Rule 16

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1. [Request for Recordation of a Change in Applicant or Owner]
a) Where there is a change in the person of the applicant or owner, a Contracting Party shall accept that a request for recordation of the change be made in a communication signed by the applicant or owner, or by the new applicant or new owner, and containing the following indications:
(i) an indication to the effect that a recordation of change in applicant or owner is requested;
(ii) the number of the application or patent concerned;
(iii) the name and address of the applicant or owner;
(iv) the name and address of the new applicant or new owner;
(v) the date of the change in the person of the applicant or owner;
(vi) the name of a State of which the new applicant or new owner is a national if he is the national of any State, the name of a State in which the new applicant or new owner has his domicile, if any, and the name of a State in which the new applicant or new owner has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, if any;
(vii) the basis for the change requested.
b) A Contracting Party may require that the request contain:
(i) a statement that the information contained in the request is true and correct;
(ii) information relating to any government interest by that Contracting Party.


2. [Documentation of the Basis of the Change in Applicant or Owner]
a) Where the change in applicant or owner results from a contract, a Contracting Party may require that the request include information relating to the registration of the contract, where registration is compulsory under the applicable law, and that it be accompanied, at the option of the requesting party, by one of the following:
(i) a copy of the contract, which copy may be required to be certified, at the option of the requesting party, by a notary public or any other competent public authority or, where permitted under the applicable law, by a representative having the right to practice before the Office, as being in conformity with the original contract;
(ii) an extract of the contract showing the change, which extract may be required to be certified, at the option of the requesting party, by a notary public or any other competent public authority or, where permitted under the applicable law, by a representative having the right to practice before the Office, as being a true extract of the contract;
(iii) an uncertified certificate of transfer of ownership by contract drawn up with the content as prescribed in the Model International Form in respect of a certificate of transfer and signed by both the applicant and the new applicant, or by both the owner and the new owner.
b) Where the change in applicant or owner results from a merger, or from the reorganization or division of a legal entity, a Contracting Party may require that the request be accompanied by a copy of a document, which document originates from a competent authority and evidences the merger, or the reorganization or division of the legal entity, and any attribution of rights involved, such as a copy of an extract from a register of commerce. A Contracting Party may also require that the copy be certified, at the option of the requesting party, by the authority which issued the document or by a notary public or any other competent public authority or, where permitted under the applicable law, by a representative having the right to practice before the Office, as being in conformity with the original document.
c) Where the change in applicant or owner does not result from a contract, a merger, or the reorganization or division of a legal entity, but results from another ground, for example, by operation of law or a court decision, a Contracting Party may require that the request be accompanied by a copy of a document evidencing the change. A Contracting Party may also require that the copy be certified as being in conformity with the original document, at the option of the requesting party, by the authority which issued the document or by a notary public or any other competent public authority or, where permitted under the applicable law, by a representative having the right to practice before the Office.
d) Where the change is in the person of one or more but not all of several co-applicants or co-owners, a Contracting Party may require that evidence of the consent to the change of any co-applicant or co-owner in respect of whom there is no change be provided to the Office.


3. [Translation] A Contracting Party may require a translation of any document filed under paragraph 2 that is not in a language accepted by the Office.


4. [Fees] A Contracting Party may require that a fee be paid in respect of a request referred to in paragraph 1.


5. [Single Request] A single request shall be sufficient even where the change relates to more than one application or patent of the same person, or to one or more applications and one or more patents of the same person, provided that the change in applicant or owner is the same for all applications and patents concerned, and the numbers of all applications and patents concerned are indicated in the request. A Contracting Party may require that, where that single request is filed on paper or as otherwise permitted by the Office, a separate copy thereof be filed for each application and patent to which it relates.


6. [Evidence] A Contracting Party may require that evidence, or further evidence in the case of paragraph 2, be filed with the Office only where that Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication contained in the request or in any document referred to in the present Rule, or the accuracy of any translation referred to in paragraph 3.


7. [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may require that formal requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs 1 to 6 be complied with in respect of the request referred to in this Rule, except where otherwise provided for by the Treaty or prescribed in these Regulations.


8. [Notification; Non-Compliance with Requirements] Rule 15(6) and (7) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, where one or more of the requirements applied under paragraphs (1) to (5) are not complied with, or where evidence, or further evidence, is required under paragraph 6.


9. [Exclusion with Respect to Inventorship] A Contracting Party may exclude the application of this Rule in respect of changes in inventor ship. What constitutes inventorship shall be determined under the applicable law.