PCT Membership Keeps on Growing

The PCT will come into effect from 9 September 2016 for Kuwait and from 23 September 2016 for Djibouti. This means that any PCT international applications filed on or after 9 September 2016 will automatically include a designation of Kuwait, whilst PCT international applications filed on or after 23 September 2016 will automatically further include a designation of Djibouti.

A PCT international patent application is a single patent application that can be filed which facilitates the filing of patent applications in 150 countries throughout the world. A PCT application does not directly, of itself, result in the grant of foreign patents. Instead national/regional patent applications, derived from the PCT application, must be filed and prosecuted before their respective national/regional patent offices. However, before the national/regional patent applications need to be filed from the PCT application, an international search report is issued. The international search report is accompanied by a provisional written opinion on the patentability of the invention. This can provide an insight into the chances of ultimately securing patent protection and help the applicant make an informed decision concerning national/regional patent application filing strategy. A PCT application can also be useful in delaying the costs of filing foreign patent applications in a large number of countries.

To find out more about the PCT international patent application please get in touch with your usual contact at Swindell & Pearson or with Martin Terry at [email protected]. Martin is a patent attorney based at our Derby office and has been successfully helping firms across the city protect and defend their IP rights for a number of years.