A patent is a means to protect and exploit new inventions
Filing an international patent application enables the applicant to obtain protection in those countries adhering to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)), the last updated list of which is dated November 1, 2018.
The application can be filed directly at the WIPO International Office, or within 12 months of filing a national patent application, claiming priority. With the filing of the application according to the PCT procedure, all contracting states are automatically covered, while the specific countries of interest are selected at a later moment.
To file an international patent application, it is necessary to attach a description of the invention, the claims, and the related technical drawings. In addition to the technical improvement that the invention aims to achieve and the consequent advantages resulting from it, the description must explain all the technical-constructive characteristics of the invention.
Even in the case of an international patent application, the critical part are the claims , which must specify and describe, with appropriate technical terminology, the components of the invention for which protection is requested. Anything not included in the claims of the application will not be protected by the patent. The technical drawings , referred to in the description must also show the technical improvements introduced by the invention.
Once the application together with all the aforementioned documents and information has been filed, and the related fees have been paid to the relevant office, the application is assigned a filing number and a corresponding filing date. The WIPO International Office then carries out a novelty search and issues a preliminary opinion but does not issue any decision regarding the granting of the patent; in any case, this opinion is not binding on the individual countries. Within 30 months of the PCT application or the priority filing, the application must be filed in the countries of interest.
Relevant regulation: Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Foreign patents
The protection of property rights for a given patent in a particular country can also be obtained by filing the application directly at the relevant office of that country.
In this case, the application is filed at the national offices of the countries of interest through local associates with whom we collaborate in order to ensure that the filing and registration procedures are correctly carried out.
Patents for inventions always last 20 years and are not renewable, while the maintenance fees depend on the country.
