If you´ve got a great invention, the last thing you want is for someone to patent it first!
Inventing and innovation is the first step to cornering the market in a given industry. The first person to patent an idea or invention wins. Every inventor is probably aware of the infamous patent war between Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Grey. Both men had an invention for transmitting speech: Bell beat Grey to the patent punch and as a result, the world knows just one telephone inventor.
Today we live in a global market. Inventors have worldwide competition in the race to come up with “the next thing.” Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications are a reasonably affordable way to obtain patent protection throughout the world for 30 months. This allows you to increase the value of your invention while maintaining the ability to file in almost all countries until the expiration of the 30 month period.
Note that while filing your PCT patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office (USPTO) gives you exclusive, international rights to your invention, it does not protect you in any specific country. You must file a national application in each country that you seek patent protection, even the United States, within the 30 month period. The problem for all but the most wealthy inventors and companies is that foreign filing of a patent application can be a very expensive and complex process. Each foreign country has its own patent laws, rules, and regulations, as well as significant fees for filing and maintaining patents. However, ignoring the world market in a global economy could result in a significant lost opportunity for your invention and could significantly diminish the value of your invention and its broader intellectual property value.
After 30 months, the PCT patent application must be filed in any country such as the U.S., China, Japan or all the European countries with a single filing in the European Patent Office in which you want patent protection. Note that the PCT patent application does not convert to an “international patent,” because there is no multinational patent at this time.
Even after any U.S. patent filing, you have 1 year to file internationally, such as with a PCT application. If you pass the 1 year filing deadline, you will forever lose all international patent rights on your invention. Therefore, it is incumbent on you to make the right decision about foreign filing preferably based on a number of business factors.
Patent Attorney tips for PCT applications:
There are a few things you should consider before filing a PCT patent application. Consulting with a qualified and experienced patent attorney is a good first step if you aren´t sure what to do next. Here are a few general questions to consider:
- Do you plan to license your invention to a multinational firm? If so, preserving your international filing rights with a PCT application could be critical to their interest in investing in, making, or using your product or service. Without patent protection, they may not be able to secure adequate profits to make your invention worthwhile for them to develop.
- Does your company plan to sell internationally products or services using your invention? If so, without foreign patent protection you may not be able to be competitive.
- What markets do you expect would present a significant customer base for your product/service now and in the future?
- Do you currently receive any foreign business, inquiries, or interest?
If your answer is yes to any one such factor, then it is prudent to secure the right to file foreign patents all around the world, even if you later choose not to continue the process of obtaining patent protection. This is exactly what the PCT patent application enables you to do, i.e., defer the decision of if or where to file internationally at a relatively low cost, especially when compared to the extremely high cost of filing separately in each foreign country. The PCT patent application gives you time to determine which foreign markets turn out to be the most valuable and worthwhile to apply for patent protection in.
By NNT Featured Publications
