The International patents
The International patent, called PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) allows “reserving” the patent practically worldwide. It is normal, initially, that the International Office carries out a research for novelty and subsequently an International Preliminary Examination. After that, it will provide the applicant with an evaluation in merit to the granting possibility of the patent application. Once this phase is completed, usually 30 months after the priority date, the invention will be requested to enter the national or regional phases, requiring each country to examine and to grant the patent. From then on, the patent will split into many national patents and each will have its progress and destiny.
The board to which the international patent applications must be filed is the WIPO, the Worldwide Intellectual Property Organization, who’s Head Office is in Geneva.
[the application]
The application may be filed within 12 months from the filing in Italy of a national patent application or even immediately, but in this case precautions must be taken to avoid any penalty. The cost of this procedure varies according to the selected number of countries and it includes the preparation of the application, the translations, the filing and search fee. It is important to accurately select the countries where the protection is sought, evaluating which are the countries where the invention can be produced or sold, and also excluding those countries where a case of infringement could be too difficult and expensive. This decision varies in view of the type of invention.
[The Countries]
The 127 countries, as at the 3rd of April 2005, are as follows:
Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Australia , Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia , Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Dominica , Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland , France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania , Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger , Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines , Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova , Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal , Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka , Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America , Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
[the costs]
The procedure provided by the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is rather complicated and all the contacts with the International Patent Office must be in English, French or German. Therefore it is not recommended to proceed alone in order to obtain this patent, but it is almost essential to apply to an expert.
On this site an on-line service is available for the costs evaluation, it is totally free of charge and it allows having an approximate estimate of the expense necessary for the filing.