Patent Cooperation Treaty -» PCT

Wodd Intellectual Property Organization, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and Regulations Under the PCT (As in Forcefrom July 1, 1992), WIPO, 1992. 

Because each country has its own patent laws, the precise meaning of the bibhographic data and the legal significance of the pubUshed patent document vary from country to country. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) provides a recommended code to distinguish the various types of documents and to simplify storage and retrieval of patent data (2), but the code is implemented differentiy by different countries. For example, in the United States an A-document in 1995 was a patent in the Nethedands, an A-document was a pubUshed unexamined appHcation. It is essential to understand each country s system to interpret the status of its patent documents. 

All countries listed are included in Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) except for Argentina, Cuba, Cypress, Egypt, the former GDR, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Malaysia, Malta, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, the former Yugoslavia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

Many of the most significant patenting regions (e.g. Japan, the USA and Europe) are also signatories of the International Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). This allows for an initial review of the patent application to be undertaken by a single patent office. The office then provides a summary assessment of this application, which provides an indication of the likely response that would be obtained from individual PCT countries. For many, this initial assessment plays a major role in deciding whether to proceed with the patent application in individual countries. 

One important tool in the international patent world is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). By filing an international patent application, one may seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries. Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a national or resident of a contracting state of the PCT. A list of the more than 120 contracting states can be found on the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) [5]. The effect of the international application in each such state is the same as if a... 

The International Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) created the opportunity to file a patent application almost world-wide (most countries accept PCT applications) at international patent registration offices which are usually identical with the national patent offices. A search report summarizing relevant prior art will be issued and, if requested, a preliminary examination considering the prior art is performed. The preliminary international examination provides a non-binding opinion whether the claimed invention appears to be novel, inventive and industrially applicable. It does not investigate the patentability according to any national law. 

Apart from applications to national authorities, patent applications may also be made through the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). 

If a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT, see below) filing is decided, the application can be filed by the applicant in the PCT Receiving Office of the US Patent Office. Decisions then have to be made shortly before 30 months after the initial filing date with regard to national filings, as described below in the section on PCT . 

Anyone applying for a patent at the national or international level is required to determine whether their creation is new or is already owned or claimed. To determine this, huge amounts of information must be searched. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization s (WIPO) International Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) have created classification systems which organize information concerning inventions into indexed, manageable categories for easy retrieval. 

Since its adoption in 1978, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) (233) has become an increasingly important and useful mechanism to obtain patent protection throughout the world. Currently the PCT has about 115 mem-... 

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (1970). Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Available http //www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/articles/atoc.htm. 

These two treaties were the Convention of the Grant of European Patents, named the European Patent Convention (EPC), signed in Munich in 1973, set up by the Council of Europe, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), signed in... 

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international agreement that extends the time before formally moving forward on fifing the patent by another 18 months. Individuals may request this to gain another 18 months to further refine the final product and decide if the idea merits investment of the final costs of patenting. 

Most U.S. inventors seeking foreign bionanotechnology patents first file a U.S. patent application (known as the national stage application) and follow it with a patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Inventors have a year after filing the national stage patent application... 

Bulthuis BA, Gatenby AA, Laynie SL, Hsu AK, Lareau RD (1998) Method for the production of glycerol by recombinant organisms. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Application WO 98/21340 Cameron DC, Cooney CL (1986) A novel fermentation the production of R(-)-... 

Yano J, Ohgi T, Ueda T (2006) Optically active oligonucleic acid compound containing phosphorothioate bond. International application published under the patent cooperation treaty (PCT), WO 2006/043521 Al (in Japanese with English abstract)... 

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