Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT Applications)
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) process enables you to defer paying a substantial portion of international patent related expenses and to defer deciding which countries you want to select for approximately 2.5 years from your earliest U.S. filing date. Our registered patent attorneys can advise you of strategies to leverage your PCT applications to make foreign patent examinations proceed more efficiently after securing favorable patent eligibility decisions at the U.S. Patent Office. The PCT application option can be thought of as purchasing an option to later pursue patent protection in foreign countries and also as providing procedural efficiencies when a number of foreign countries are selected.
Our registered patent attorneys can advise you of strategies to leverage your PCT applications to make foreign patent examinations proceed more efficiently.
The PCT process involves our registered patent attorneys filing an initial PCT application with the U.S. Patent Office to reserve your right to later pursue patent protection in approximately 145 countries. Your PCT application will be initially examined by an an international searching authority selected by our patent attorneys on your behalf.
The international search results and written opinion will enable our patent attorneys to advise you of viable international patent protection to pursue. Our patent attorneys can also make a Chapter II Demand for a more thorough and interactive examination of your international patent application. A Chapter II Demand can make the international patent protection process more efficient in some situations.
Within 30 months of your PCT priority date, our patent attorneys will consult with you to select one or more countries to independently consider your PCT application for patent eligibility in your selected countries. Our patent law firm will then work with our network of international patent attorneys and each country’s patent office to secure international patent protection.