A PCT patent application goes through the international stage and the national stage. The international application must first be reviewed by the international phase procedure, and then enter the national phase procedure for review. The filing of the application, international search and international preliminary examination are completed in the international stage, and the work of whether to grant patent rights is completed in the national stage by the designated national offices.
International Stage
The first stage of PCT international patent application is the international stage. It includes mandatory procedures such as acceptance of international applications, formal examination, international search and international publication, as well as optional international preliminary examination procedures.
For international applications filed by Chinese individuals or entities with the China Patent Office, in the international stage, except for international publication, which is uniformly conducted by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, other procedures are conducted in the China Patent Office.
1. Accept patent applications and conduct patentability examinations on patents;
The PCT accepting office will conduct a formal examination of the documents of the accepted PCT application. After passing the examination, the international PCT application will be The documents are sent to the International Bureau and International Searching Authority of the World Intellectual Property Organization respectively.
2. International search
After the PCT patent application is submitted, within the specified time, the patent office of the receiving country, as the international search unit, will search the PCT patent application and make a International search report.
Among them, after the international search PCT patent application is submitted, within the specified time, the China Patent Office, as the international search unit, will search the PCT patent application and make an international search report. The search report will be sent to the PCT patent applicant and the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization as soon as possible within the specified time.
After 18 months from the international filing date (or priority date), the International Bureau will publish the PCT international patent application and the search report made by the International Searching Authority, and send the application together with the search report to the The patent office of the “designated country” required for PCT patent application.
3. International preliminary examination
The Patent Cooperation Treaty stipulates that the international preliminary examination procedure is not mandatory. If a country participating in the treaty is bound by Chapter II of the PCT, its applicant may request the International Preliminary Examining Authority to conduct an international preliminary examination of its application.
The purpose of the international preliminary examination is to provide a preliminary opinion on whether the invention is novel, creative, and practical. This review opinion does not have any binding force on each "designated country". However, the standards stipulated by the PCT are currently internationally accepted standards, and the examination opinion is made by a small number of international preliminary examination authorities on the basis of international searches, so the report should be relatively reliable and reliable.
When participating in the Patent Cooperation Treaty, some countries are not bound by Chapter 2 of the PCT. When the applicant requests international preliminary examination, he can only select some countries that use the results of the international preliminary examination from the designated countries bound by Chapter II of the PCT. These countries are called "selected countries".
After the China Patent Office, as the international preliminary examination unit, examines the international application, it will submit the international preliminary examination report to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Bureau will forward it to the applicant. At the same time, the International Bureau will also The preliminary examination report is sent to the “selected country” of the application.
Applicants can decide the next step based on the international search report and international preliminary examination results issued by the China Patent Office, that is, whether to enter the national phase (apply to other countries).
National Phase
The process of entering the national phase is not automatic and must be initiated by the applicant. The applicant must complete the procedures for entering the national phase of the designated country (or selected country) within 30 months from the priority date (it may be 20 months in some countries): pay the national fee and submit an international document translated into the language of the country. Translation of application. The national law of some countries stipulates that the period for entering the national phase is later than 30 months (or 20 months). The deadline for entry into the national phase must be observed even if the international preliminary examination report has not yet been obtained. For international applications in the international phase that do not require international preliminary examination within nineteen months from the priority date, the time limit for entering the national phase (designated Office) is 20 months from the priority date; An international application requiring international preliminary examination is filed within nineteen months.
The national phase takes place in the patent office of the country where the applicant wishes to obtain patent rights.
It includes the procedures for entering the national phase and the approval procedures at each designated or selected office.
After entering the national phase, you need to submit a translation of the international application documents (the official language of the country) and pay the prescribed national fees according to the regulations of each country. The patent office of each country will then examine it in accordance with its patent regulations and decide whether to grant a patent right.