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12.3 Translation for the Purposes of International Search - Patent Cooperation Treaty
§ 12.3 Translation for the Purposes of International Search
(a) Where the language in which the international application is filed is not accepted by the International Searching Authority that is to carry out the international search, the applicant shall, within one month from the date of receipt of the international application by the receiving Office, furnish to that Office a translation of the international application into a language which is all of the following:
(i) a language accepted by that Authority, and
(ii) a language of publication, and
(iii) a language accepted by the receiving Office under Rule 12.1(a), unless the international application is filed in a language of publication.
(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to the request nor to any sequence listing part of the description.
(c) Where, by the time the receiving Office sends to the applicant the notification under Rule 20.5(c), the applicant has not furnished a translation required under paragraph (a), the receiving Office shall, preferably together with that notification, invite the applicant:
(i) to furnish the required translation within the time limit under paragraph (a);
(ii) in the event that the required translation is not furnished within the time limit under paragraph (a), to furnish it and to pay, where applicable, the late furnishing fee referred to in paragraph (e), within one month from the date of the invitation or two months from the date of receipt of the international application by the receiving Office, whichever expires later.
(d) Where the receiving Office has sent to the applicant an invitation under paragraph (c) and the applicant has not, within the applicable time limit under paragraph (c)(ii), furnished the required translation and paid any required late furnishing fee, the international application shall be considered withdrawn and the receiving Office shall so declare. Any translation and any payment received by the receiving Office before that Office makes the declaration under the previous sentence and before the expiration of 15 months from the priority date shall be considered to have been received before the expiration of that time limit.
(e) The furnishing of a translation after the expiration of the time limit under paragraph (a) may be subjected by the receiving Office to the payment to it, for its own benefit, of a late furnishing fee equal to 25% of the international filing fee referred to in item 1 of the Schedule of Fees, not taking into account any fee for each sheet of the international application in excess of 30 sheets.
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