Introduction of pct international patent application process

PCT international patent application is the abbreviation of Patentcooperationtreaty, which is a way to apply for a patent. In this way, as long as the applicant submits an international patent application, he can request patent protection for his invention in many member countries at the same time. This application can be submitted by nationals or residents of any contracting state.

The above is the basic introduction of PCT application. Let's learn more about the process and cost of PCT application.

Application process

The process of international application includes: international stage and national stage.

1. International stage

(1) Application

Step 1: Submit a domestic patent application in China or directly submit a PCT application to the International Application Acceptance Bureau (the Patent Office of the International Intellectual Property Office).

Step 2: If the China application is submitted first, the PCT international application shall be submitted to the International Application Acceptance Bureau within 12 months from the priority date.

(2) International search

Step 3: Within 9 months from the priority date or within 3 months from the international application date, the international retrieval unit (China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Office) will issue an international retrieval report and written opinions (the retrieval report gives opinions on the novelty and creativity of the patent for reference only).

Step 4: (Optional) Within 65,438+06 months from the priority date or within 2 months from the receipt of the international search report and written opinions, according to the provisions of Article 65,438+09 of the Treaty, you can directly file a claim amendment with the International Bureau.

(3) International publications

Step 5: At the expiration of 18 months from the priority date, the International Bureau will publish the international application internationally.

(4) International preliminary examination

Step 6: (Optional) Within 22 months from the priority date or within 3 months from the receipt of the international search report and written opinions, the applicant may request the international preliminary examination, and may amend the patent claim and specification according to Article 34 of the Treaty.

2. National stage

Step 1: Enter the designated country (such as USA, Japan, EU, etc.). Within 30 months from the priority date (the specific period may vary from country to country, so as not to miss the deadline).

Step 2: Patent offices in various countries conduct preliminary examination and substantive examination of the application (you can refer to the opinions of international search reports).

Step 3: The applicant prepares the defense statement according to the examiner's review opinions and modifies the application text.

Step 4: authorize or reject.

The above is the "Introduction to the Process of pct International Patent Application" and the process of pct International Patent Application. Now you should know!

International PCT patent application patent application process