1. Advocates & Legal Consultants
Advantages of PCT filing
1. Filing a patent application under the PCT enables the applicant to delay strategic decisions about
where to pursue patent protection by: consolidating patent prosecution const, single application
format, language, and set of fees.
2. Provides the applicant with preliminary feedback regarding patentability of the invention.
with
3. Providing the applicant with the opportunity to present arguments for patentability, to amend
claims, and to strengthen the application prior to filing with national phase offices.
4. Enabling the applicant to delay filing the application in individual national patent offices for up
g
to 30 months after the first (priority) filing date.
5. Delaying prosecution costs of filing applications in multiple countries.
6. Streamlining the process of filing applications in multiple countries.
applications
7. Delaying international patent prosecution provides more time to determine the value of IP to
the applicant, the strength of commercial demand abroad, which claims in a patent application
are likely to be patentable, which countries are most attractive for pursuing patent protection
and the likelihood of obtaining a patent grant.
8. A single filing can be done with a single Receiving Office within 12 months of the filing of a
priority application. One has to file a single specification, single PCT request form and provide a
specification,
single certified copy of the priority application.
9. Under the PCT filing the applicant is issued an international search report (ISR) which, provides
the applicant a useful indication of the prior art against which the invention will be assessed. As
this ISR is issued prior to international publication, the applicant is afforded an opportunity to
withdraw the application on receipt of an unfavorable ISR prior to publication of details of the
invention.
10. Filing a PCT application can delay, consolidate and minimize the costs of patenting overseas.
Using the PCT to file internationally enables a patent applicant to delay, generally up to 30
months after the first (priority) filing date, strategic decisions about the countries in which to
the
pursue patent protection. The delay offers a significant advantage, since it allows the applicant
more time in which to evaluate commercial demand for the invention, the likelihood of
obtaining a patent grant in a particular country, prior to filing national phase patent applications
country, national-phase
in the countries in which patent protection is sought.