The International Patent System. epct Portal. PCT Workshop, March, Peter Waring PCT International Cooperation Division

Transcription

1 The International Patent System epct Portal PCT Workshop, March, 2018 Peter Waring PCT International Cooperation Division

2 epct News User Interface updated for 2018 available: epct File view epct Filing epct Document routing epct-filing now available to 55 receiving Offices (63 total PCT e-filing ROs) (latest additions March 1, 2018 HR, RS)

3 PCT Filing

4 PCT timeliness (2016)

5 PCT timeliness

6 PCT timeliness (2016)

7 Agenda News epct Overview The big picture Who uses epct Why use epct How to get access epct Demonstration

8 epct Overview Getting started Viewing Applications eownership of PCT applications ehandshakes and sharing of access rights Viewing data and documents Filing applications Submitting post-filing documents Creating an account

9 What is epct? Online portal that provides PCT services for both applicants and Offices Available since May 2011 (10 languages since May 2015) Provides secure and direct interaction with PCT applications maintained by the International Bureau epct-filing - Web-based filing of PCT applications (since October 2013) epct-filing to RO/IN since November 14, 2014 Applicants can conduct many PCT transactions electronically using epct

10 epct big picture IB/ISA Officer View Process Transmit RO Officer Process New IA View PCT International Applications Accessed in Published IAs for National Phase entry Create / File Action View Applicant / Agent epct Portal Offices have varied requirements and configurations Patentscope

11 epct portal usage epct Applicant Portal Secure access to PCT files, including before publication Controlled access to PCT services and functions (view file, bibliographic data, upload, guided actions, timeline) Notifications Access to epct Filing Post filing documents epct Office Portal Access to files by Offices (RO/ISA/IPEA/DO) Office processing / actions / forms / report drafting Notifications

12 Who uses epct? 20,000+ public users worldwide 55 receiving Offices have enabled epct Filing 42 hosted at IB (including RO/IN) 9 with their own server 4 in download mode 64 Offices (RO/ISA/IPEA) use epct routing Offices have instant access to applicant transactions RO/IN ISA/IN IPEA/IN receive routed documents

13 Why use epct? Secure access to applications filed by you or filed by partners / branches in other countries / regions view and check file documents / PCT publication view and check biblio data / timeline / actions File applications E-Filing discount 200 CHF DocX additional discount +100 CHF (=300CHF) Secure upload of post filing documents To the RO / IB /ISAs (AT AU CN EP IN SE US)

14 Why use epct? Better quality applications request form and contents validation less scanned documents in the system Reduced defects / replacement sheets more likely application is correct better image quality access to colour notifications / reminders Faxing documents is unreliable / is unsecure secure transmission in epct direct to IB or other Offices

15 Accessing the epct Applicant Portal epct Portal: Create a WIPO User Account using the WIPO Accounts service: Strong authentication using both a WIPO User Account (username + password) and a secondary authentication method Digital certificate One-Time Password via SMS, using a mobile phone One-Time Password (OTP) using an Authenticator App

16 Types of Access Rights eowner Complete control over all aspects of the PCT application eeditor Can do everything except assign access rights eviewer Look but don t Touch Full history of all access rights modifications is available Assignment of access rights for multiple applications Access rights automatically assigned to default list of ehandshake users

17 Workbench List of all PCT applications to which you have access (eowner, eeditor, eviewer) The Workbench contains a number of columns IA Number IA Status File Ref [...] Various filter options available Clicking to open PCT applications will open up a detailed File View

18 File View Access to the PCT file maintained by the International Bureau (documents plus up-to-date bibliographic data) Front-page preview My Comments (visible only to the current epct user) Warning (viewable to all users who have access rights) Information about the target date for international publication Indications about the public availability of each document type Direct link to the PCT application in PATENTSCOPE (as of the publication date)

19 Bibliographic Data Up-to-date bibliographic data for the PCT application being viewed Preview of bibliographic data in publication front page layout Download of bibliographic data in PDF format Where the language of filing of an international application is Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Russian, bibliographic data is now available in those languages in addition to the English transliteration

20 Time line Summary of key dates help on what to do when alerts for most of these time limits can be set up in notification preferences

21 epct-filing Web-based filing of PCT applications filed in any language Real-time validation of data against the electronic processing system of the International Bureau Available to all PCT applicants For filings with RO/IB and many other receiving Offices Request form can be prepared in all PCT languages (except for Arabic which will be added in the future) Specification in PDF format or XML/DOCX Automatic eownership AVAILABLE TO RO/IN NOW

22 epct-filing - why International filing fee discount for using electronic filing Additional discount for filing using DOCX (English only) (must be PDF for Slovenian language) Automatic post filing access to application Better processing better quality PCT publication AVAILABLE TO RO/IN NOW

23 Actions (1) Actions can only be submitted to the International Bureau (currently) Users benefit from pre-filled bibliographic data and automated validation to avoid errors

24 Upload / Route Documents Documents (PDF) can be uploaded for all PCT applications that are available in the electronic processing system of the International Bureau Simple, secure alternative to sending documents by mail or fax Types of document selectable for upload depend on the recipient selected or RO/ISA/IPEA Context Sensitive Choice etc

25 Create an account

26 Strong Authentication We recommend that you set up at least two strong authentication methods for your WIPO account. Sign in to epct using your Username + Password and click on the My Account link on the 'Sign-in with strong authentication' screen (see below) in order to access your account profile and set up your authentication APP FOR ONE-TIME PASSWORD TEXT MESSAGE (SMS) WITH ONE-TIME PASSWORD DIGITAL CERTIFICATE

27 Upcoming changes epct is updated 2-3 times each year The next release is in April Improvements of existing features Growing Office-Office connections esearchcopy epct Routing of SFDs Integrated RO/ISA processing Reduction in the usage of Fax transmission

28 epct-filing DAS - enabled The Indian Patent Office commenced operation with effect from 31 January 2018 as both a depositing and an accessing Office of DAS. If requested by the applicant, as a depositing Office, it will deposit certified copies of patent and industrial design applications as priority documents in DAS, including PCT applications filed at the Office on or after 31 January As an accessing Office, it will recognize priority documents available to it through DAS for the purposes of any application for which the time limit for furnishing the priority document has not expired by 31 January 2018.

29 Need help with epct (1) Webinars on epct ml epct user guide s_user_guide.pdf

30 Need help with epct (2) Use the CONTACT US link in the epct header PCT eservices FAQs Tel: Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm Geneva time Database of help info On-line Chat (during working hours) available via the FAQ answers