What is the Patent Cooperation Treaty?

The Patent Cooperation Treaty or PCT is a treaty of more than 100 countries and regions, including the EPO. It allows for the filing of a single international application, which can then be converted into national applications in each country of interest. Again, the purpose is to allow the applicant to postpone the decision on which countries to file in until a better indication is obtained of the patentability of the invention and the commercial value of the patented invention.  The international application will be searched to identify the most relevant prior art and there is the possibility for a preliminary examination.

International applications are published as “WO YYYY/XXXXXX AX” 18 months after the earliest priority or filing date.

De Clercq & Partners can help you decide whether or not the filing of an international application is of interest for your invention.