What is a PCT patent? What is the PCT patent application process?

What is a PCT patent? What is the PCT patent application process? How long does it take to file a PCT patent application?

Data show that in the first half of 2017, the State Intellectual Property Office accepted the "Patent Cooperation Treaty" (PCT) international patent applications exceeded 20,000, reaching 10,000, a year-on-year increase of 16%, what is a PCT patent? PCT patent application is one of the important ways to apply for international patents, and it is also the preferred patent application route for international patent applicants. What are the PCT patent application processes?

Introduction. The above picture shows the PCT patent application flow chartWhat are the PCT patent application processes? Step 1:

Filing of an international application1 In general, a PCT application should be filed with the national Office in its capacity as a PCT receiving Office. When applying for a PCT patent, the applicant must specify the Member States in which the application will be valid, and these designated countries are called designated countries. 2. The State Intellectual Property Office of China, as a PCT designated receiving office, only accepts international applications filed by nationals or residents of China, and when there are multiple applicants in the international application, at least one of the applicants' nationality or residence is in China.

The State Intellectual Property Office of China accepts both Chinese and English. 3. After the State Intellectual Property Office accepts the PCT application, it will conduct a formal examination of the applied documents, and if it considers that the patent application documents and patent application procedures are complete, the international filing date will be determined. The international filing date means that from that filing date, the PCT international application has the equivalent effect of a regular domestic application in each designated country, and the filing date also becomes the actual filing date in a designated country.

4. After passing the examination, the application documents will be sent to the International Bureau and the International Searching Authority of the World Intellectual Property Organization respectively. Step 2: Conduct an international search1 The international search is a closed process with little communication between the applicant and the searching authority, except for issues of singularity or obvious error.

9 months from the priority date, or 3 months from the date of receipt of the search copy by the search unit, and the period after the expiration shall prevail, the search unit will formulate a search report or in some cases announce a free search for trademarks and patents, trademark and patent registration applications, copyright registration, and a one-stop intellectual property service platform to formulate search reports. The search report or announcement will be transmitted to the International Bureau and to the applicant. 2. After the expiration of 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 patent office of the designated country claiming the PCT patent application.

Step 3: International Publication1: At the expiration of 18 months from the priority date, the International Bureau will publish the international application internationally. 2. There are two kinds of publications:

Pamphlets and communiqués. Publication is available in both paper and electronic formats.

1. To prevent competitors from copying your patents for sale in the exporting country. As for the patents you mentioned, we consider them to be granted patents, which means that the patent has the right to be defended only after it has been granted. In view of this, the customs filing of intellectual property rights can effectively prevent the occurrence of the above situation.

The specific applications for customs filing and how to handle them are as follows:

The application shall include the following main contents:

1) The name or surname, place of registration or nationality of the intellectual property rights holder;

2) the name, content and related information of the intellectual property rights;

3) the names of the consignee and consignor of the goods suspected of infringing;

4) The name and specifications of the goods suspected of infringing;

5) The port, time, means of transport, etc., where the suspected infringing goods may enter or leave the country.

The above content is quoted from the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

2. Article 1 If the above-mentioned problems can not be completely solved by the customs filing of intellectual property rights, evidence collection and litigation in the exporting country may be considered. In view of this situation, it is recommended to consult a professional large-scale intellectual property ** institution. Comparatively speaking, large intellectual property ** institutions have long-term cooperation in the exporting country**, and can collect evidence on local infringement at any time, as well as follow-up litigation matters.

As for the procedures and costs of evidence collection and litigation, each country (region) is different and needs to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

3. For countries that already have business and countries that have developed goals, it is recommended to apply for patents in specific countries (regions), and foreign patent applications can take two ways, one is to apply directly to specific countries (according to the Paris Convention), invention patents and utility model patents are generally completed in foreign applications within 12 months after the application in China, and the other is PCT international applications, which can be completed in specific countries (regions) within 30 months from the earliest filing date in China. The time limit for individual countries is 31 or 32 months. As for the application time, on the one hand, it is necessary to consider the situation of the enterprise itself, as a large enterprise exporting abroad, there is no need to consider the problem of capital at all, and it can be applied directly in a specific country through the ** agency after the domestic application, because the application method can obtain the grant of patent rights earlier. If there are financial considerations, you can consider applying for a PCT patent and choosing the country where protection is necessary after the patent is published.

