The Patent Cooperation Treaty: Safeguarding Intellectual Property

In 2008, the United Nations World Intellectual Property Office registered 1.76 million international patent application filings

. This figure saw a slight decline last year, with filings falling down by 4.5%, which WIPO chief economist Carsten Fink ascribes to the US financial crisis. The US still holds the top position as country with most patent applications, with Japan and Germany ranking second and third, respectively. China has shown a grand leap, ranking 5th next to Republic of Korea. China edged out France, increasing patent application by up to 30%.

Astutely aware of the current state of economy, many corporations prudently look for intellectual property protection primarily by filing patent application. An invention is shielded from being replicated by competitor parties in the inventor's originating country and even across borders.

In patent application, timing is fundamental. The first to file the patent for an innovation has the claim over the patent rights for that invention.

Having this in mind, patent applicants commonly take the Patent Cooperation Treaty path for patent application filing. Through the PCT, an applicant procures a priority date for 30 months as he works the filing of the patent in his own area and in the other 141 member nations of the PCT union where he resolves to quest for patent application as well.

This fundamental advantage has resolved the timing and cost issues. Patent applications filed away through the PCT harvest the benefits of postponing both the great costs related with individual country filings and also the decision as to which nations to enter for 2 years, while retaining an advance priority date.

In gearing up for a patent application particularly through the PCT, applicants are asked to be ready regarding the state and scope of intellectual property legislation in the country of jurisdiction, and the complexities included in applying patent at a cross-border level.

This information will help define the specific measures to select in filing a patent application through the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

by: Charlie Johnson

POST COMMENT

How to Remove/Get Rid of Antivirdom.com Virus? How To Choose Night Mouth Guards For Teeth Grinding Netgate Spy Emergency How to thoroughly uninstall/remove Trend Micro Antivirus from your PC? Is Delete Antivirus 2010 a Spyware? How to Remove it? Easy Personal Anti Virus Removal Remove AWM Antivirus - How to Remove AWM Antivirus Quickly Remove AWM Antivirus - How to Remove AWM Antivirus Completely Uninstall Alpha antivirus- How to completely remove Alpha antivirus? Uninstall Avira antivirus- How to completely remove Avira antivirus? Do You Believe In Guardian Angels? Why Physical Guarding Is A Necessity In Johannesburg Keep Your Roof Clean With Gutter Leaf Guards