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Using the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
as a Strategic Tool for Business Success
May 20, 20092nd WIPO Seminar on Intellectual Property and Creative Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises in the Digital Environment
Matthew R. Bryan - Director, Patent Cooperation Treaty Legal Division, WIPO
Using the traditional patent system to seek international patent protection
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
0 12
Fileapplication
locally
Fileapplications
abroad
(months)
• 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
=PCT
AlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahrain BarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana BrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoCameroonCanadaCentral African RepublicChadChile (2 June 09)China Colombia Comoros Congo
Costa RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDemocratic People's Republic of KoreaDenmarkDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial Guinea EstoniaFinlandFrance,
GabonGambiaGeorgia GermanyGhana GreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuinea
Guinea-Bissau HondurasHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIreland IsraelItalyJapanKazakhstanKenyaKyrgyzstanLao People’s Dem Rep.Latvia Lesotho LiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtenstein LithuaniaLuxembourgMadagascar
MalawiMalaysiaMaliMaltaMauritaniaMexicoMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMozambiqueNamibia NetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorwayOmanPapua New GuineaPeru (6 June 09)Philippines
PolandPortugalRepublic of Korea Republic of MoldovaRomaniaRussian FederationSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the Grenadines San MarinoSao Tomé e PrincipeSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSwaziland
St. Kitts and NevisSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTajikistan The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia TogoTrinidad and Tobago TunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited Republic of TanzaniaUnited States of AmericaUzbekistanViet NamYugoslaviaZambiaZimbabwe
141 PCT States
The PCT System--typical use, in more detail
(months)
File PCTapplication
120 30
International search report
& written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentability
Typically a national patent application in the home country of
the applicant
The PCT System--typical use, in more detail
(months)
File PCTapplication
120 30
International search report
& written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentabilityTypically filed in same
national patent office--one set of fees, one language,
one set of formality requirements--and legal effect in all PCT States
The PCT System--typical use, in more detail
(months)
File PCTapplication
120 30
International search report
& written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentability
Report on state of the art (prior art
documents and their relevance) + initial
patentability opinion
• Today: the Patent Offices of – Australia– Austria– Canada– China– Finland– Japan– Republic of Korea– Russian Federation– Spain– Sweden– United States of America– European Patent Office– Nordic Patent Institute
• Soon: the Patent Offices of India and Brazil
The PCT International Searching Authorities
The PCT System--typical use, in more detail
(months)
File PCTapplication
120 30
International search report
& written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentability
Disclosing to world content of application in standardized way
The PCT System--typical use, in more detail
(months)
File PCTapplication
120 30
International search report
& written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentability
Request an additional patentability analysis on basis
of amended application
The PCT System--typical use, in more detail
(months)
File PCTapplication
120 30
International search report
& written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentability
Additional patentability analysis, designed to assist in national phase decision-
making
The PCT System--typical use, in more detail
(months)
File PCTapplication
120 30
International search report
& written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentability
Express intention and take steps to pursue to grant in
various states
General remarks on the PCT system (1)
• The PCT system is a patent “filing” system, not a patent “granting” system. There is no “PCT patent” or “global patent”
• The decision on granting patents is made exclusively by national or regional Offices in the national phase
• Only inventions may be protected via the PCT by applying for patents, utility models and similar titles
• Design and trademark protection cannot be obtained via the PCT. There are separate international conventions dealing with these types of industrial property protection (the Hague Agreement and the Madrid Agreement and Protocol, respectively)
10.02.05
• The PCT is administered by WIPO as are other international conventions in the field of industrial property, such as the Paris Convention
• PCT signed in June 1970, in Washington, D.C., and became operational in June 1978 with 18 States
General remarks on the PCT system (2)
PCT Statistics
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
160000
180000
78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08
0
10'000
20'000
30'000
40'000
50'000
60'000
US JP DE KR FR CN GB NL SE CH CA IT FI AU IL
International applications received in 2008 by country of origin
Most businesses worldwide which seek and use patents share objectives to:
1) control costs while preserving options
2) make informed business decisions
3) use the best tools available when seeking protection
The PCT responds to these objectivesThe PCT responds to these objectives
1. postpones the major costs associated with internationalizing a patent application
2. provides a strong basis for patenting decisions
3. harmonizes formal requirements
4. brings the world within reach
5. protects applicant from certain inadvertent errors
6. evolves to meet user needs
7. is used by the world’s major corporations, universities and research institutions when they seek international patent protection
8. allows applicants to apply securely and easily online, and to save money by doing so
The PCT, as the cornerstone of the international patent system, provides a worldwide system for simplified filing and processing of patent applications, which--
Traditional patent systemvs.
PCT systemFees for:
--translations--Office fees--local agents
0 12
File local application
Fileapplications
abroad(months)
Traditional
(months)
File PCTapplication
12 30
International search report & written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentability
PCT 0
Fees for:
--translations--Office fees--local agents
PCT Costs--in perspective According to IP Global Estimator, the total cost of hypothetical application (RO/US, ISA/EP, 46 pages/12 claims w/3 independent, national phase in AU, CA, EPO, JP, MX, US, and EP
validation in DE, FR, GB, IT, NL & SE, + maintenance fees--from filing until expiration of 12 national phase patents at 20 years from the
filing date) would be USD $232,742
The PCT filing fees, including the international search by the EPO, (total: USD $3,637) represented 1.6% of what the PCT applicant could expect to pay throughout the full life of this patent family
If the payment of annual maintenance fees is eliminated from the above calculation, the total amount that the applicant would expect to pay to see his/her patents granted is reduced to USD $86,398. PCT filing fees would then represent 4.2% of this amount[Estimate date: July 1, 2007]
• The active ISAs are the following patent offices: – Australia– Austria– 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 are the Offices of India and Brazil
The PCT International Searching Authorities
Documents relevant to whether or not your
invention may be patentable
Symbols indicatingwhich aspect of
patentability the document cited is
relevant to (for example, novelty, inventive step,
etc.)
