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1843 The International Search [R-07.2015]

PCT Article 17

Procedure Before the International Searching Authority

  • (1) Procedure before the International Searching Authority shall be governed by the provisions of this Treaty, the Regulations, and the agreement which the International Bureau shall conclude, subject to this Treaty and the Regulations, with the said Authority.
  • (2)
    • (a) If the International Searching Authority considers:
      • (i) that the international application relates to a subject matter which the International Searching Authority is not required, under the Regulations, to search, and in the particular case decides not to search, or
      • (ii) that the description, the claims, or the drawings, fail to comply with the prescribed requirements to such an extent that a meaningful search could not be carried out, the said Authority shall so declare and shall notify the applicant and the International Bureau that no international search report will be established.
    • (b) If any of the situations referred to in subparagraph (a) is found to exist in connection with certain claims only, the international search report shall so indicate in respect of such claims, whereas, for the other claims, the said report shall be established as provided in Article 18.
  • (3)
    • (a) If the International Searching Authority considers that the international application does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention as set forth in the Regulations, it shall invite the applicant to pay additional fees. The International Searching Authority shall establish the international search report on those parts of the international application which relate to the invention first mentioned in the claims ( "main invention" ) and, provided the required additional fees have been paid within the prescribed time limit, on those parts of the international application which relate to inventions in respect of which the said fees were paid.
    • (b) The national law of any designated State may provide that, where the national Office of the State finds the invitation, referred to in subparagraph (a), of the International Searching Authority justified and where the applicant has not paid all additional fees, those parts of the international application which consequently have not been searched shall, as far as effects in the State are concerned, be considered withdrawn unless a special fee is paid by the applicant to the national Office of that State.

PCT Rule 43bis

Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority

43 bis.1 Written Opinion

  • (a) Subject to Rule 69.1(b-bis) , the International Searching Authority shall, at the same time as it establishes the international search report or the declaration referred to in Article 17(2)(a), establish a written opinion as to:
    • (i) whether the claimed invention appears to be novel, to involve an inventive step (to be non-obvious), and to be industrially applicable;
    • (ii) whether the international application complies with the requirements of the Treaty and these Regulations in so far as checked by the International Searching Authority.

      The written opinion shall also be accompanied by such other observations as these Regulations provide for.

  • (b) For the purposes of establishing the written opinion, Articles 33(2) to (6) and 35(2) and (3) and Rules 43.4, 43.6bis, 64, 65, 66.1(e), 66.7, 67, 70.2(b) and (d), 70.3, 70.4(ii), 70.5(a), 70.6 to 70.10, 70.12, 70.14 and 70.15(a) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
  • (c) The written opinion shall contain a notification informing the applicant that, if a demand for international preliminary examination is made, the written opinion shall, under Rule 66.1bis(a) but subject to Rule 66.1bis(b), be considered to be a written opinion of the International Preliminary Examining Authority for the purposes of Rule 66.2(a), in which case the applicant is invited to submit to that Authority, before the expiration of the time limit under Rule 54 bis.1(a), a written reply together, where appropriate, with amendments.

The international search is a thorough, high quality search of the most relevant resources. Upon completion of the international search an international search report is established. The report provides information on the relevant prior art to the applicant, the public, the designated Offices, and the International Preliminary Examining Authority.

PCT Article 15 describes the objective of the international search, i.e., to uncover relevant prior art, and also describes the international-type search. It should be noted generally that an international-type search is performed on all U.S. national applications filed after June 1, 1978.

The written opinion indicates whether the claimed invention appears to be novel, to involve an inventive step (to be non-obvious), and to be industrially applicable. The written opinion also indicates any defects in the form or content of the international application under the PCT Articles or Regulations. In addition, the written opinion includes any observations that the International Searching Authority wishes to make on the clarity of the claims, the description, and the drawings, or on the question of whether the claims are fully supported by the description.

1843.01 Prior Art for Chapter I Processing [R-10.2019]

PCT Rule 33

Relevant Prior Art for the International Search

33.1 Relevant Prior Art for the International Search

  • (a) For the purposes of Article 15(2), relevant prior art shall consist of everything which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world by means of written disclosure (including drawings and other illustrations) and which is capable of being of assistance in determining that the claimed invention is or is not new and that it does or does not involve an inventive step (i.e., that it is or is not obvious), provided that the making available to the public occurred prior to the international filing date.
  • (b) When any written disclosure refers to an oral disclosure, use, exhibition, or other means whereby the contents of the written disclosure were made available to the public, and such making available to the public occurred on a date prior to the international filing date, the international search report shall separately mention that fact and the date on which it occurred if the making available to the public of the written disclosure occurred on a date which is the same as, or later than, the international filing date.
  • (c) Any published application or any patent whose publication date is the same as, or later than, but whose filing date, or, where applicable, claimed priority date, is earlier than the international filing date of the international application searched, and which would constitute relevant prior art for the purposes of Article 15(2) had it been published prior to the international filing date, shall be specially mentioned in the international search report.

