1832 License Request for Foreign Filing Under the PCT [R-07.2022]
A license for foreign filing is not required to file an international application in the United States Receiving Office but may be required before the applicant or the U.S. Receiving Office can forward a copy of the international application to a foreign patent office, the International Bureau or other foreign authority (35 U.S.C. 368, 37 CFR 5.1 and 5.11). A foreign filing license to permit transmittal to a foreign office or international authority is not required if: (1) the invention was not made in the United States; or (2) a U.S. national application on the invention was filed at least six months prior to the filing of the international application, the U.S. national application is not subject to a secrecy order under 37 CFR 5.2, and the international application does not contain modifications, amendments, or supplements changing the general nature of the invention in a manner that would require any corresponding United States application to be or have been available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181. See37 CFR 5.11 and 5.15. In all other instances (direct foreign filings outside the PCT or filings in a foreign receiving Office), the applicant should petition for a license for foreign filing (37 CFR 5.12) and if appropriate, identify any additional subject matter in the international application which was not in the earlier U.S. national application (37 CFR 5.14(c)).
If no petition or request for a foreign filing license is included in the international application, and it is clear that a license is required because of the designation of foreign countries and the time at which the Record Copy must be transmitted, it is current Office practice to construe the filing of such an international application to include a request for a foreign filing license. If the license can be granted, it will be issued without further correspondence. If no license can be issued, or further information is required, applicant will be contacted. The automatic request for a foreign filing license does not apply to the filing of a foreign application outside the PCT.
A foreign filing license also authorizes the export of technical data abroad for purposes related to the preparation, filing or possible filing, and prosecution of a foreign application. See 37 CFR 5.11(b). Effective September 30, 2020, 37 CFR 5.11 was amended to expand the scope of a foreign filing license to include the export of technical data abroad for purposes relating to the use of a World Intellectual Property Organization online service (ePCT) for preparing an international application for filing with the United States Receiving Office without separately complying with the regulations contained in 22 CFR parts 120 through 130 (International Traffic in Arms Regulations of the Department of State), 15 CFR parts 730 through 774 (Export Administration Regulations of the Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce), and 10 CFR part 810 (Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities Regulations of the Department of Energy). Applicants using WIPO’s ePCT system to prepare an international application for filing with the United States Receiving Office without a foreign filing license are cautioned against exporting technical data into ePCT without separately complying with the aforementioned regulations. See MPEP §§ 140 and 1821.
EFFECT OF SECRECY ORDERIf a secrecy order is applied to an international application, the application will not be forwarded to the International Bureau as long as the secrecy order remains in effect (PCT Article 27(8) and 35 U.S.C. 368). If the secrecy order remains in effect, the international application will be declared withdrawn (abandoned) because the Record Copy of the international application was not received in time by the International Bureau (37 CFR 5.3(d), PCT Article 12(3), and PCT Rule 22.3). It is, however, possible to prevent abandonment as to the United States of America if it has been designated, by fulfilling the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 371(c).