The claim numbersin your application to
which the document isrelevant
Example: international search report
Example: written opinion of the ISA
Patentability assessment of claims
Reasoning supporting the
assessment
3. Harmonizes formal requirements
PCT Applicant’s 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.”
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.”
4. Brings the world within reach
How?
PCT application = Legal effect of a regular national patentapplication in all PCT States
5. 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
(1) MIA meeting—annual (usually first quarter)
(2) PCT Working Group—annual (usually second quarter)
(3) PCT Assembly—September/October
(4) Conferences—for example:“PCT China”—Beijing, December 2007“PCT Asia”—Singapore, April 2008“PCT for the Americas”—Miami, November 2008
PCT Meetings
7. Is used by the world’s major corporations, universities and research institutions
when they seek international patent protection
Top PCT Applicants (2008)1. Huawei—CN (1737) 2. Panasonic—JP (1729)3. Philips—NL (1551)4. Toyota—JP (1364)5. Bosch—DE (1273)6. Siemens—DE (1089)7. Nokia—FI (1005)8. LG Electronics—KR (992)9. Ericsson—SE (984)10. Fujitsu—JP (983)11. Qualcomm—US (907)12. NEC—JP (825)13. Sharp—JP (814)14. Microsoft—US (805)15. Motorola— US (778)16. BASF—DE (721)17. IBM—US (664)18. 3M—US (663)19. Samsung—KR (639)20. Dupont—US (517)
Of the top 100 companies using the PCT system in 2008, 38 were from the United States, 28 from Japan and
13 from Germany
Other PCT users
Hitachi (JP)British Telecom (GB)MCI (US)
AT&T (US)
Boeing (US)McDonnell Douglas (US)
Nestle (CH)Novartis (CH)Colgate Palmolive (US)L’Oreal (FR)Rhone Poulenc (FR)Hoechst (US y DE)Glaxo (GB)Leica (CH)
Daimler Benz (DE)Volvo (SE)Ford (US)Nissan (JP)Renault (FR)Honda (JP)Kawasaki (JP)
Shell (NL)Elf (FR)
Salomon (FR)
CNRS (FR)
MIT (US)University of Texas (US)CalTech (US)Johns Hopkins(US)University of Michigan (US)Columbia University (US)Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (US)University of Florida (US)Stanford University (US)
PCT Electronic filing overview1. Prepare application body: in XML using the PCT-SAFE Editor or in PDF
2. Prepare Request using free, WIPO-produced PCT-SAFE software
3. Electronically sign: WIPO Customer digital certificate or other
0101010
1010101
0101010Signat
ure
4. Transmit (on-line or on CD-R)
5. Receive a receipt (for on-line filings)
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 filingstext of application not in character
coded format (for example, PDF)
300 Swiss francs: electronic filingstext of application in character coded
format (for example, XML)
The PCT System:Supplementary International Search
(months)
File PCTapplication
120 30
International search report
& written opinion
16 18
Internationalpublication
(optional)File
demand forInternational
preliminary examination
File localapplication
Enternationalphase
22 28
(optional)International preliminary report on
patentability
19
Request for Supplementary
International Search
Supplementary Search Reports
established
Supplementary International Search: Objectives
• give applicants option to request one or more supplementary (language-based) searches from participating ISAs in addition to the main PCT search
• help users by reducing likelihood of new prior art in national phase
• takes into account the growing linguistic diversity in the prior art
2009 PCT Developments• SIS (Supplementary International Search) effective January 1,
2009– First requests have been filed– 3 offices participating thus far
Supplementary International Search: Authorities • Participation of ISAs
– NPI—Jan. 1, 2009– RU—Jan. 1, 2009– SE—Jan. 1, 2009—limitation to 1000 Supp. Searches/year
– AT—sometime in 2009– AU—under consideration, but not as of Jan. 1, 2009– BR—not yet decided– CA—no intention to offer in near future– CN—under consideration– EPO—planned for Jan. 1, 2010, limited ìnitially to several 100s/year and
increased if needed up to several 1000s/year by 2013– ES—no intention– FI—planned for Jan. 1, 2010– IN—unknown– JPO—no intention– KR—under consideration– US—no intention in near future due to workload
Recent PCT developments• SIS (Supplementary International Search) effective January
1, 2009• 1 July 2009 Rule changes
– new practice on furnishing claim amendments (“complete set”)
– Administrative Instruction/practice changes on sequence listings
Things we’re working on
• Private file inspection– Document upload system pilot
• Furnishing priority documents via digital libraries– Digital Access Service for priority documents
• Email of IB notifications to applicants • PCT distance learning course• PCT webinars for the user community• New resources for PCT applicants• Multilingual terminology resources• PatentScope® enhancements
– Full file contents will be available for IAs filed on or after 1 Jan. 2009
– National phase entry data now for 34 countries
• 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: (+41-22) 338 83 38
Facsimile: (+41-22) 338 83 39
E-mail: [email protected]
Where to get help