Data Exchange
WIPO has set up facilities to increase electronic exchange of PCT data and documents between Industrial Property Offices and WIPO. These facilities are available for PCT Member States only. Through the PCT Electronic Data Interchange system, Offices and WIPO can exchange documents over the Internet in a fully automated manner :
- From offices to the IB: offices can send by network the electronic documents required by the PCT (record copies, priority documents, international search reports, international preliminary examination reports, international preliminary reports on patentability and national phase information).
- From IB to offices: bulk COR orders in XML can be submitted to the IB by network and the resulting documents downloaded using the PCT-EDI service (package format specification [DOC] [PDF]).
- From IB to offices: IB forms can be delivered to offices using the PCT-EDI service (package format specification [DOC] [PDF]).
- From IB to SISA offices: Documents and IB forms for supplementary search can be delivered to offices using the PCT-EDI service according to the following specification [DOC] [PDF]).
An important goal in the development of this service is the provision of low or no cost software for participating Offices, without sacrificing quality, security or efficiency. The International Bureau has elected to support the Secure Shell suite of protocols and services, as it is widely supported in both free and commercial versions.