33.2 Fields to Be Covered by the International Search

  • (a) The international search shall cover all those technical fields, and shall be carried out on the basis of all those search files, which may contain material pertinent to the invention.
  • (b) Consequently, not only shall the art in which the invention is classifiable be searched but also analogous arts regardless of where classified.
  • (c) The question what arts are, in any given case, to be regarded as analogous shall be considered in the light of what appears to be the necessary essential function or use of the invention and not only the specific functions expressly indicated in the international application.
  • (d) The international search shall embrace all subject matter that is generally recognized as equivalent to the subject matter of the claimed invention for all or certain of its features, even though, in its specifics, the invention as described in the international application is different.

33.3 Orientation of the International Search

  • (a) International search shall be made on the basis of the claims, with due regard to the description and the drawings (if any) and with particular emphasis on the inventive concept towards which the claims are directed.
  • (b) In so far as possible and reasonable, the international search shall cover the entire subject matter to which the claims are directed or to which they might reasonably be expected to be directed after they have been amended.

PCT Rule 64

Prior Art for International Preliminary Examination

64.1 Prior Art

  • (a) For the purposes of Article 33(2) and (3), everything made available to the public anywhere in the world by means of written disclosure (including drawings and other illustrations) shall be considered prior art provided that such making available occurred prior to the relevant date.
  • (b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), the relevant date shall be:
    • (i) subject to items (ii) and (iii), the international filing date of the international application under international preliminary examination;
    • (ii) where the international application under international preliminary examination claims the priority of an earlier application and has an international filing date which is within the priority period, the filing date of such earlier application, unless the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers that the priority claim is not valid;
    • (iii) where the international application under international preliminary examination claims the priority of an earlier application and has an international filing date which is later than the date on which the priority period expired but within the period of two months from that date, the filing date of such earlier application, unless the International Preliminary Examining Authority considers that the priority claim is not valid for reasons other than the fact that the international application has an international filing date which is later than the date on which the priority period expired.

64.2 Non-Written Disclosures

In cases where the making available to the public occurred by means of an oral disclosure, use, exhibition or other non-written means (“non-written disclosure”) before the relevant date as defined in Rule 64.1(b) and the date of such non-written disclosure is indicated in a written disclosure which has been made available to the public on a date which is the same as, or later than, the relevant date, the non-written disclosure shall not be considered part of the prior art for the purposes of Article 33(2) and (3). Nevertheless, the international preliminary examination report shall call attention to such non-written disclosure in the manner provided for in Rule 70.9.

64.3 Certain Published Documents

In cases where any application or any patent which would constitute prior art for the purposes of Article 33(2) and (3) had it been published prior to the relevant date referred to in Rule 64.1 was published on a date which is the same as, or later than, the relevant date but was filed earlier than the relevant date or claimed the priority of an earlier application which had been filed prior to the relevant date, such published application or patent shall not be considered part of the prior art for the purposes of Article 33(2) and (3). Nevertheless, the international preliminary examination report shall call attention to such application or patent in the manner provided for in Rule 70.10.

The objective of the international search is to discover relevant prior art (PCT Article 15(2)). “Prior art” consists of everything which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world by means of written disclosure (including drawings and other illustrations); it is relevant in respect of the international application if it is capable of being of assistance in determining that the claimed invention is or is not new and that the claimed invention does or does not involve an inventive step (i.e., that it is or is not obvious), and if the making available to the public occurred prior to the international filing date for the purposes of the international search report and prior to the earliest validly claimed priority date for the purposes of the written opinion of the International Searching Authority. For further details, see PCT Rules 33, 43bis.1(b) and 64.

A written disclosure, i.e., a document, is regarded as made available to the public if, at the relevant date, it was possible for members of the public to gain access to the content of the document and to acquire possession of the content of the document, and there was no bar of confidentiality restricting the use or dissemination of knowledge gained thereby. Where the document only provides the month or the year, but not the specific date, which the document was made available to the public, the content of the document is presumed to have been made available to the public on the last day of that month or that year, respectively, unless evidence is provided to prove otherwise.

