Section 37 domestic stage
37 1. domestic stage: start
(a) In an international application that designates the United States or chooses the United States, the International Bureau accepts the modification of the patent application scope of the international application, the international search report and the international preliminary examination report including the appended case as the documents and materials required for the application.
(b) According to item (f) of this article, the domestic phase shall start from the date when the time limit stipulated in item (2) or (1) (a) of Article 22 of the Treaty expires.
(c) The applicant shall submit to the Patent and Trademark Office:
(1) Domestic expenses mentioned in Item (1) of Article 4 1;
(2) A copy of the international application, unless it is not required to be attached according to the provisions of item (a) of this article, or has been delivered by the International Bureau, shall be accompanied by an English translation if the application is filed in another country's language.
(3) The revised version of the application scope of the international application modified according to Article 19 of the Treaty, except that the revised version has been sent to the Patent and Trademark Office by the International Bureau, if the revised version is in other languages, an English translation shall be attached.
(4) The affidavit or statement of the inventor (or other person authorized by Article 1 1) shall meet the requirements of Article 1 15 or the affidavit or statement of the applicant mentioned in the Regulation.
(5) When the additional report is submitted in other languages, the English translation of any additional report of the international preliminary examination report shall be attached.
(d) The domestic expenses mentioned in paragraph (c) of this article (1), the translation mentioned in paragraph (c) (2) of this article, and the necessary contents of the affidavit and statement mentioned in paragraph (c) (4) of this article shall conform to their content elements from the date of the start of the domestic phase or within a later time determined by the Secretary-General. If the applicant fails to meet the above requirements, it will be deemed that the applicant has abandoned the application, unless the applicant fails to meet the requirements due to unavoidable reasons identified by the Director. If the requirements are not met at the beginning of the domestic phase, the acceptance of the additional fees shall be regarded as an acceptable condition for the domestic fees mentioned in paragraph (c)( 1) of this article or the affidavit or statement mentioned in paragraph (c)(4) of this article. The applicant shall abide by the provisions of item (3) of paragraph (c) of this article from the date when the domestic phase begins. If it does not meet the requirements, it shall be deemed as the cancellation of the modification of the scope of international patent application stipulated in Article 19 of the Treaty. The provisions of paragraph (c) (5) of this article shall be completed within the time specified by the Secretary-General. Failure to comply with this provision will be regarded as the cancellation of the amendment mentioned in Article 34(2)(b) of the Treaty.
(e) Except with the consent of the applicant, after the international application enters the domestic phase, the patent shall not be granted or rejected within the time limit stipulated in Article 28 or Article 4 1 of the Treaty. The applicant may submit a statement after the domestic phase begins, and apply for modifying the patent scope or schema.
(f) At the request of the applicant, the domestic review procedure may be started at any time when the application is ready and meets all the requirements in subparagraph (c) of this article.
372. Domestic stage: requirements and procedures.
(a) All substantive issues, requirements and procedures stipulated in treaties and regulations for designating an international application in the United States shall be the same as ordinary cases submitted to the Patent and Trademark Office.
(b) Where an international application designates the United States but does not originate from the United States-
(1) The Director-General may, in accordance with the requirements stipulated in treaties and regulations, request a review of issues related to the form and content of the application.
(2) Within the requirements of treaties and regulations, the Director-General may propose to re-examine the singularity of the invention described in Article 12 1.
(3) If the application or any document is submitted in a language other than English, the Registrar may request confirmation of the translation of the international application or any document related to the application.
373. unqualified applicants
If the international application designating the United States is filed by an applicant who is not suitable to file a domestic patent in the United States according to section 1 1, the US Patent and Trademark Office will not accept the domestic application, and the international application shall not be used as the basis for claiming the priority filing date in subsequent applications according to section 120. However, if the United States is not the only designated country for international applications, it can be used as an application.
374. Disclosure of international applications: Validity
An international application published according to the treaty does not enjoy any rights and has no effect according to the provisions of this law. This is just a printed publication.
375. Issuance of patent certificates in international patent applications: effectiveness.
(a) According to the provisions of this Law, the Director-General may issue patent certificates to international applications filed in the United States. According to article 102 (e), this patent enjoys the functions and effects of the domestic patent certificate submitted in accordance with article 1 1.
(b) If the international application designating the United States was originally submitted in non-English, and the scope of the patent granted by it exceeded that of the international application submitted in its original language due to improper translation, if it exceeded that of the international patent submitted in its original language, the court with jurisdiction may retroactively limit its patent scope and declare it invalid.
Fees and charges
(a) International fees and handling fees shall be paid in US dollars, and the amount shall be limited to the amount stipulated in the detailed rules for implementation. The Patent and Trademark Office may also require payment of the following fees:
(1) transmission fee (see item (4) of Article 36 1);
(2) Search fee (see item (d) of Article 3665438+0);
(3) Additional search fees (paid on demand);
(4) Preliminary examination fees and additional fees (see item (2) of article 362);
(5) Other expenses determined by the secretary.
(b) Except for international fees and handling fees, the amount of various fees specified in item (a) of this article shall be decided by the Director-General. The director can refund the amount of various fees paid by mistake or overpaid, or the amount that should be refunded according to the provisions of treaties and regulations. The director can also refund part of the search fee, part of the preliminary examination fee and any additional fees that he thinks are correct.