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1852 International-Type Search - 1800 Patent Cooperation Treaty
1852 International-Type Search
PCT RULE 41
Earlier Search Other Than International SearchPCT RULE 41.1.
Obligation to Use Results; Refund of FeeIf reference has been made in the request, in the form provided for in Rule 4.11, to an international-type search carried out under the conditions set out in Article 15(5) or to a search other than an international or international-type search, the International Searching Authority shall, to the extent possible, use the results of the said search in establishing the international search report on the international application. The International Searching Authority shall refund the search fee, to the extent and under the conditions provided for in the agreement under Article 16(3)(b) or in a communication addressed to and published in the Gazette by the International Bureau, if the international search report could wholly or partly be based on the results of the said search.
37 CFR 1.104 Nature of examination.
(a) Examiner's action.
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(3) An international-type search will be made in all national applications filed on and after June 1, 1978.
(4) Any national application may also have an international-type search report prepared thereon at the time of the national examination on the merits, upon specific written request therefor and payment of the international-type search report fee set forth in § 1.21(e). The Patent and Trademark Office does not require that a formal report of an international-type search be prepared in order to obtain a search fee refund in a later filed international application.
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PCT Rule 41 provides that the applicant may request in a later filed international application that the report of the results of the international-type search, i.e., a search similar to an international search, but carried out on a national application ( 37 CFR 1.104(a)(3) and (a)(4)), be used in establishing an international search report on such international application. An international-type search is conducted on all U.S. national nonprovisional applications filed after June 1, 1978. Upon specific request, at the time of the examination of a U.S. national nonprovisional application and provided that the payment of the appropriate international-type search report fee has been made ( 37 CFR 1.21(e)) an international-type search report Form PCT/ISA/201 will also be prepared.
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