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The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) a tool for
facilitating international patent protection for
MSMEs
Matthew R. Bryan - Director, Patent Cooperation
Treaty Legal Division, WIPO

• International Convention on Intellectual Property
  and Competitiveness of Micro, Small and
  Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), Rome, Italy
• December 10, 2009

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1) The PCT 2) The PCTs advantages for SMEs
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1) The PCT
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Using the traditional patent system to seek
international patent protection
File applications abroad
0
(months)
12
File application locally

• Local patent application followed within 12
  months by multiple foreign applications claiming
  priority under Paris Convention
• - multiple formality requirements
• - multiple searches
• - multiple publications
• - multiple examinations and prosecutions of
  applications
• - translations and national fees required at 12
  months
• Some rationalization because of regional
  arrangements
• ARIPO, EAPO, EPO, OAPI

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• A mainly procedural international treaty
  facilitating certain steps in the process of
  obtaining patents internationally
• More specifically, the PCT establishes a
  procedure for the filing and processing of a
  single application for a patent which has legal
  effect in the countries which are Treaty members
• Simplifies the procedure for obtaining patent
  protection in many countries, making it more
  efficient and economical for
• (1) users of the patent system (applicants and
  inventors) and
• (2) patent Offices

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142 PCT States
Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba C
yprus Czech Republic Democratic People's
Republic of Korea Denmark Dominica Dominican
Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial
Guinea Estonia Finland France, Gabon Gambia
Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemal
a Guinea
Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and
Barbuda Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaija
n Bahrain Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize
Benin Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana
Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cameroon Can
ada Central African Republic Chad Chile China
Colombia Comoros Congo
Malawi Malaysia Mali Malta Mauritania Mex
ico Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Moz
ambique Namibia Netherlands New
Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Papua
New Guinea Peru Philippines
St. Kitts and Nevis Sweden Switzerland Syrian
Arab Republic Tajikistan Thailand (24 Dec.
2009) The former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia Togo Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine
United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United
Republic of Tanzania United States of
America Uzbekistan Viet Nam Yugoslavia Zamb
ia Zimbabwe
Guinea-Bissau Honduras Hungary Iceland India
Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kaz
akhstan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Lao Peoples Dem
Rep. Latvia Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M
adagascar
Poland Portugal Republic of Korea Republic of
Moldova Romania Russian Federation Saint
Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
San Marino Sao Tomé e Principe Senegal Seychell
es Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia
South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Swazi
land
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The PCT System --typical use, in more detail
(optional) Request supplementary international
search
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
12
0
16
18
19
30
22
28
File local application
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
Typically a national patent application in the
home country of the applicant
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The PCT System --typical use, in more detail
(optional) Request supplementary international
search
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
12
0
16
18
19
30
22
28
File local application
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
Typically filed in same national patent
office--one set of fees, one language, one set of
formality requirements--and legal effect in all
PCT States
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The PCT System --typical use, in more detail
(optional) Request supplementary international
search
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
12
0
16
18
19
30
22
28
File local application
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
Report on state of the art (prior art documents
and their relevance) initial patentability
opinion
10
The PCT System --typical use, in more detail
Disclosing to world content of application in
standardized way
(optional) Request supplementary international
search
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
12
0
16
18
19
30
22
28
File local application
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
11
The PCT System --typical use, in more detail
(optional) Request supplementary international
search
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
12
0
16
18
19
30
22
28
File local application
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
12
The PCT System --typical use, in more detail
(optional) Request supplementary international
search
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
12
0
16
18
19
30
22
28
File local application
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
Request an additional patentability analysis on
basis of amended application
13
The PCT System --typical use, in more detail
(optional) Request supplementary international
search
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
12
0
16
18
19
30
22
28
File local application
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
Additional patentability analysis, designed to
assist in national phase decision-making
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The PCT System --typical use, in more detail
Express intention and take steps to pursue to
grant in various states
(optional) Request supplementary international
search
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
12
0
16
18
19
30
22
28
File local application
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
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PCT Statistics
Jan to August 09
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International applications received in 2009 by
country of origin (Jan-Aug.)
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(2) The PCTs advantages for MSMEs
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• Most businesses worldwide which seek to obtain
  and use patents share objectives to
• control costs while preserving options
• make informed business decisions
• use the best tools available when seeking
  protection

