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Foreign Patents

Since the rights granted by a U.S. patent extend only throughout the territory of the U.S. and have no effect in a foreign country, an inventor who wishes patent protection in other countries must apply for a patent in each of the other countries. Almost every country has its own patent law, and a person desiring a patent in a particular country must make an application for patent in that country.

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

The PCT is presently followed by over 90 countries, including the U.S. The treaty facilitates the filing of applications for patent on the same invention in member counties by providing, among other thins, for centralized filing procedures and a standardized application format.

The timely filing of an international application affords applicants an international filing date in each country which is designated in the international application and provides (1) a search of the invention and (2) a later time period within which the national applications for patent must be filed.

Under U.S. law it is necessary, in the case of inventions made in the U.S., to obtain a license from the Director of the USPTO before applying for a patent in a foreign country. Such a license is required if the foreign application is to be filed before an application is filed in the U.S. or before the expiration of six months from the filing of an application in the U.S.