Notice to Users of the PCT-SAFE Software, the EPO’s epoline® Online Filing Software and the JPO-PAS Electronic Filing Software

The following information concerns applicants who will be filing international applications in electronic form on or after 1 July 2008 via the PCT‑SAFE software with certain receiving Offices1  (both fully electronic and PCT‑EASY mode filings), the European Patent Office’s epoline® Online Filing software, or the Japan Patent Office’s JPO‑PAS electronic filing software. Applicants using any other electronic filing software are advised to enquire with their respective receiving Offices. Note, however, that applicants filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as receiving Office via the EFS‑Web filing system will not be affected by this information.

A PCT‑SAFE software update will be released by early July 2008, which will enable the preparation of request forms in compliance with the July 2008 rule changes for filing international applications, both in fully electronic and in PCT‑EASY mode, with the International Bureau as receiving Office, as well as with any other receiving Office which is not listed in the footnote. However, the updated software will not be available on time for international applications filed with the receiving Offices which are listed in the footnote, as it has not yet been possible to make the necessary technical modifications to the respective receiving Office servers.

Note that, in view of the time needed to incorporate into other filing software packages the necessary updates resulting from those rule changes, updates of certain software, for example, the epoline® Online Filing software and the JPO‑PAS electronic filing software, may also not be available as of 1 July 2008, but will be available as soon as the changes have been incorporated into the respective software.

The consequence of this delay is that users of the above-mentioned client software packages will not easily be able to take advantage of the following new features of the July 2008 rule changes until such time as the updated software becomes available:

1. the possibility for applicants to request the International Searching Authority (ISA), when carrying out the international search, to take into consideration the results not only of an earlier search it has carried out, but also the earlier search carried out by another ISA or a national or regional Office;
2. the possibility for applicants to authorize the various PCT Offices and Authorities, if the Office or Authority concerned so wishes, to send advance copies of notifications using the e‑mail address provided by the applicant for this purpose (for further information, see the “Practical advice” in PCT Newsletter No. 05/2008); or
3. the possibility, in the case of international applications filed in fully electronic form, of submitting the international application in the pre-conversion format together with the corresponding statement on the request form, following the amendment of Section 706 of the PCT Administrative Instructions (for further information, see PCT Newsletter No. 05/2008, page 2).

Further information concerning measures to work around this problem during the time that it exists will be given shortly. See, in particular, WIPO’s “Electronic Filing (PCT‑SAFE)” homepage for further information in the near future at: www.wipo.int/pct-safe/en/index.html 

  Release notes [PDF] 

  What's New [PDF]

  Download: pct-safe-3.51.049-bin.exe (approximately 125 MB self-extracting executable setup file)

 Instructions:

1. Download the installation file pct-safe-3.51.049-bin.exe.
2. Export any form or address book data to a folder outside the C:\PCT-SAFE folder as a backup.
3. Ensure that PCT-SAFE is not running.
4. Run the pct-safe-3.51.049-bin.exe from the local drive, using the same installation destination directory (c:\pct-safe) as the previous installation (if any).
5. The previous installation will be overwritten.
6. During the installation, when prompted, accept the update of the demo and production databases.
7. During the installation, when prompted, 'overwrite all' existing fee schedules.
8. At the end of the installation restart the computer.