Appendix E: ST.36 Compatibility Form

WIPO Standard ST.36, Recommendation for the Processing of Patent Information Using XML (Extensible Markup Language), was first promulgated in 2001. Since then, a number of Offices have adopted it extensively in their operations. Of those Offices, there are some that wish to achieve a degree of compatibility between WIPO Standards ST.36 and ST.86. The preferred method for doing so is specified in this Appendix.

Offices implementing WIPO Standard ST.86, that have not yet adopted WIPO Standard ST.36, are advised to NOT use the methods in this Appendix. Instead, they should use WIPO Standard ST.86 as described in the main body of this standard. In particular, name and address content models in WIPO Standard ST.86, based as they are on widely-used industry standards, are preferred over the corresponding models in WIPO Standard ST.36.

With regard to ST.36 Content Models and ST.36 XML Schema Fragments, it is recommended that, mutatis mutandis, Offices use the provisions referred to in Annex E to WIPO Standard ST.66.

[End of Appendix E to the Standard]