Go to MPEP - Table of Contents
49.5 Contents of and Physical Requirements for the Translation - Patent Cooperation Treaty
§ 49.5 Contents of and Physical Requirements for the Translation
(a) For the purposes of Article 22, the translation of the international application shall contain the description (subject to paragraph (abis)), the claims, any text matter of the drawings, and the abstract. If required by the designated Office, the translation shall also, subject to paragraphs (b), (cbis) and (e),
(i) contain the request,
(ii) if the claims have been amended under Article 19, contain both the claims as filed and the claims as amended, and
(iii) be accompanied by a copy of the drawings.
(abis) No designated Office shall require the applicant to furnish to it a translation of any text matter contained in the sequence listing part of the description if such sequence listing part complies with Rule 12.1(d) and if the description complies with Rule 5.2(b).
(b) Any designated Office requiring the furnishing of a translation of the request shall furnish copies of the request form in the language of the translation free of charge to the applicants. The form and contents of the request form in the language of the translation shall not be different from those of the request under Rules 3 and 4; in particular, the request form in the language of the translation shall not ask for any information that is not in the request as filed. The use of the request form in the language of the translation shall be optional.
(c) Where the applicant did not furnish a translation of any statement made under Article 19(1), the designated Office may disregard such statement.
(cbis) Where the applicant furnishes, to a designated Office which requires under paragraph (a)(ii) a translation of both the claims as filed and the claims as amended, only one of the required two translations, the designated Office may disregard the claims of which a translation has not been furnished or invite the applicant to furnish the missing translation within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation. Where the designated Office chooses to invite the applicant to furnish the missing translation and the latter is not furnished within the time limit fixed in the invitation, the designated Office may disregard those claims of which a translation has not been furnished or consider the international application withdrawn.
(d) If any drawing contains text matter, the translation of that text matter shall be furnished either in the form of a copy of the original drawing with the translation pasted on the original text matter or in the form of a drawing executed anew.
(e) Any designated Office requiring under paragraph (a) the furnishing of a copy of the drawings shall, where the applicant failed to furnish such copy within the time limit applicable under Article 22, invite the applicant to furnish such copy within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation.
(f) The expression "Fig." does not require translation into any language.
(g) Where any copy of the drawings or any drawing executed anew which has been furnished under paragraph (d) or (e) does not comply with the physical requirements referred to in Rule 11, the designated Office may invite the applicant to correct the defect within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation.
(h) Where the applicant did not furnish a translation of the abstract or of any indication furnished under Rule 13bis.4, the designated Office shall invite the applicant to furnish such translation, if it deems it to be necessary, within a time limit which shall be reasonable under the circumstances and shall be fixed in the invitation.
(i) Information on any requirement and practice of designated Offices under the second sentence of paragraph (a) shall be published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.
(j) No designated Office shall require that the translation of the international application comply with physical requirements other than those prescribed for the international application as filed.
(k) Where a title has been established by the International Searching Authority pursuant to Rule 37.2, the translation shall contain the title as established by that Authority.
(l) If, on July 12, 1991, paragraph (cbis) or paragraph (k) is not compatible with the national law applied by the designated Office, the paragraph concerned shall not apply to that designated Office for as long as it continues not to be compatible with that law, provided that the said Office informs the International Bureau accordingly by December 31, 1991. The information received shall be promptly published by the International Bureau in the Gazette.
Go to MPEP - Table of Contents