2. Request for examination of a different set of claims 

The filing of different sets of claims for different elected States or of different (main and auxiliary) requests based on different sets of claims is not accepted since examining such claims is both time-consuming and against the intention of the PCT. Auxiliary requests are not provided for under the PCT because Rule 66.1(c) provides that, where Art. 19 amendments are made, the international preliminary examination is based on these amendments, unless they are superseded or reversed by a later amendment under Art. 34, and furthermore because Rule 70.16(a) provides for the annexing of the latest set of application documents to the IPER. The simultaneous examination of several co-pending requests is not compatible with the sequential consideration of single requests provided for in the above-mentioned Rules.

If it is clear which request is the preferred (e.g. the main request), the WO‑IPEA/IPER is established on that request; a remark is added in the WO‑IPEA/IPER that the treatment of different requests (or main and auxiliary requests) is not provided for under the PCT.

If it is not clear which request is preferred (different requests with no preferred order), the applicant is asked, preferably by telephone, to furnish one set only or to state which set/request should be used for the examination.

If the applicant does not reply and/or insists on a plurality of sets, the WO‑IPEA/IPER is drawn up on the first set, with a remark on the separate sheet under Section I.