What is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)?

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international agreement that allows individuals to file a single patent application in any of the participating countries instead of filing individual applications in each of the countries. This agreement was signed in 1970 and South Carolina is one of the 148 countries that are currently signed up to the PCT. The PCT simplifies the patent application process by allowing an inventor to submit one application that is recognized in multiple countries. This saves a lot of time, energy, and money on a person’s part as they don’t have to submit multiple applications and go through the process in each of the countries. Moreover, the PCT provides a way for individuals to conduct international patent searches and obtain basic information about patent law applicable to the invention in each of the countries. The PCT simplifies the process of gaining a patent, however, it does not grant the individual the patent itself. Each country sets its own standards for granting a patent and has its own deadline on when to grant it. Once the patent application has been submitted to the participating countries, the applicant must then pursue each patent in the individual countries. The PCT does, however, grant the inventor a 30-month period in which they can pursue the patent in each of the countries. This allows for a much faster process than if the individual had to submit and pursue each patent independently. Overall, the Patent Cooperation Treaty is a major tool used by inventors to increase their chances of getting a patent across multiple countries. It simplifies the patent application process significantly and gives them an extended period of time to pursue each patent in each of the countries.

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What is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)?

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