11.1 Missing designation of inventor

Pursuant to Art. 81 and Art. 150(2) in combination with Art. 27 and Rule 51bis.1(a) PCT, where the applicant is not the inventor or not the sole inventor, the inventor must be designated within the 31-month period. A designation need not be filed if the data concerning the inventor were submitted in the international phase (A‑III, 5). If that is not the case, the applicant may still comply with this requirement in the European phase in accordance with Rule 163(1) and Rule 51bis.3 PCT.

Under Rule 163(1), the applicant is invited to file the designation of inventor within a period of two months set in the invitation. A failure to file it in time leads to the refusal of the application under Rule 163(6). The applicant will be notified accordingly.

The refusal may be remedied by a request for further processing. The request will be granted on condition that the missing data are filed and the fee for further processing is paid within two months of notification of the decision (E‑VIII, 2).

Where an inventor has been named in the PCT request, they cannot waive their right to be mentioned in the published application.