§ 364. — International stage: Procedure.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 35USC364]
TITLE 35--PATENTS
PART IV--PATENT COOPERATION TREATY
CHAPTER 36--INTERNATIONAL STAGE
Sec. 364. International stage: Procedure
(a) International applications shall be processed by the Patent and
Trademark Office when acting as a Receiving Office, International
Searching Authority, or International Preliminary Examining Authority,
in accordance with the applicable provisions of the treaty, the
Regulations, and this title.
(b) An applicant's failure to act within prescribed time limits in
connection with requirements pertaining to a pending international
application may be excused upon a showing satisfactory to the Director
of unavoidable delay, to the extent not precluded by the treaty and the
Regulations, and provided the conditions imposed by the treaty and the
Regulations regarding the excuse of such failure to act are complied
with.
(Added Pub. L. 94-131, Sec. 1, Nov. 14, 1975, 89 Stat. 686; amended Pub.
L. 98-622, title IV, Sec. 403(a), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3392; Pub. L.
99-616, Sec. 5, Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3485; Pub. L. 106-113, div. B,
Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4732(a)(10)(A)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113
Stat. 1536, 1501A-582; Pub. L. 107-273, div. C, title III,
Sec. 13206(b)(1)(B), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1906.)
Amendments
2002--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107-273 made technical correction to
directory language of Pub. L. 106-113. See 1999 Amendment note below.
1999--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 106-113, as amended by Pub. L. 107-273,
substituted ``Director'' for ``Commissioner''.
1986--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-616 substituted a comma for ``or''
before ``International Searching Authority'' and ``International
Preliminary Examining Authority'' for ``both''.
1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-622 substituted ``Patent and Trademark
Office'' for ``Patent Office''.
Effective Date of 1999 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 106-113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999,
see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4731] of Pub. L. 106-113, set out
as a note under section 1 of this title.
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 99-616 effective July 1, 1987, and applicable
to all international applications pending before or after that date, see
section 9 of Pub. L. 99-616, set out as a note under section 351 of this
title.
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 98-622 effective Nov. 8, 1984, see section
406(a) of Pub. L. 98-622, set out as a note under section 351 of this
title.
