PCT international patent application process can be divided into the following six steps:
1. Submit application:
In one language, the applicant submits an international application that meets the requirements of PCT form to the national or regional patent office or WIPO, and pays a set of fees.
2. International search:
ISA (one of the major patent offices in the world) searches published patent documents and technical documents ("existing technology") that can affect the patentability of inventions, and puts forward written opinions on the patentability of inventions.
3. International announcement:
The contents of the international application will be made public as soon as possible after the earliest application date 18 months expires.
4. Supplementary international search (optional):
At the request of the applicant, the second international retrieval unit searches the public documents that the first international retrieval unit, which mainly searches, failed to retrieve due to the diversity of existing technologies in the fields of language and technology.
Pct international patent application steps
5. International preliminary examination (optional):
At the request of the applicant, another patent analysis is conducted by an international retrieval unit, usually for the revised application.
6. National stage:
After the PCT procedure is completed, usually 30 months after the earliest filing date of the first application filed by the priority applicant, the applicant begins to seek patent authorization directly from the patent office of the country (or region) wishing to obtain a patent.
The above are the six steps of PCT international patent application, among which supplementary international retrieval and international preliminary examination are optional, and the applicant can decide according to the actual situation of his own patent.