The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) assists the applicants in seeking patent protection for their inventions internationally, helps patent Offices with patent granting decisions, and facilitates public access to technical information relating to those inventions.

The lucrative feature here is that by filing one international patent application under the PCT, the inventors can simultaneously seek protection for their invention in many countries. PCT came into force with only 13 member states, and today it has 153 member states. 80% of the PCT member states are developing and least developing countries.

The PCT procedure consists of two main phases. It initiates with the filing of an international application. It terminates (in the case of a favorable outcome for the applicant) with the grant of several national or regional patents: hence the terms “international phase” and “national phase.

” The PCT system comprises a single international phase, followed by one or more national phases. The national phase starts, upon completion of the international phase, if the applicant decides to continue processing the application before the regional or national patent offices to obtain regional or national protection.

It is essential to understand that a PCT application is commonly called as an “International Application.” In contrast, the PCT applications filed in individual contracting countries based on the International application are called “National Phase Applications.”

Nothing exists by the name ‘International Patent.’ If an inventor wishes to obtain a patent in a particular country, the application must be filed in each country by entering the “national phase” in that country. Also, it is essential to keep in mind that the International Phase PCT ends within 30/31 months from the earliest priority date, and it is imperative that within this duration, the applicant decides the PCT member countries for the National Phase application; otherwise, the application is deemed to be abandoned or withdrawn. However, some countries may allow late national phase entry.

Any resident or national of a PCT contracting state may file an international application. International applications have to be filed with a competent receiving Office. The applicant can choose from the following:

– The national office of the PCT contracting state of which the applicant is a resident or national or with the office acting for that state.

– The International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), irrespective of the PCT contracting state of which the applicant is a resident or national.

– The competent regional office, e.g., the European Patent Office (EPO) (provided that at least one applicant is a national or resident of a contracting state to the European Patent Convention (EPC)).

The residents of India can file an International application with the following:

* The Indian Patent Office at Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, or Kolkata as the Receiving Office (RO/IN)
or
* The International Bureau of WIPO as the Receiving Office (RO/IB)

You may read some of the below relevant articles:

Late National Phase PCT Entry: Possible or Not Possible?
Have you missed the deadline to file a PCT application? What next?
PCT Patent Application in India
Paris Convention Vs. Patent Cooperation Treaty: Pros and Cons