Prior art disclosure on the Internet or on an online database is considered in the same manner as other forms of written disclosure. Information disclosed on the Internet or an online database is considered to be publicly available as of the date the disclosure was publicly posted. Where the examiner obtains an electronic document that establishes the publication date for the Internet disclosure, he/she should make a printout of this document, which must mention both the URL of the relevant Internet disclosure and the date of publication of that relevant Internet disclosure. The examiner must then cite this printout in the international search report as an “L” document and cite the relevant Internet disclosure according to the relevance of its content (“X”, “Y”, “A”) and according to the date as established (“X”, “Y”, “A”, “P,X”, “P,Y”, “P,A”, “E”, etc.). See MPEP § 1844.01, subsection VII. Where the examiner is unable to establish the publication date of the relevant Internet disclosure and it is relevant to the inventive step and/or novelty of the claimed invention, he/she should cite it in the international search report as a category “L” document for those claims which it would have affected if it were published in time, giving the date the document was printed out as its publication date.

Examiners are also encouraged to cite prior art that might be of assistance in determining whether other requirements are fulfilled, such as sufficient support of the claims by the description and industrial applicability. The examiner should also note any documents that may be of importance for other reasons, such as documents putting doubt upon the validity of any priority claimed, documents contributing to a better or more correct understanding of the claimed invention, and documents illustrating the technological background, but the examiner should not spend time in searching for these documents, nor the consideration of such matters unless there is a special reason for doing so in a particular case. Documents which do not qualify as prior art because they post-date the claimed invention may nevertheless be cited to show a universal fact, such as characteristics or properties of a material, or a specific scientific fact, or to show the level of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, examiners must recognize that different designated Offices may have different definitions of what is the effective date of prior art. Accordingly, when performing the search, examiners should be mindful to pick out and select for citation, where appropriate, prior art which may be relevant in offices other than the one in which they are situated. However, the examiner need not expand the search beyond the standard search parameters to discover such art. Where the search has been performed and such potentially relevant prior art has been identified, examiners are encouraged to, for example, cite all relevant art published prior to the international filing date even if that art and the international application under consideration have common applicants and/or inventors. As such, if the examiner is basing the international search on a prior search performed in a prior related U.S. national application, it may be necessary for the examiner to review the prior art published within the time period of the one year preceding the filing date of the prior U.S. application for any written disclosures based on the applicant’s own work that may have been published within that time period. Any such documents are considered prior art in an international application and are cited on the international search report even though they do not meet the definition of prior art in the prior U.S. national application. A further objective of the international search is to avoid, or at least minimize, additional searching at the national stage.

The international search is made on the basis of the claims, with due regard to the description and the drawings (if any) contained in the international application (PCT Article 15(3)) and should cover the entire subject matter to which the claims are directed or to which they might reasonably be expected to be directed after they have been amended (PCT Rule 33.3(b)).

The relevant date for the purpose of considering prior art for the purposes of establishment of the written opinion of the International Searching Authority is defined in PCT Rule 64.1(b) as the international filing date or, where the international application contains a claim for priority, the date provided in PCT Rule 64.1(b)(ii) - (iii). See MPEP § 1878.01(a).

In establishment of the written opinion, when determining whether there is inventive step, account should be taken of what the applicant acknowledges in his/her description as known. Such admissions should be regarded as correct and used when considering whether the claimed invention lacks novelty and/or inventive step where appropriate.

A non-written disclosure such as an oral disclosure, use, exhibition or other means of disclosure is not relevant prior art for the purposes of the international search unless it is substantiated by a written disclosure made available to the public prior to the international filing date and it is the written disclosure which constitutes the prior art. However, if the date on which the written disclosure was made available to the public was on or after the filing date of the international application under consideration, the search report should separately mention that fact and the date on which the written disclosure was available, even though such a written disclosure does not meet the definition of relevant prior art in the international phase, so long as the non-written disclosure was made available to the public on a date prior to the international filing date since such a non-written disclosure may be considered to be prior art under national law in the national phase. See PCT Rules 33.1(b), 64.2 and 70.9.

DOCUMENTS AND DATABASES SEARCHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL SEARCHING AUTHORITY

The International Searching Authority must endeavor to discover as much of the relevant prior art as its facilities permit (PCT Article 15(4)), and, in any case, must consult the so-called “minimum documentation” (PCT Rule 34).

