What happens to the filing date of an international application submitted to a non-competent receiving Office?

When an international application is submitted to a non-competent receiving Office, the filing date can be retained if the applicant meets certain criteria outlined in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Specifically, for a filing date to be recognized, the application must satisfy certain formal requirements. These include the submission of a request form, payment of required fees, and other elements specified in the PCT regulations.

If the application is filed in a receiving Office that is not competent to process it, the applicant may still preserve the filing date by resubmitting the application to a competent receiving Office within a specified timeframe, typically 14 months from the original filing date. By demonstrating compliance with these requirements, the applicant can ensure that the original filing date stays effective, allowing them to benefit from the priority provided by that date even when the submission initially occurred in an incorrect jurisdiction.

In this context, the other choices do not align with the PCT rules. The loss of the filing date or the requirement to resubmit to the USPTO directly without specific allowable criteria would not be applicable under the provisions of the PCT if the applicant takes appropriate follow-up actions. The language of the application itself is not typically a criterion for retaining the filing date in this situation.