Patent and Trademark Office May 6, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO), in its capacity as a PCT Receiving Office (RO/US), will begin to accept international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) that are filed electronically with a PCT Request prepared in the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) ePCT system. ePCT allows users to generate a zip file containing a validated PCT Request; the zip file can then be submitted electronically to the RO/US as part of an international application filed using the USPTO's electronic filing system (EFS-Web). Because WIPO's ePCT system is web- based and the servers that support the system are located outside the United States, users of ePCT are reminded that the export of subject matter abroad pursuant to a foreign filing license from the USPTO is limited to purposes related to the filing of foreign applications, which include international applications filed in a Receiving Office other than the RO/US. A foreign filing license does not authorize the export of subject matter into ePCT for generating a PCT Request for filing with the RO/US. Persons who are considering the use of WIPO's ePCT system for preparation of the PCT Request for filing as part of an international application with the RO/US should consider contacting the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the Department of Commerce, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) at the Department of State, or the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at the Department of Energy for the appropriate clearances where the international application may include technology subject to export controls.