4. PCT member states generally do not choose to enter the country. According to the above situation you mentioned, it is recommended to choose two countries, one is the country that exports goods (targeted application) and the other is the country with a large number of countries with China (selective application).

If you have any other questions, please contact August Gua Intellectual Property.

1. By filing only one international patent application, one can apply for a patent in multiple countries, instead of filing a separate patent application for each country, which provides convenience for patent applicants to apply for patents in foreign countries.

2. When a general patent application is filed in a foreign country, the patent applicant must file the patent application with the patent office of each country within 12 months after the date of the first filing of the patent application. And through.

Under the PCT, patent applicants can enter an international patent application in each country within twenty months of the initial filing of the patent application; If an international preliminary examination is requested, the entry of the international patent application into each country can be carried out within thirty months from the date of the first filing of the patent application. This lengthens the time it takes to enter the national phase. This time allows the patent applicant to investigate the market, the commercial prospects for the invention, and other factors, and decide whether to proceed with the foreign patent application before spending a significant amount of money to enter the national phase.

If, after investigation, it is decided not to apply for a patent in a foreign country, it is possible to save costs.

3. An international patent application shall be subject to an international search by the International Searching Authority to obtain a high-quality international search report. The international search report provides one or more prior art documents, so that the patent applicant can not only understand the status of the prior art, but also preliminarily determine whether the invention has the prospect of granting a patent. If the international application has undergone international preliminary examination, the patent applicant may also obtain a copy of the international preliminary examination report of a high standard issued by the International Preliminary Examining Authority.

If the international preliminary examination report indicates that the invention does not have novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability, the patent applicant may consider not entering the national phase in order to save costs; If the international preliminary examination report shows that the invention is novel. Inventive step and industrial applicability, the patent applicant is likely to get a strong patent and thus be considered for national phase entry.

Fourth, the payment of patent application fees is simplified by the payment of patent application fees only to the receiving Office and not to the patent offices of all countries claiming patent protection.

5. In some countries, the national fees for international patent applications are lower than for ordinary applications.

6. The language of the international patent application may be Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, etc. Chinese applicants can file international patent applications in Chinese and English, which makes it easier for foreign-funded enterprises in China to apply for patents. One has to be handled separately, so the application and examination of each country have to be repeated, which is relatively cumbersome.

Legal analysis: PCT patent application means that the applicant can file an international patent application through the PCT route and apply for a patent in multiple countries.

It should be noted that patent applicants can only apply for patents through the PCT, and cannot obtain a patent directly through the PCT.

In order to obtain a patent in a certain country, the patent applicant must also go through the procedures for entering the country, and the patent office of that country examines the patent application, and the patent right is granted in accordance with the provisions of the patent law of that country.

The characteristics of a PCT patent application are as follows:

1. The application procedures are simplified, which is simpler and faster, and provides a more convenient way for applicants to apply for patents in foreign countries;

2. When postponing the decision-making time, when filing an ordinary patent application in a foreign country, the patent applicant must file the patent application with the patent office of each country within 12 months after the date of the first filing of the patent application. With a PCT patent application, it is possible to enter each country within 30 months from the date of the first filing of the patent application.

3. Accurately invest funds, because the decision-making time can be postponed, so the funds can be accurately invested in entering the national phase;

4. Improve the application documents, through the PCT international application procedure, you can have two opportunities to revise the PCT international application documents, so as to achieve the effect of improving the patent application documents;

5. Obtain the PCT international search report and written opinion, and preliminarily evaluate the novelty and inventiveness of the patent application.

Legal basis: Patent Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 3 The patent administration department shall be responsible for the management of patent work nationwide; Uniformly accept and examine patent applications, and grant patent rights in accordance with the law.

The departments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government in charge of patent work shall be responsible for the administration of patents within their respective administrative regions.