PATENTS Background; The Patent Specification; Filing a Patent Application; Ownership of Patents; Foreign Applications; European Patents; Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT); The Paris Convention; First Publication; The Granted Patent; Product Marking; Summary of Stages of Progress of typical British Patent Application.
	Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) This is a treaty between a number of countries and provides for the common searching and preliminary examination of applications. Such "international" applications are filed at the office of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva and have two phases: firstly an international phase during which an international search and (optionally) preliminary examination is carried out and secondly a national phase in which the international application is split into a bundle of national patent applications in the designated countries. In some countries, the national phase is regarded as little more than a formality - if the application has passed successfully through the search and preliminary examination processes in the international stages it is reckoned to be in good order, and will be granted without difficulty. However, in the more stringent examining regions such as Europe and USA, the examination procedure, and sometimes the search as well, is likely to be repeated in the national phase, and the national Patent Office Examiner may come to a different opinion to the international Examiner. The great advantage of PCT is that it puts off for several months, or possibly more than one year, the large cost associated with filing national patent applications. During the international phase, a high quality international search is carried out and this gives a good idea as to the likely prospects for success for the eventual national patent applications. There follows a list of the principal countries covered by the PCT; we can advise on the full list: Australia Germany South Korea Austria Greece Russia Belgium Ireland Singapore Brazil Italy South Africa Canada Japan Spain China Luxembourg Sweden Czech Republic Netherlands Switzerland Denmark New Zealand United Kingdom Finland Norway U.S.A. France Poland ging associated with the product should be marked. If the patent is not yet granted, care should be taken not to state or imply that it is granted, but there is no objection to quoting the patent application number, provided it is made clear that the number being quoted is an application number, and not a patent number. For patents in chemistry, metallurgy, biochemistry and biotechnology, contact Stephen Wilkinson in our Bristol office. For patents in physics, electrical engineering, general engineering and computing, contact Chris Boydell or Sarah Perkins in our London office or David Marles in our Bristol office.