Standard ST.21

Priority documents which result from a declaration under Article 4.D.3 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property give rise to a considerable volume of paper transmitted from one industrial property office to another. The aim of this Recommendation is to contribute to a reduction of this volume without affecting the contents of the priority document.

The Recommendation recognizes that different industrial property offices have differing equipment, and differing technical, economic and legal considerations. It also recognizes that the majority of offices do not intend to introduce a paper‑less system in the near future.

Accordingly, two alternative solutions are recommended, the first solution envisages the presentation of a reduced text of a priority document on the classical paper support, the second on a microfiche. In both solutions, a significant reduction of the volume of priority documents is obtained. Industrial property offices should choose the most appropriate solution for the production of priority documents depending upon which could be received by the receiving office.

In this Recommendation, the expression “priority documents” includes all documents required by an industrial property office when a declaration of priority under the Paris Convention has been made in connection with an application filed with that office, including a copy of the originally filed application, its translation and the accompanying authenticating documents.

The following WIPO Standards are referred to in this Recommendation:

• WIPO Standard ST.3:
  Recommended Standard Code for the Representation of Countries, and Other Entities and International Organizations Issuing or Registering Industrial Property Titles

• WIPO Standard ST.7/E:
  Recommended Standard for Photo‑optically Generated Microfiches.

Priority documents prepared on paper should be presented according to either paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) or both paragraphs (a) and (b), below:

(a) with a reduction in size of the text, so that two pages of the text of the original document should be reproduced on one page by rotation through 90° and placed side by side from left to right;

(b) the priority document should be printed recto‑verso.

The text should not be reduced in size if this would make its reading difficult or impossible.

The page numbering of the original documents should be retained. Accordingly, to avoid confusion, the pages containing the reduced text should not be numbered.

Paragraphs 6 to 8, above, do not apply to certificates of authenticity forming part of priority documents. The format of such certificates should not be changed.

Microfiches used should follow WIPO Standard ST.7/E except where the present Recommendation gives specific detail.

Each microfiche should only contain the images of one priority document.

The heading area should be used to identify the priority document in plain language and should include the following minimum data:

(a) two letter code according to WIPO Standard ST.3 of the office of first filing;

(b) priority application number;

(c) trailer microfiche identification number, if appropriate.

In addition, the priority filing data and the name of the application should be given in the heading area wherever possible.

The microfiche should carry the certificate of authenticity, as customarily accompanying priority application documents, stating that the next recorded conforms to the originally filed application.

In the case where the microfiche carries a translation of the originally filed application, the certificate should also state that the translation conforms to the originally filed application.

The certificate should be an original document, i.e., it should not be a copy reproduced on paper or on the microfiche itself.

The certificate should take the form of either:

(a) a sheet of paper permanently attached to the microfiche in such a way that it cannot be separated therefrom, or

(b) a paper label fixed directly upon the microfiche.

In the case where the certificate is a sheet of paper (see the example given in Appendix 1 of this Recommendation), the sheet should be attached to the microfiche with the aid of a seal. The attachment should not make it impossible to read the microfiche in a viewer: e.g., a ribbon could be threaded through a hole pierced in the microfiche situated in the extreme right‑hand area of the heading area with the two ends of the ribbon fixed to the paper with a seal.

If the certificate appears on a paper label, this label should be stuck in the bottom one third right hand half of the microfiche and each trailer microfiche. The seal should also be impressed on the lower part of the microfiche so as to partially cover the label but not obscure the record (see the example given in Appendix 2, attached).

The microfiche provided with the paper label certificate should preferably carry, in its first frame, a record of the basic bibliographic data related to the priority application, which data are normally given in the filing certificate.

To facilitate filing the microfiche in files, it is recommended to insert it in an envelope provided on the sheet of paper of an appropriate size. If the certificate appears on such a sheet of paper, this sheet could be used for such a purpose.

In order to facilitate the interchange of priority documents among industrial property offices, Appendix 3 to the present recommendation gives a list of the industrial property offices indicating for each office:

(a) the form in which the office is prepared to produce, or to receive, priority documents according to this recommendation either according to the paper form or the microfiche form;

(b) in the case of paper form, information as to which solution is acceptable (i.e., according to paragraph 6, subparagraph (a), paragraph 6, subparagraph (b), or paragraphs 6(a) and (b));

(c) in the case of the microfiche alternative, the form of the certificate of authenticity acceptable to the office (i.e., paragraph 16);

(d) further information concerning the presentation of priority documents, if specified by the office.

The Appendix 3, “Table of offices able to produce or to receive priority documents according to either the ‘paper’ or the ‘microfiche’ solution”, has been moved to the Archives.