How Can You File an International Patent Application?

Filing an International Patent Application is a right provided to the inventor or owner of the Patent, which makes it enough to restrict others from using, selling, or copying their own invention in any other country (or outside India). A single Patent cannot provide safety to innovation or invention in each & every country around the world. For Patent Registration in every nation, the cost is very high, and this cost is required for filing the Patent application & for maintaining it. The way in which you can apply for Patent protection for Patent owners or inventors in many nations is when the countries take part in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Scroll down to check more information regarding the International Patent Application.

What is a Patent?

Before we discuss the filing process of an International Patent Application, it is vital to know the meaning of a Patent. A Patent is a right that is provided for 20 years to the owner or inventor who created new products or invented something new and different. This right gives the authority to the owner that no one can use once it is patented, for selling in the market/producing it in any place or manufacturing the product without the consent of the Patent owner. The Patent Right is not only for products but also for the processes by which a product is obtained. However, the process or the products has to be new or includes some innovative step in it.

Why is it necessary to file International Patent Application?

For protecting invention, Patent Registration is taken by people, MNCs, universities, and research institutions. Since Patent protection is jurisdiction-definite in nature, it only gives protection for the country in which the Patent Application is filed. An International Patent Application aids the Patent owner or inventor to seek Patent protection based on the priority date of the initial Patent application in other countries also. Hence, there is a need for International Patent protection.

What are the Different Ways to File an International Patent Application?

There are two different ways to file an International Patent Application, and you can check the same below:

• PCT Application: The Patent Cooperation Treaty came into existence in 1970, and the Treaty, which like any other Treaty, is a lawful agreement entered into between various nations. The purpose of the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) is to simplify the initial filing process, making it easier & initially cheaper to file a Patent application in an immense number of countries. You can achieve this by filing an International Patent Application.

Usually, it may be filed with the National Patent Office of the contracting State of which the inventor or Patent owner is a national or resident or, at the applicant’s option, with the International Bureau (IB) of WIPO in Geneva. If the inventor or applicant is a national or resident of a Contracting State Party to the EPU (European Patent Convention), the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs, the Bangui Agreement or the EPC (European Patent Convention), the International Patent Application may also be filed with the EPO (European Patent Office), the ARIPO or African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, OAPI or EAPO respectively.

Filing a Patent Cooperation Treaty Application or PCT Application has the effect of designating all Contracting States bound by the Patent Cooperation Treaty on the International filing date. The effect of the International Patent Application is the same in each proposed State as if a National Patent Application (NPA) had been filed with the NPO (National Patent Office) of that proposed State.

• Paris Convention Route: This is the second way to file an International Patent Application. This means you can file Patent Applications in the PCC (Paris Convention Countries^[1]) (member states which takes part in the Paris Convention for protection of industrial properties). The Paris Convention is considered a global treaty. This Convention allows the inventors for filing Patent applications known as Priority Applications, and it is filed on a specific date known as the Priority Date.

In case the applicant wants to get a Patent Right in only one particular country, then by taking the approval or consent in that place, the Patent application can directly be filed in such a nation where he had the interest of filing. In this type of instance, there is no rule of the Paris Convention because there is no priority claimed. However, if the applicant or inventor wants to file an International Patent Application in various countries, then the Paris Convention can be applied. The process of filing remains almost the same; the only difference in the application is that it can be filed first in the overseas county, and within 12 months of time, the Patent Applications can be claimed to be filed in the rest countries. If you go to the Paris Convention Route, then you have 12 months of time from the date of the primary Patent Application to file a Patent application in other nations.

How to File an International Patent Application?

For filing an online International Patent Application there are two different ways in which you can do it:

1. File the Patent application directly globally in any overseas country without filing the Patent application in India.
2. Or else file the Patent Application in India first and then go for International filing of the application for Patent protection in any of the foreign nations.

In both ways, it is compulsory before filing to inform about it in the IPO or Indian Patent Office. The Patent Office replies within 21 days.

Section 39 of the Indian Patent Act states that if an individual is a resident of India, then he or she cannot file a Patent application outside India without asking for prior approval from the Indian Patent Office. The permission should be in written form, which should be given by the Controller.

The outside overseas Patent Applications are given to the Patent Application of National Patents. All Patents are limited to a specific region. If you desire to safeguard your invention in other nations, you can do that via the PCT Route or Paris Convention, as we discussed above, or even directly. You can directly safeguard your Patent by filing various applications at the same time in those nations where you actually want to protect your invention.

The owner needs to think and then decide where they should file Patent applications and utilise them in the marketplace. An applicant or the Patent owner can directly file for a Patent grant in overseas countries. Like Indian institutions or organisations can file an application for Patent Registration in the United States directly. The only thing that the applicant must see is whether the national law of the country needs prior permission to File a Patent Application directly outside the resident country. In India, this permission is compulsory.

Conclusion

Creators and inventors usually safeguard their products against violation via Patents. Patents provide a different way for these innovators to protect their IPR and safeguard the features distinctive to their goods & services. The filing of an International Patent Application or outside India needs Foreign Filing License from the IPO (Indian Patent Office). Thus, before filing for a Patent, the inventors should know the rules & regulations concerning Patents in India & the country in which they wish to file a Patent.

Read our Article:Filing a Provisional Patent Specification – An Overview