The Patent Cooperation Treaty or PCT is an international agreement for filing patent applications that have legal effect of filing in all 153 countries that are members to PCT. The PCT application does not provide for the grant on international level but it simplifies the patent application process worldwide.

The PCT System has many advantages for an applicant, for the patent Offices and for the general public as follows:

Brings the World within Reach: A single PCT application has the same legal effect as a national patent application in each of the PCT Contracting States.

Cost and Time Advantages: A major feature of the PCT system is that it delays (and in some cases saves) various costs associated with seeking patents in multiple countries.

Strong Basis for Patenting Decisions: The PCT procedure provides you information on the potential patentability of your invention that can be of great value to you. This information could save you costs as you may decide to enter the national phase in fewer countries than originally intended or to forego national phase entry completely.

The PCT is an international treaty with 153 (Updated: May 2020) Contracting States which are bound with certain formal requirements set out in the Treaty and Regulations. The list of Contracting States can be found on the authorised website of WIPO at https://www.wipo.int/pct/en/pct_contracting_states.html

You are entitled to file an international patent application if you are a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. If there are several applicants named in the international application, only one of them needs to comply with this requirement.

In the majority of cases, applicants file PCT applications electronically. You can file PCT applications electronically with any competent receiving Offices which accepts such filings. Preparing the PCT application using the WIPO web service (ePCT-filing) or the software provided by WIPO (PCT-SAFE) helps you to prepare your applications by automatically validating the entered data and drawing your attention to incorrectly or inconsistently completed parts. Moreover, it helps you to manage your applications, for example, with monitoring time limits for relevant actions. You are also entitled to certain PCT fee reductions when filing electronically.

You can file an international patent application in any language which the receiving Office accepts. If you file your application in a language which is not accepted by the ISA that is to carry out the international search, you will be required to furnish a translation of the application for the purposes of international search.

The PCT procedure includes:

a. Filing: File an international application with a RO/IN national patent Office or directly with International Bureau (IB) of WIPO, complying with the PCT formality requirements and fees. In India PCT application are filed at appropriate patent offices decided on the basis of territorial limits (Rule 4, Indian Patent Act 1970 as amended and patent Rules 2003 as amended).

b. International Search: An ―International Searching Authority(ISA) identifies the published patent documents and technical literature (―prior art) which may have an influence on whether your invention is patentable, and establishes a written opinion on your invention‘s potential patentability. Indian Patent office, Delhi Branch performs the function of ISA on receipt of prescribed fee specified in Fifth Schedule of patent act 1970 as amended and patent rules 2003 as amended.

c. International Publication: After expiration of 18 months from the earliest filing date (Priority Date), the content of your international application is disclosed to the world.

d. International Preliminary Examination (optional): one of the ISAs on request carries out an additional patentability analysis, usually on an amended version of your application. Indian Patent office, Delhi Branch performs the function of International Preliminary Examination (IPEA) on receipt of prescribed fee specified in Fifth Schedule of patent act 1970 as amended and patent rules 2003 as amended.

e. National Phase: After the end of the international PCT procedure, usually at 30 months from the earliest filing date of your initial application, from which you claim priority, you start to pursue the grant of your patents directly before the national (or regional) patent Offices of the countries in which you want to obtain them.

Please note that in India, 31 months is maximum time limit to enter national phase. To enter national phase an application corresponding to an international application is made in Form 1.

Generally, PCT process takes up to an additional 18 months from the time you file your international patent application (or usually 30 months from the filing date of the initial patent application of which you claim priority) before starting of national phase procedures with individual patent Offices and to fulfil the national requirements.

PCT applicants generally pay three types of fees when they file their international applications:

(a) An international filing fee

(b) A search fee which can vary from ISA chosen, and

(c) A small transmittal fee which varies depending on the receiving Office.

A PCT international search is a high quality search of the relevant patent documents and other technical literature in those languages in which most patent applications are filed (Chinese, English, German and Japanese, and in certain cases, French, Korean, Russian and Spanish). The results are published in an international search report and a written opinion of the ISA on the potential patentability of your invention.

An “International Searching Authority” (ISA) (one of the world’s major patent Offices) identifies the published patent documents and technical literature (“prior art”) which may have an influence on whether your invention is patentable, and establishes a written opinion on your invention’s potential patentability.

The ISR contain citations of patent documents and other technological references relevant to the potential patentability of your invention. The written opinion complements the ISR by providing a preliminary non-binding patentability assessment of your invention taking into consideration the references contained in the ISR.

For every international application, the ISA will establish, at the same time that it establishes the international search report, a preliminary and non-binding opinion on whether the invention appears to meet the patentability criteria in light of the search report results. The written opinion, which is sent to you together with the international search report, helps you understand and interpret the results of the search report with specific reference to the text of your international application, being of special help to you in evaluating your chances of obtaining a patent. The written opinion is made available to the public at the same time as the application.

International preliminary examination is a second evaluation of the potential patentability of the invention, using the same standards on which the written opinion of the ISA was based. If you wish to make amendments to your international application in order to overcome documents identified in the international search report and conclusions made in the written opinion of the ISA, international preliminary examination provides the only possibility to actively participate in the examination process and potentially influence the findings of the examiner before entering the national phase – you can submit amendments and arguments and are entitled to an interview with the examiner. At the end of the procedure, an international preliminary report on patentability will be issued.

The International Preliminary Examining Authorities (IPEAs) which carry out the international preliminary examination are the ISAs mentioned above.

It is only after you have decided whether, and in respect of which States, you wish to proceed further with your international application that you must fulfil the requirements for entry into the national phase. These requirements include paying national fees and, in some cases, filing translations of the application.

In the national phase, as each patent Office is responsible for examining your application in accordance with national or regional patent laws, regulations and practices, the fees structure and time required for the examination and grant of a patent varies across patent Offices.