(1) A filing date is to be given as long as the papers submitted include an express or implied indication that the documents being filed are intended to be a patent application, there is an indication allowing the identity of the applicant to be established or allowing the applicant to be contacted and there is text which on its face appears to be a description of an invention. A country may, however, require that the first and second of these requirements is in one of its national languages. The description will be able to be filed in any language, although countries may require a translation later.

(2) Any person shall be entitled to pay maintenance fees and it will not be necessary to use an agent in the country for this purpose.

(3) No country will be able to impose requirements as to the form or content of an application different from or additional to those of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

(4) As from June 2, 2005, countries may be able to require that all communications with them, other than those required to establish a filing date or meet a time limit may be in a form which it prescribes. Communications required for one of these purposes will have to continue to be accepted on paper. However, an office will be able to require that all other communications are submitted, for example, in electronic form after this date. There is, however, no compulsion on any country to give up requiring paper communications if it so wishes.

(5) Failure to comply with formal requirements will by itself not normally be permitted to be used as a ground of invalidity or revocation of a granted patent unless the failure in compliance was "the result of a fraudulent intention".

(6) Countries must provide for the possibility of reinstatement of rights in a patent or application which an applicant or owner has lost by failure to meet a time limit if a request for reinstatement of rights is properly made and the Patent Office in question determines that the failure to comply with the time limit in question "occurred in spite of due care required by the circumstances having been taken". If they wish countries may adopt a lower standard and permit reinstatement in cases where failure to meet the date in question was "unintentional".

(7) Countries must provide that where a term for filing an application claiming Convention priority has been missed, applicants must be given a period of at least two months after the expiration of the period within which priority should have been claimed to seek restoration of the right to priority on the ground that the failure to file the application in time "occurred in spite of due care required by the circumstances having been taken". If they wish countries may adopt a lower standard and permit restoration of the priority claim in cases where failure to meet the date in question was "unintentional".

(8) Model forms are to be established which all countries will be required to accept.