Even though completeness should be the ultimate goal of the international search, this goal may at times be difficult to obtain, because of such factors as text search limitations and the inevitable imperfections of any classification system and its implementation. The examiner therefore consults the appropriate minimum documentation and the most relevant search resources for the technology, including databases listed in the U.S. Search Guidance index (available through the USPTO Intranet website), and organizes the search effort and utilizes the search time in such a manner as to reduce to a minimum the possibility of failing to discover existing highly relevant prior art, such as art that fully anticipates any claims.

When conducting the search, it may be necessary to make use of the Internet as a search tool. Where the international application has not yet been published at the time of the search, there exists the danger that search terms used in the search on non-secure Internet search engines or in databases available on the Internet may be observed by third parties. Accordingly, all websites must be treated as non-secure unless the Office has a commercial arrangement with a service provider in order to maintain confidentiality and a secure connection to that website. Consequently, extreme caution must be exercised when using the Internet as a search tool where (as in most cases) the international application has not yet been published. Where a relevant database is accessible via the Internet, but an alternative secure connection to the same database is accessible, the secure connection must be used. Where no secure connection to a database on the Internet is available, the search may be conducted on the Internet using generalized search terms representing combinations of features that relate to the claimed invention, which have already been shown to exist in the state of the art.

1843.02 Certain Subject Matter Need Not Be Searched [R-07.2022]

PCT Rule 39

Subject Matter under Article 17(2)(a)(i)

39.1 Definition

No International Searching Authority shall be required to search an international application if, and to the extent to which, its subject matter is any of the following:

  • (i) scientific and mathematical theories,
  • (ii) plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals, other than microbiological processes and the products of such processes,
  • (iii) schemes, rules or methods of doing business, performing purely mental acts or playing games,
  • (iv) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods,
  • (v) mere presentations of information,
  • (vi) computer programs to the extent that the International Searching Authority is not equipped to search prior art concerning such programs.

PCT Rule 66

Procedure Before the International Preliminary Examining Authority

66.1 Basis of the International Preliminary Examination

*****

  • (e) Claims relating to inventions in respect of which no international search report has been established need not be the subject of international preliminary examination.

*****

PCT Rule 67

Subject Matter Under Article 34(4)(a)(i)

67.1 Definition

No International Preliminary Examining Authority shall be required to carry out an international preliminary examination on an international application if, and to the extent to which, its subject matter is any of the following:

  • (i) scientific and mathematical theories,
  • (ii) plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals, other than microbiological processes and the products of such processes,
  • (iii) schemes, rules, or methods of doing business, performing purely mental acts, or playing games,
  • (iv) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods,
  • (v) mere presentations of information,
  • (vi) computer programs to the extent that the International Preliminary Examining Authority is not equipped to carry out an international preliminary examination concerning such programs.

The USPTO has declared that it will search and examine, in international applications, all subject matter searched and examined in U.S. national applications. However under PCT Rules 39, 43bis.1(b), 66.1(e) and 67.1, no International Searching Authority is required to perform an international search or to establish a written opinion concerning novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability where the international application relates to any of the following subject matters:

  • (A) Scientific and mathematical theories;
  • (B) Plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals, other than microbiological processes and the products of such processes;
  • (C) Schemes, rules or methods of doing business, performing purely mental acts or playing games;
  • (D) Methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods;
  • (E) Mere presentation of information; and
  • (F) Computer programs to the extent the said Authority is not equipped to search prior art concerning such programs.

    See PCT Rule 39. In addition, the examiner is not required to search the international application, to the extent that a meaningful search cannot be carried out, in certain cases where a nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence listing is not furnished in the required form, language and manner. See Administrative Instructions Section 513(c). However, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has declared that it will search and examine all subject matter searched and examined in U.S. national applications.

    The applicant considering the filing of an international application may be well advised not to file one if the subject matter of the application falls into one of the above mentioned areas. If the applicant still does file, the International Searching Authority may declare that it will not establish an international search report. Accordingly, applicant should take into consideration which International Searching Authority (e.g., European Patent Office) is selected to conduct the international search. It is to be noted, nevertheless, that the lack of the international search report in such case will not have, in itself, any influence on the validity of the international application and the latter’s processing will continue, including its communication to the designated Offices.

