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§ 702 International Applications Filed in Electronic Form - ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTIONS UNDER THE PCT
§ 702 International Applications Filed in Electronic Form
(a) The filing and processing of international applications filed in electronic form, as referred to in Rule 89bis, shall be in accordance with this Part and Annex F.
The proposed modifications do not provide for the conversion of applications from paper form to electronic form or for the filing of applications partly on paper and partly in electronic form. Those matters will be dealt with in other proposed modifications of the Administrative Instructions. Although Rule 89bis also enables the Administrative Instructions to provide for the filing and processing of international applications "by electronic means," proposed Part 7 relates in the main to applications filed "in electronic form" except where otherwise specifically mentioned (as, for example, in Section 709(a)). While applications in electronic form may, of course, be filed by electronic means, Part 7 generally focuses on the form of the application rather than the means of filing. The Regulations already provide for the filing by electronic means of applications in paper form (see Rule 92.4).
(b) Subject to this Part, an international application in electronic form shall not be denied legal effect merely because it is in electronic form.
(c) This Part and Annex F do not apply to an international application containing a sequence listing part which is filed in computer readable form under Section 801(a).
For example, such a sequence listing is not subject to data format and packaging requirements under Annex F, and the basic fee is calculated under Section 803 rather than Section 707. An application containing a sequence listing may, however, be filed in (fully) electronic form under Part 7 rather than partly on paper and partly in computer readable form under Section 801(a), in which case the application would be subject to Part 7 and Annex F and not Part 8. It should be remembered that Section 801 and the other provisions of Part 8 were introduced to deal with an immediate problem, namely, that of extremely large applications which cannot be dealt with practicably on paper. Those provisions will need to be reviewed when electronic filing and processing systems have been more fully implemented, at which stage it is expected that such applications will be dealt with under the more general provisions of Part 7. In the meantime, however, an applicant who wishes to have the advantage of the provisions of Part 8 will have to comply with Section 801; the request will need to be filed on paper and accompanied by a sequence listing in computer readable form.
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