PCT Patent application

Terms and Conditions

1. The prices quoted above include:
1. filing of a PCT application, typically before the EPO;
2. all official fees;
3. copies, courier, etc. There will be no extra fees.
4. as to Chapter I: analysis of the international search report;
5. as to Chapter II: responses to the international search report and any other written opinion (typically two responses).
2. The prices quoted above do not include:
1. formal correction of drawings, if objected to;
2. additional fees in case of a lack of unity of invention;
3. divisional applications;
4. appeal proceedings concerning unity of invention;
5. translation costs, if they occur;

Procedure

Upon receipt of your instructions we sift the description of the invention and we will contact you first by telephone to clarify the details. It is also possible to make an appointment at our office to present your invention.

Frequently, we need further information which you can send to us by e-mail. Based on the information that you have provided we draft a patent application, including the patent claims, that we send to you for your perusal and approval.

Upon your approval we submit the patent application to the competent Patent Office. Upon our application for examination and the payment of the examination fee the Patent Office is examining whether the invention is new and inventive. If the Patent Office issues an office action we will repsort the office action and draft a response.

The patent is granted after about three years. We will send you the certificate and inform you in good time of any pending deadlines, in particular the periods for payment of maintenance fees.

What is a PCT patent application?

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) assists applicants in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions, helps patent Offices with their patent granting decisions, and facilitates public access to a wealth of technical information relating to those inventions. By filing one international patent application under the PCT, applicants can simultaneously seek protection for an invention in a very large number of countries.

The PCT procedure consists of two main phases.  It begins with the filing of an international application and ends (in the case of a favorable outcome for the applicant) with the grant of a number of national and/or regional patents:  hence the terms “international phase” and “national phase.” 

The international phase consists of five stages.  The first three occur automatically for all international applications and the last two are optional.  The first three steps consist of the filing of the international application by the applicant and its processing by the “receiving Office”, the establishment of the international search report and written opinion by one of the “International Searching Authorities” and the publication of the international application together with the international search report by the International Bureau of WIPO. The fourth step includes the establishment of a supplementary international search which may be carried out by one or more of the International Searching Authorities (other than the one that carried out the main international search) resulting in the establishment of a supplementary international search report. 

The optional fifth step involves what is known as international preliminary examination and is concluded with the establishment of the international preliminary report on patentability by one of the “International Preliminary Examining Authorities”. The international preliminary report on patentability analyzes aspects of the general patentability of the invention.  Together with the published international application, the international search report and any supplementary international search report, the international preliminary report on patentability is communicated to the national (or regional) Offices which the applicant wishes to grant him a patent on the basis of his international application.

On completion of the international phase, further action is required before and in each of the national (or regional) Offices which the applicant wishes to grant him a patent on the basis of his international application.  In particular, the applicant has to pay to those Offices the required national (or regional) fees, furnish them with any translations that are required and appoint a representative (patent agent) where required.  There are time limits by which those steps must be taken if the application is to proceed in the national phase.  If the steps are not taken within the applicable time limit, the effect of the international application may cease in any State where the time limit has not been met.  The national (or regional) Offices then examine the application and grant or refuse the national (or regional) patent on the basis of their national laws. 

Cost of patent application

The costs of a patent application are made up of the fees of the patent office and the fees of the lawyer. Our flat fee include the fees of the patent office as well as the attorney fees. The flat fee covers the attorney and official fees for drafting and filing the application, for answering office actions and for the grant of the patent.