1843.03 No Search Required if Claims Are Unclear [R-07.2022]

If the International Searching Authority considers that the description, the claims, or the drawings fail to comply with the prescribed requirements to such an extent that a meaningful search could not be carried out, it may declare that it will not establish a search report (PCT Article 17(2)(a)(ii)). Further, for applications having an international filing date on or after January 1, 2004, if the International Searching Authority considers that the description, claims, or drawings are so unclear, or the claims are so inadequately supported by the description that no meaningful opinion can be formed on the novelty, inventive step (non-obviousness), or industrial applicability of the claimed invention, the Authority shall not go into these issues in its written opinion with regard to the claims so affected (PCT Rules 43bis.1(b) and 66.1(e)). For example, the examiner may determine that a meaningful search cannot be carried out or that no meaningful opinion can be formed in certain cases where a nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence listing is not furnished in the required form, language and manner. See Administrative Instructions Section 513(c) and MPEP § 1848. Further, the examiner may determine that a meaningful search cannot be carried out or that no meaningful opinion can be formed for improper multiple dependent claims (see PCT Rule 6.4(a)).

1843.04 Procedure for Claims Not Required To Be Searched and for Claims That Are Unclear [R-07.2015]

The International Searching Authority (ISA) may declare that a meaningful search cannot be carried out with respect to some of the claims only and/or that only certain claims relate to subject matter which the ISA is not required to and has decided not to search. Where only some of the claims will not be searched, the ISA searches the remaining claims of the international application. Any unsearched claims and the reasons why those claims have not been searched are indicated in Box No. II of the international search report (Form PCT/ISA/210).

If the examiner determines that none of the claims will be searched, the examiner declares that no search report will be established using Form PCT/ISA/203. The lack of the international search report will not, in itself, have any influence on the validity of the international application and the latter’s processing will continue, including its communication to the designated Offices.

If the international application cites a document that is not published or otherwise not accessible to the ISA and the document appears essential to a correct understanding of the invention to the extent that a meaningful international search would not be possible without knowledge of the content of that document, the ISA may postpone the search and request that the applicant first provide first a copy of the document, if possible to do so within the time limits for the preparation of the international search report of the ISA under the PCT. If no copy of the document is received, the ISA should first attempt to carry out the international search and then, if necessary, indicate that no meaningful search could be carried out in total or that the search needed to be restricted.

The ISA establishes the written opinion of the International Searching Authority (Form PCT/ISA/237) at the same time it establishes either the international search report (Form PCT/ISA/210) or the declaration of non-establishment of the international search report (Form PCT/ISA/203). However, if the ISA determines that for any or all claims (A) the international application relates to subject matter for which it is not required to establish a written opinion concerning novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability, (B) the description, claims, or drawings, are so unclear, or the claims are so inadequately supported by the description, that no meaningful opinion can be formed on the novelty, inventive step, or industrial applicability, of the claimed invention, or (C) the subject matter of the claims relates to inventions for which no international search report will be established, the ISA indicates, in Box No. III of the written opinion of the International Searching Authority (Form PCT/ISA/237), that no opinion with regard to novelty, inventive step or industrial applicability will be established with regard to those claims. In most instances it will be sufficient for the examiner to (A) indicate that no international search report has been established for the relevant claims as the reason for not establishing an opinion on novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability and (B) refer to the international search report or declaration of non-establishment of the international search report for further details.

1843.05 Time Limit for Establishing the International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority [R-07.2015]

Publication of the international application occurs at 18 months from the earliest priority date or, where there is no priority date, 18 months from the international filing date. The international search report is subject to international publication. For international applications filed before July 1, 2014, the written opinion of the International Searching Authority (ISA) is not published but is made available to the public after the expiration of 30 months from the priority date. See former PCT Rule 44ter. For international applications filed on or after July 1, 2014, the written opinion of the ISA and any informal comments submitted by the applicant will be made available to the public in their original language as of the publication date. The Office goal is to have the search report and written opinion mailed in sufficient time to reach the International Bureau by the end of 16 months from the priority date or 9 months from the filing date if no priority claim is made. This is necessary since the technical preparations for publication are completed by 17.5 months from the earliest priority date. In view of the treaty mandated publication and the time needed for technical preparation, the Office sets time periods for completion of the search report and the written opinion which will ensure sufficient time to complete internal processing and review and achieve receipt of the search report and the written opinion at the International Bureau by the 16th month from the priority date. See PCT Rule 42.1 and 43 bis.1(a).

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Last Modified: 02/16/2023 12:58:18