The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international agreement for filing patent applications having effect in many countries around the world. Although the PCT system does not provide for the grant of “an international patent”, the system simplifies the process of filing patent applications, delays the expenses associated with applying for patent protection in foreign countries, and allows the inventor more time to assess the commercial viability of his/her invention. Under the PCT, an inventor can file a single international patent application in one language with one patent office in order to simultaneously seek protection for an invention in the PCT member countries (source: USPTO Inventor Resources).

PCT Links:
WIPO PCT Resources
About the PCT
PCT Articles (html, pdf)
PCT Rules (html, pdf)
PCT Treaty, Regulations, and Administrative Instructions
General FAQs on Patents from WIPO
PCT Applicant’s Guide
Types of Protection Available via the PCT in PCT Contracting States
WIPO Standard Two Letter Country Codes
Time Limits for Entering National/Regional Phase under PCT Chapters I and II
Effects of modification of PCT Article 22(1) time limit
PCT Contracting States for which a Regional Patent can be Obtained via the PCT
PCT Fee Tables by Countries/Offices
PCT Fees in US Dollars
Official Notices (PCT Gazette) Collection
PCT Newsletter
PCT Time Limit Calculator
USPTO PCT Office including Forms, Fees, and Information
European Patent Office (EPO)
Filing an application in the EPO
MPEP Chapter 1800 Patent Cooperation Treaty (html, pdf)

Searching:
PatentScope Search - International Patent Applications Search
esp@cenet - EP and WIPO Patent Search

Phone Numbers:
The USPTO PCT Help Desk, which provides information and assistance on the PCT process, may be reached by telephone at (571) 272-4300 between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:30 pm (EST/EDT), Monday through Friday or by facsimile (FAX) at (571) 273-0419 twenty-four hours a day.

There are four basic requirements for patentability under the European Patent Convention (EPC): 1) there must be an “invention”; 2) the invention must be “susceptible of industrial application”; 3) the invention must be “new”; and 4) the invention must involve an “inventive step” (Article 52).

Many people who have confidence in their knowledge of U.S. patent law run into problems when applying for European patents because they disclose their invention before filing either a U.S. or European patent application. While this may be acceptable (with certain limitations) in the U.S., it can create insurmountable problems in many other countries.

In order to understand why, you must understand the third requirement of patentability under the EPC - the “new” requirement.

According to Article 54(1) of the EPC, an invention is considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art. Article 54(2) goes on to define “state of the art” as everything made available to the public, whether written, oral, in use, or any other way before the date of filing of the European patent application.

So, any public disclosure before the filing date of your invention, including writing about your invention on your blog, or using your invention as part of your newly launched website, can result in loss of international patent rights. The only situations where public disclosure is not taken into consideration is if the public disclosure was made within six months of the filing of the European patent application, and was the result of some sort of abuse, such as a breach of confidence, or if it was made at a recognized international exhibition (Article 55).

Since the EPO only searches printed publications during examination, an oral disclosure is unlikely to affect the grant of a patent. However, the oral disclosure could be used by others after grant, for example, during an EPO opposition proceeding or national revocation proceeding.

Therefore, those considering filing international patent applications should be extremely careful about any public disclosure and, preferably, seek the advice of qualified patent counsel.

Links: European Patent Convention, Article 54, Article 55, Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office (Patentability: General, Non-prejudicial disclosures; Guidelines for opposition procedure), EPC Part V - Opposition Procedure.

A list of two-letter codes accepted for use in indicating States, other entities, and intergovernmental organizations in documents relating to international applications under the PCT. The list is part of WIPO Standard ST.3.

Links: USPTO List of Country Codes, PCT Applicant’s Guide.

Internationally, an industrial design is the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article. The design may consist of three-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface of an article, or of two-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or color. In most countries, an industrial design must be registered in order to be protected under industrial design law. Design registrations are similar in some ways to design patents in the United States.

As a general rule, to be registrable, the design must be “new” or “original”. Once a design is registered, a registration certificate is issued. Following that, the term of protection is generally five years, with the possibility of further periods of renewal up to, in most cases, 15 years.

Depending on the particular national law and the kind of design, an industrial design may also be protected as a work of art under copyright law. Under certain circumstances an industrial design may also be protectable under unfair competition law.

A procedure for an international registration exists under the WIPO-administered treaty, the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs. An applicant can file a single international deposit either with the WIPO or the national office of a country which is party to the treaty. The design will then be protected in as many member countries of the treaty as the applicant wishes.

(additional links: design registrations in the UK)

An international application must be an application for the protection of an invention. The PCT encompasses the filing of applications for patents for inventions, inventors’ certificates, utility certificates, utility models, and various kinds of patents and certificates of addition. An international application thus cannot validly be filed for certain other forms of industrial property rights which fall outside the scope of “inventions”, such as, for example, purely ornamental designs. (PCT Articles 2(i), 2(ii), 3(1); PCT Applicants Guide Vol. I)

Luxembourg has taken the issue of software patents off of the agenda of next week’s meeting of the European Parliament.

Sparks will be flying next week in Brussels as Europe makes a decision on whether to formalize the granting of computer-implemented inventions such as software patents. Software patents are controversial, and opposed by many (1, 2, 3) on the grounds that they stifle innovation and benefit large companies. Nevertheless, it is probably inevitable that Europe (UK Patent Office FAQ) follow the US in their software patent policy.