PCT Yearly Review - WIPO

Section B
performance of the pct system
B.1.2 Electronic filing and processing
The main developments in 2012 affecting the processing
of PCT applications by the IB were the following.
ePCT System
In 2012, significant progress was made with respect to
the development of the ePCT system. Applicant functionality
was extended beyond simple document viewing
and upload to enable applicants to interact online with
their PCT applications and participate to a certain extent
in their processing. The introduction of ePCT “actions”
enables applicants to enter bibliographic data into the IB’s
database that can be reused by the IB for processing.
For example, the data provided as part of the action to
request changes under rule 92bis are used directly by
the IB without the need to transcribe them, thus eliminating
the risk of introducing transcription errors. Moreover,
the applicable time limit for each action is monitored and
validated by the system. For more information regarding
the ePCT system, please refer to subsection C.2.
These developments resulted in a significant improvement
in the timeliness in issuing Form PCT/IB/301 for
Japanese applications during the last months of 2012.
This is a particularly welcome development, because
performance in respect of this indicator has traditionally
been less than optimal for Japanese applications, in
view of the relatively low number of employees with the
required language skills.
In addition, it should be noted that, at least until the end
of 2012, XML processing presented new complications in
other areas such as the processing of amended claims;
however, it is hoped that these will gradually disappear
as the quality of the XML data and processes improves.
In the years to come, it is expected that the above approach
will be applied to an ever-increasing number of
applications and documents. However, the extent to
which this is possible will ultimately depend on the format
in which these data are received by the IB. In 2012, only
28% of all applications were filed in XML format.
Automation of XML applications
In 2012, systems and procedures were introduced that
exploit more effectively the XML format in which certain
applications and related documents are filed. This allowed
for the automation of a significant part of the processing
of these applications, namely the formalities examination
relating to Form PCT/IB/301 (acknowledgement
of receipt of the application by the IB). This represents
approximately 30% of all the work required to process
an application.
In 2012, these new procedures were mostly applied to
Japanese applications, because they contain the highest
proportion of XML filings. As a consequence, the formalities
examination and the related issuance of Form PCT/
IB/301 for about 90% of the Japanese XML applications
no longer require any human intervention (which is now
only needed in the remaining 10% of complex cases).
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