Revision of the Time Limit for National Stage Commencement in the United States for Patent Cooperation Treaty Applications

摘要

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is revising the rules of practice relating to applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). This rule modifies the Office's rules of practice to comply with an amendment to the PCT. The changes in this rule specifically involve revising the rules of practice consistent with the change to the PCT to have a single time limit for national stage commencement for applications filed under the PCT, regardless of whether the applicant filed a Demand for an international preliminary examination.