What is a PCT patent?
PCT is an international treaty on patents. According to the provisions of PCT, patent applicants can submit international patent applications through PCT and apply for patents in many countries. However, what specific procedures or formalities do applicants need to go through when applying for PCT?
PCT international patent application includes two stages: the international stage and the national stage:
International stage
1. Submit an international application
1) In general, PCT applications should be submitted to the National Bureau as the PCT acceptance bureau. When applying for a PCT patent, the applicant must state in which member countries the application is valid. These designated countries are called "designated countries".
2) China National Intellectual Property Administration, China, as the designated acceptance office of PCT, only accepts international applications filed by nationals or residents of China. When there are multiple applicants for an international application, at least one applicant's nationality or residence is China. Chinese and English are accepted in China National Intellectual Property Administration, China.
3) After accepting the PCT patent application, China National Intellectual Property Administration will formally review the application documents. If the patent application documents and procedures are complete, the international application date will be determined. The international filing date means that the PCT international application has the same effect as the ordinary domestic application in each "designated country" from the filing date, and the filing date also becomes the actual filing date in the designated country.
4) After examination and approval, the application documents shall be sent to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the international retrieval unit respectively.
2. International search
1) International retrieval is a closed process, and there is no communication between the applicant and the retrieval unit except for single or obviously wrong questions. 9 months from the priority date, or 3 months from the retrieval unit receiving the retrieval book, whichever is later, the retrieval unit will make a retrieval report or announce that it will not make a retrieval report in some cases. The retrieval report or announcement will be transmitted to the International Bureau and the applicant.
2) After 18 months from the international application date (or priority date), the International Bureau will publish the PCT international patent application and the search report made by the international search unit, and send the application together with the search report to the patent office of the "designated country" required by the PCT patent application.
3. International announcement
1) At the expiration of 18 months from the priority date, the International Bureau will publish the international application internationally.
There are two kinds of publications: pamphlets and announcements. Publishing forms include paper and electronic parts.
4. International preliminary examination
1) the patent cooperation treaty stipulates that the international preliminary examination procedure is not mandatory.
2) the international preliminary examination only puts forward preliminary opinions on whether the invention is novel, creative and practical, and its examination opinions are not binding on the designated countries.
3) At this stage, the applicant can take the initiative to modify his application documents, or receive written opinions from the international preliminary examination unit, and the applicant can state his own opinions or make amendments.
4) After 28 months from the priority date, the international preliminary examination unit will prepare an international preliminary examination report and send it to the applicant and the International Bureau.
The related contents of pct international patent application process are all above. From reading the above, we can understand that PCT does not authorize "international patents", and the task and responsibility of granting patents can only be mastered by patent offices or institutions that seek patent protection in various countries. Intellectual property can bring you one-stop intellectual property services, you can consult and understand.
PCT patent application patent application process