 SG Singapore 23/02/1995 SI Slovenia 01/03/1994 01/12/2002 SK Slovakia 01/01/1993 01/07/2002 SL Sierra Leone 17/06/1997 SM San Marino 14/12/2004 01/07/2009 SN Senegal 24/01/1978 ST Sao Tome and Principe 03/07/2008 SV El Salvador 17/08/2006 SY Syrian Arab Republic 26/06/2003 SZ Eswatini 20/09/1994 TD Chad 24/01/1978 TG Togo 24/01/1978 TH Thailand 24/12/2009 TJ Tajikistan 25/12/1991 TM Turkmenistan 25/12/1991 TN Tunisia 10/12/2001 TR Turkey 01/01/1996 01/11/2000 TT Trinidad and Tobago 10/03/1994 TZ United Republic of Tanzania 14/09/1999 UA Ukraine 25/12/1991 UG Uganda 09/02/1995 US United States of America 24/01/1978 UZ Uzbekistan 25/12/1991 VC Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 06/08/2002 VN Viet Nam 10/03/1993 ZA South Africa 16/03/1999 ZM Zambia 15/11/2001 ZW Zimbabwe 11/06/1997

Conditions

Filing language

The application must be filed in French, English or German (A151 EPC together with R157(2) EPC in accordance with A3.4.i PCT together with R12.1.a PCT).

The provisions of A14(2) EPC allowing filing in any language do not apply here (the PCT is not compatible with the PLT).

Number of Copies

It is not necessary to file the PCT application in more than one copy (A151 EPC together with R157(2) EPC together with « Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 8 June 2006, on the number of copies required for documents of the international patent application for which the European Patent Office (EPO) acts as receiving Office under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)« , OJ 2006, 439).

The same applies to all documents listed in the transmittal form under R3.3.a.ii PCT:

  • A power of attorney (i.e., a document appointing a representative or a common representative), a copy of a general power of attorney, a priority document, an electronic sequence listing, a document relating to the payment of official fees, or any other document (to be specified in the transmittal form).

Transmittal Fee

The filing of a PCT application gives rise to the payment of a transmittal fee, which must be paid within 1 month from the filing date (A151 EPC together with R157(4) EPC in accordance with R14.1.c PCT): 125 € (A2(1).18 RRT in accordance with A3.4.iv PCT together with R14.1.b PCT).

Place of Filing

Principle

Normally, the filing must be made directly with the EPO (A151 EPC together with R157(1) EPC): The Hague, Munich, Berlin.

The application cannot be filed with the authority of a contracting state if the EPO is intended to act as the RO (except in cases of national defense).

National Defense Cases

Principle

The national legislation of a state may provide for specific provisions concerning national defense (e.g., first filing with the competent authority of the state, prior authorization) (A151 EPC together with R157(1) EPC together with A75(2) EPC) in accordance with A27.8 PCT).

Transmission to the EPO

If, for reasons of national defense, the applicant is required to file the PCT application with a competent authority of a contracting state, that authority must transmit it to the EPO, the actual RO, no later than 2 weeks before the expiration of the 13th month from the priority date (A151 EPC together with R157(3) EPC) so that the EPO can fulfill its obligations.

Filing Methods

Paper Filing (by Mail or In Person)

The international application may be filed on paper (R89bis.1.a PCT and R2(1) EPC).

Filing by fax

As with the filing of an international application, it is possible to fax the patent application to the EPO, to the fax numbers of the offices in Berlin, Munich and The Hague (“Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 20 February 2019, concerning the filing of patent applications and other documents by telefax”, OJ 2019, A18).

However, it is still necessary to submit one copy (A151 EPC together with R157(2) EPC) of the paper copy of the PCT application documents as well as the request.

On the fax, it must be indicated that the application documents have been submitted separately on paper (“Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 20 February 2019, concerning the filing of patent applications and other documents by telefax”, OJ 2019, A18).

If no paper documents are received, the EPO invites the applicant to submit these documents within a period of 2 months.

If the applicant does not comply with this invitation, the fax is deemed not to have been received, meaning that the application is deemed to be withdrawn (R92.4.g.i PCT).

Electronic filing

Electronic filing of application documents is possible

  • via EPOLINE / CMS / online form (R89bis.1.a PCT together with R2(1) EPC and the “Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 9 May 2018, concerning the electronic filing of documents”, OJ 2018, A45); via the ePCT-Filing system (R89bis.1.a PCT together with R2(1) EPC and the “Decision of the President of the European Patent Office, dated 24 October 2014, concerning the filing, using the ePCT-Filing system, of international applications with the EPO acting as receiving Office”, OJ 2014, A107).

For the filing of subsequently submitted documents (R89bis.2 PCT), it is possible to use the PCT-SFD plug-in of EPOLINE (“Notice from the European Patent Office, dated 17 April 2014, concerning the online filing of subsequently submitted documents under the PCT”, OJ 2014, A50).

Submission of « PCT-Direct » comments

Conditions

When filing an international application, it is possible to submit comments in response to the written opinion of the search report of the priority application (“Notice from the European Patent Office, dated 8 March 2017, concerning the processing of informal observations on prior search results by the EPO acting as International Searching Authority (« PCT Direct »)”, OJ 2017, A21, point 2.2), if:

  • the EPO is the ISA for this international application;
  • the EPO has prepared the search report for the priority application.

Form

These comments must take the following form (“Notice from the European Patent Office, dated 8 March 2017, concerning the processing of informal observations on prior search results by the EPO acting as International Searching Authority (« PCT Direct »)”, OJ 2017, A21, point 3):

  • the comments are submitted via a separate letter entitled “PCT-Direct / informal observations”;
  • a clean copy of the claims must be provided if necessary (as an annex to the comments, in the same PDF);
  • the terms “PCT Direct / informal observations” must be indicated: in point 11 “Other elements” in case of paper filing; as a remark in case of electronic filing. The comments must be self-contained (i.e., they must be understandable without reference to the search report or any other file document).

Processing

Unlike the previous practice (before 2017), the written opinion will refer to the PCT Direct letter and address its content, to the extent that it is relevant to the international search procedure.

PCT Direct letters will be publicly accessible on WIPO’s PATENTSCOPE portal.