New procedure of transferring PCT fees

From January 1, 2021, the National Center of Intellectual Property, as the Receiving Office under the PCT Treaty, joins the PCT Fee Transfer Service approved by the PCT Union Assembly. Under the procedure set out in Annex G to Administrative Instructions 21, the International Searching Authorities (ISA) have authorized the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization to collect, on their behalf, PCT fees payable for conducting a search of an international application.

According to the rules of the PCT Fee Transfer Service, an applicant or his/her representative can:

1. Continue to pay the PCT filing fee to the IB in US dollars and pay separately to the IB an international search fee in the currency currently being transferred directly to each ISA. In the description for a bank transfer, it is necessary to indicate the type of fee to be paid, and in the case of search fees, the ISA in favour of which the fee should be transferred.

2. Carry out one payment transaction to pay the PCT filing fee and the international search fee, either in US dollars or in euros, at the equivalent stated in the monthly PCT newsletter. In this case, in the description for the bank transfer, it is necessary to list the paid fees and the ISA, in favour of which the corresponding fee should be transferred.