WIPO PCT Working Group: the 13th Session Concluded

On October 9, 2020 the 13th session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Working Group on the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) concluded its work in Geneva. The event took place from 5 to 8 October and was held in a hybrid format for the first time. Mr. Daren Tang, who officially assumed his functions as WIPO Director General on October 1, opened the session.

The Working Group session comprised a meeting of the PCT Technical Cooperation Committee, which participants unanimously agreed to recommend to the PCT Union Assembly that the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) be appointed as an International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority under the PCT.

The following issues were discussed during the session:

• implementation of WIPO Standard ST.26 in the PCT system;
• strengthening PCT Safeguards in case of general disruption;
• review of the Supplementary International Search System;
• PCT minimum documentation: status report;
• coordination of patent examiner training;
• сoordination of technical assistance under the PCT.

One of the major achievements of the meeting was the approval of the proposed amendments to the Regulations under PCT concerning WIPO Standard ST.26. The Standard requires applicants to prepare lists of amino acid and nucleotide sequences using the XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format for inclusion in a national or international patent application. Amendments will be submitted to the Assembly for consideration at its next session in the first half of 2021. The Standard ST.26 will enter into force on 1 January 2022.

The Republic of Belarus was represented by Aleksandr Mazanik, Leading Specialist of the Industrial Property Examination Department of the National Center of Intellectual Property.

The PCT assists applicants in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions, helps patent offices with their patent granting decisions, and facilitates public access to a wealth of technical information relating to those inventions.

By filing one international patent application under the PCT, applicants can simultaneously seek protection for an invention in a large number of countries.

Based on the Rospatent materials.