Rule 4

1. [Copy of Earlier Application Under Article 6(5)] Subject to paragraph 3, a Contracting Party may require that a copy of the earlier application referred to in Article 6(5) be filed with the Office within a time limit which shall be not less than 16 months from the filing date of that earlier application or, where there is more than one such earlier application, from the earliest filing date of those earlier applications.

2. [Certification] Subject to paragraph 3, a Contracting Party may require that the copy referred to in paragraph 1 and the date of filing of the earlier application be certified as correct by the Office with which the earlier application was filed.

3. [Availability of Earlier Application or of Previously Filed Application] No Contracting Party shall require the filing of a copy or a certified copy of the earlier application or a certification of the filing date, as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, and Rule 2(4), or a copy or a certified copy of the previously filed application as referred to in Rule 2(5)b), where the earlier application or the previously filed application was filed with its Office, or is available to that Office from a digital library which is accepted by the Office for that purpose.

4. [Translation] Where the earlier application is not in a language accepted by the Office and the validity of the priority claim is relevant to the determination of whether the invention concerned is patentable, the Contracting Party may require that a translation of the earlier application referred to in paragraph (1) be filed by the applicant, upon invitation by the Office or other competent authority, within a time limit which shall be not less than two months from the date of that invitation, and not less than the time limit, if any, applied under that paragraph.