And MSMEs need to achieve these objectives more
than other businesses
?The PCT responds to these objectives
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The PCT, as the cornerstone of the international
patent system, provides a worldwide system for
simplified filing and processing of patent
applications, which--
1. brings the world within reach 2. harmonizes
formal requirements 3. protects applicant from
certain inadvertent errors 4. evolves to meet
user needs 5. assists applicants in preparing and
filing electronic applications, and saves them
money by doing so 6. postpones the major costs
associated with internationalizing a patent
application 7. provides a strong basis for
patenting decisions 8. maintains a useful
collection of disclosed technologies
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1. Brings the world within reach
How? PCT application Legal effect of a
regular national patentapplication in all PCT
States
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2. Harmonizes formal requirements
PCT Article 27(1) No national law shall require
compliance with requirements relating to the form
or contents of the international application
different from or additional to those which are
provided for in this Treaty and Regulations.
PCT Applicants Guide, paragraph 26 There is a
prescribed form for the international
application. This form must be accepted by all
designated Offices for the purposes of the
national phase, so that there is no need to
comply with a great variety of widely differing
formal requirements in the many countries in
which protection may be sought.
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3. protects applicants from certain inadvertent
errors

• invited corrections of defects fee payments
• non-competent receiving Office
• double formality review
• restoration of priority
• missing parts
• rectification of obvious mistakes
• excuse of national phase entry delay

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4. Evolves to meet user needs
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PCT Meetings

• MIA meetingannual (usually first quarter)
• PCT Working Groupannual (usually second quarter)
• PCT AssemblySeptember/October
• Conferencesfor example
• PCT ChinaBeijing, December 2007
• PCT AsiaSingapore, April 2008
• PCT for the AmericasMiami, November 2008

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5. assists applicants in preparing and filing
electronic applications, and saves them money by
doing so
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PCT Electronic filing overview
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PCT E-filing fee reductions

• 100 Swiss francs paper filings request
  printout created with PCT-SAFE diskette
  prepared with PCT- SAFE
• 100 Swiss francs electronic filings request
  not in character coded format (for ex., PDF)
• 200 Swiss francs electronic filings text of
  application not in character coded format
  (for example, PDF)
• 300 Swiss francs electronic filings text of
  application in character coded format (for
  example, XML)

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6. Postpones the major costs associated with
internationalizing a patent application
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Traditional patent system vs. PCT system
File applications abroad
(months)
12
0
Traditional
File local application
Enter national phase
International publication
(months)
PCT
0
12
30
16
18
22
28
File PCT application
International search report written opinion
(optional) File demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File local application
(optional) International preliminary report on
patentability
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Future MSME developments
At its June 2010 Working Group meeting, the PCT
member states will consider a WIPO study on a
possible MSME fee reduction
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7. Provides a strong basis for patenting decisions
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The PCT International Searching Authorities

• The active ISAs are the following 14 patent
  offices
• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• Finland
• Japan
• Republic of Korea
• Russian Federation
• Spain
• Sweden
• United States of America
• European Patent Office
• Nordic Patent Institute
• Appointed but not yet acting India
• Appointed at the 2009 PCT Assembly Egypt and
  Israel

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Example international search report
Symbols indicatingwhich aspect of patentability
the document cited is relevant to (for example,
novelty, inventive step, etc.)
The claim numbersin your application towhich
the document isrelevant
Documents relevant to whether or not your
invention may be patentable
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Example written opinion of the ISA
Reasoning supporting the assessment
Patentability assessment of claims
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8. maintains a useful documentary resource of
disclosed technologies
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PCT PatentScope database

• Almost 1.7 million published PCT applications and
  certain associated documents, in multiple
  languages, searchable
• National phase entry data systematically from 36
  countries
• National patent collections (test interface)
• ARIPO, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Cuba,
  Mexico, Vietnam, Israel, PCT, All more to come
• 10 query language choices, 10 interface language
  choices, customizable settings, graphical
  results, integration of GoogleTranslate,

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PatentScope
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Certain national collections now searchable via
PatentScope
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Where to get help

• For further information about the PCT, see
• http//www.wipo.int/pct/en/
• For general questions about the PCT, contact the
  PCT Information Service at
• Telephone [phone]
• Facsimile (41-22) 338 83 39
• E-mail pct.infoline_at_wipo.int