!011294 China joins the PCT

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office received notification from
the World Intellectual Property Organization that China deposited its
instrument of accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on October 1,
1993.  China will become the 61st Contracting State of the PCT on January 1,
1994.  Consequently, nationals and residents of China are entitled to file
international applications on and after January 1, 1994, and from the same
date it is possible to file International applications designating and
electing China.

    In connection with China's accession, the Chinese Patent Office has
been appointed as an international Searching Authority and International
Preliminary Examining Authority.  Accordingly, the Chinese Patent Office
will establish international search and preliminary examinations reports for
international applications filed by Chinese residents or nationals with the
Chinese Patent Office as the receiving Office. Furthermore, upon China's
accession the Chinese language becomes a filing and publication language
under the PCT.  The two-letter country code for China is "CN".



Greg Aharonian
Internet Patent News Service