Patents: PCT Procedure
High qualification and high responsibility
Patenting of Inventions According to PCT Procedure. National Phase in Ukraine
One of the possible options for patenting your invention is PCT procedure.
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) allows you to apply for a patent in almost all countries. At the same time, the term for for entering national or regional phase is 30–31 months, depending on the legislation. For instance, in Ukraine, the Applicant has 31 months to proceed with the entering stage.
This term must be strictly followed, because after its expiration, your invention will lose its world novelty, and the situation will arise where at the examination stage your priority Application will be opposed to your current Application.
The PCT procedure expands the Applicant’s ability to select countries in which he wants to obtain a patent and enter the submitted Application into the national/regional phase. Due to such a long term, the Applicant gets more time to translate the necessary documentation, search for investors, and conduct additional research.
Documents which are provided by the client:
- Application materials, namely invention specification, claims, abstract.
- Drawings, if any.
- Power of Attorney executed according to the form provided by the Patent Attorney.
Entering the national/regional phase means that in the selected country/region the Application undergoes the qualification examination, in case of successful completion of which the national/regional patent is issued.
The stages of registration of patent for invention according to the PCT procedure
During the qualification examination, the compliance of the invention with the criteria of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability is checked.
One of the advantages of the PCT procedure is the possibility, when entering the national phase, to transform an Application for an invention into an Application for a utility model. Thus, it is possible to register an object that, according to the Examination Authorities, does not meet the patentability criteria required for the invention. However, this strategy is only valid for countries which legislation recognizes the utility model. For more information please visit this page.
In the case of successful completion of the qualification examination and absence of any objections from third parties, the national or regional Patent Office issues its decision on the grant of the patent.
The validity term of a patent for an invention issued under the PCT procedure is 20 years in most countries.
The validity of each obtained patent is to be maintained by the payment of the established annuities. In some countries, such annual fees are to be paid for several years at once.
Our specialists will give competent and clear answers to all your questions and provide all necessary services for the successful patenting of your invention using the PCT procedure in Ukraine and other countries. We are waiting for you!
