America-Israel Patent Law Blog

The previous post here discussed the
absurd situation that prevails at the ILPTO, under which one can pay ILPTO fees
online but must still send the ILPTO a physical copy of the receipt of
payment.  Hitherto the situation regarding
PCT fees for applications filed at the RO/IL was no less absurd, as until now
these could only be paid in person at the Postal Bank, and a copy of the paper
receipt then had to be sent to the RO/IL. 
 

Today the ILPTO provided some
encouraging news for filers who file at the RO/IL, as it announced via its
email list (no online notice so far) that beginning July 28, it will be
possible to pay PCT fees online for the RO/IL or ISA/IL, as well for the IB, ISA/US
and ISA/EP, via the ILPTO’s online payment system.  Moreover, the fees for the RO/IL or ISA/IL
will be recorded directly in the ILPTO’s PCT department – no need to provide paper
copies of the receipts.  (For those who
are nostalgic for the old system, it will still be possible to in person at the
Postal Band.)

While this is a most welcome
development, there’s still room for improvement.  On the PCT side, many practitioners still
prefer to file at the IB or the USPTO, as one can see what has been filed
almost immediately through ePCT or PAIR, a feature that the IL/RO does not yet
provide.  And the fact that the ILPTO is
capable of noting online payments as soon as they are made in PCT international
phase applications only reinforces the question, why is it still necessary to
file paper receipts confirming online payment of fees in non-PCT cases?