In addition to assisting our clients in obtaining U.S. patent protection on their inventions, we are also highly experienced in obtaining foreign patent protection. The process of obtaining foreign patent protection is best started through what’s called the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which basically operates as a patent application clearinghouse for most industrialized countries. A PCT application does not lead to the grant of an "international patent," which actually does not exist; rather, A PCT application must be followed up by filing what's called "national stage" applications in the individual countries where patent protection is desired.

The main advantages of the PCT procedure are (1) the possibility to delay the national or regional procedures and the respective fees and translation costs; and (2) the unified filing procedure. Additionally, assuming the applications are filed in a timely fashion, the national stage applications are able to claim the priority date of the earliest filed application; thus, from a priority standpoint, it's as if the national stage applications were filed on the same date as the earliest filed application.

Once a PCT application is filed, an applicant has roughly 30 months from the application's earliest priority date (i.e., the earliest filing date to which the application claims priority, such as a previously filed U.S. patent application) in which to file "national stage" applications in the individual countries of the applicant's choosing.

Our current fee for preparing a PCT application is $1,500 not including the actual filing fees payable to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The $1,500 cost assumes that the PCT application is prepared and filed after we have already prepared and filed a U.S. non-provisional application. Typically, clients choose to file a U.S. non-provisional application first, and then subsequently file a PCT application. However, other clients prefer to start with a PCT application. Depending on your priorities, we will be able to help you decide how you should proceed with protecting your own invention. It should be noted that where a U.S. application is filed first, the PCT application would have to be filed within 12 months from the earliest U.S. filing date.

So, if you are interested in pursuing foreign patent protection on your invention, or simply would like more information, we invite you to call 949-250-5800 or email us to schedule your FREE initial consultation, during which we can explain the PCT patent process to you in more detail and answer any follow-up questions that you may have.

In the meantime, we caution you not to make any disclosure of your invention without first consulting an attorney. In order to preserve your right to foreign patent filing, your earliest patent application filing (regardless of whether it is a U.S. or PCT application) must pre-date any public disclosure of your invention. You should contact us or another attorney as soon as possible if you have any questions or concerns about these issues.