The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) has been experiencing delays in receiving all the necessary documentation from WIPO related to PCT applications entering into the National Phase in Mexico. Thus, in an effort to expedite prosecution of the corresponding Mexican application, IMPI recommended to file as many PCT-related documents as possible, such as the request form, search report, demand, preliminary examination report, etc.
Therefore, and considering that all documents in a foreign language to be filed with a Mexican Authority must be translated into Spanish, the filing of the afore-mentioned documents has thus increased the translation costs for filing PCT applications in Mexico. According to the PCT and its Regulations, the only document required for entering into the National Phase is the translation of the published International Application, i.e. specification, claims (if amended, as amended only), any text matter of drawings and abstract.
Despite the fact that no official communication has been issued by IMPI confirming the above filing requirements, after discussing this issue with the Chief Patent Examiner it is now advisable to file only the translation of the international application and of the publication sheet, at the most. The other PCT-related documents and their translations should be filed only when expedited prosecution is sought. Needless to say, this new approach may reduce costs for filing National Phase PCT applications in Mexico.
This article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and should NOT be treated as legal advice. Specific legal advice should be sought by you about your particular case and special circumstances.
ARTICLE
24 July 1998
Overcoming Delays With PCT Applications
OLIVARES
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