Eighteen-Month Publication
Effective prior art date of published applications under amended 35 U.S.C. § 102(e)(1):
A patent application publication resulting directly from a PCT application entering the national stage under 35 U.S.C. § 371 is prior art as of its international (35 U.S.C. § 363) filing date if the international application
- designates the U.S., and
- was published by the IB under PCT Article 21(2)(a) in English