How to apply for a foreign patent, what should I pay attention to?

According to the provisions of China's patent law, if the patent application is approved by the patent administration department, the patent applicant has the patent right, and the protection of the patent is strictly limited to China. If you want to get protection abroad, how to apply for a foreign patent and what should you pay attention to? The following is a small series to answer the relevant knowledge for readers. How to apply for a foreign patent, what should I pay attention to? 1. How to apply for a foreign patent directly through the Paris Convention and the benefits that the applicant can obtain. An important principle of the Paris Convention is the priority principle, that is, the applicant applies for an invention-creation for the first time in any member country of the Convention within a certain period (that is, the priority period: 6 months for design and 12 months for invention or utility model), and the same applicant can apply for the same invention-creation in other member countries (later). These later applications are considered to have been submitted on the same day as the first application. The establishment of the priority principle has brought great convenience to the applicant. The applicant may have 6 months or 12 months to decide whether to apply for a foreign patent after the application is filed by a member state. Once the applicant decides to apply for a foreign patent, he may file an application within the above-mentioned time limit and claim priority. Second, what matters should be paid attention to when applying for a foreign patent 1. According to Article 20 of China's Patent Law, if an applicant applies for a foreign patent, he shall first file a patent application with the China Patent Office, and then directly apply for a foreign patent. 2. An applicant who applies for a foreign patent within the priority period may enjoy the priority of the original patent application in China. If the original China patent application has exceeded the priority period but has not been made public, you can also apply for a foreign patent before it is made public, but you will no longer enjoy priority. 3. If the applicant entrusts a patent agency to apply for a foreign patent, it is best to go through the entrustment formalities two months before the expiration of the priority period, so as to avoid increasing the application fee due to time constraints. 3. What are the ways to apply for foreign patents? There are two ways to apply for a patent in a foreign country: applying for a foreign patent directly through the Paris Convention (1) and the benefits that the applicant can get. An important principle of the Paris Convention is the priority principle, that is, after an applicant applies for an invention for the first time in any member country of the Convention (the earlier application), the same applicant can apply for the same invention-creation in other member countries (the later application) within a certain period (that is, the priority period: 6 months for design and 12 months for invention or utility model). These later applications are considered to have been submitted on the same day as the first application. The establishment of the priority principle has brought great convenience to the applicant. The applicant may have 6 months or 12 months to decide whether to apply for a foreign patent after the application is filed by a member state. Once a patent applicant decides to apply for a foreign patent, he may file an application within the above-mentioned time limit and claim priority. (2) Precautions 1. According to Article 20 of China's Patent Law, if an applicant applies for a foreign patent, he shall first file a patent application with the China Patent Office, and then he can directly apply for a foreign patent. 2. An applicant who applies for a foreign patent within the priority period may enjoy the priority of the original patent application in China. If the original China patent application has exceeded the priority period but has not been made public, you can also apply for a foreign patent before it is made public, but you will no longer enjoy priority. 3. If the applicant entrusts a patent agency to apply for a foreign patent, it is best to go through the entrustment formalities two months before the expiration of the priority period, so as to avoid increasing the application fee due to time constraints. The benefits of applying for a foreign patent through the PCT channel (1) can be obtained by the applicant 1. Applicants can apply at the latest. Since PCT applications can be submitted in Chinese, applicants can file applications at the last moment of the priority period. 2. The applicant can get the search report about 9 months from the date of filing or about 16 months from the priority date. The applicant can also obtain the search report within 28 months from the date of application or the priority date. The applicant may also obtain the international preliminary examination report within 28 months from the date of application or the priority date (if the applicant requests the international preliminary examination within the prescribed time limit). The applicant can judge the patentability (novelty, creativity and practicality) of the invention according to the existing technical data mentioned in the above two reports, and can make appropriate amendments to the claim (if necessary), and then decide whether to enter the national procedure. 3. Compared with the way of applying for foreign patents directly through the Paris Convention, PCT application can delay the entry into the national phase by 8 months or 18 months, which is undoubtedly beneficial to those applicants who are not ready. In addition, the payment of the national stage fee was delayed by 8 months or 18 months. (2) Precautions 1. According to Article 20 of China's Patent Law, if an applicant applies for a foreign patent, he shall first file a patent application with the China Patent Office, and then apply for a foreign patent. 2. Applicants can apply for Chinese and foreign patents through PCT. According to the detailed rules for the implementation of the Patent Law of China, if an applicant files a PCT international application for the first time, the designated country of the application shall include China. 3. If the applicant intends to entrust our company to apply for PCT patent, it is best to go through the entrustment formalities two months before the expiration of the priority period, so as to avoid increasing the application fee due to time constraints.