Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)Introduction and Future Developments

Speaker : Mr. Claus Matthes, Director, PCT Business Development Division

AU grant

Traditional Patent SystemFile national application first Paris Convention gives 12 month “period of priority” from filing first application to file in other countries. Within that time (usually before outcome of procedures in Office of first filing is known):

appoint local representatives in other countries

prepare translations

pay fees

begin equivalent procedures, all carried out independently

Prepare National search and examinationPrep National search and examinationPrepPrepPrep

TransTrans

National search and examinationNational search and examinationNational search and examination

0 monthsGB filing

12 monthsrest of world filing

24 months 36 months

GB grant

32

33

The PCT ─ 1970

Basic idea: simplify the procedure for obtaining patent protection in many countries, making it more efficient and economical

filing tool for applicants; and

work sharing tool for Offices

34

PCT Basics

Filing Tool for applicants:

One application, one language, one set of formality requirements, filed with one Office

Containing, by default, the designation of all Member States, for every kind of protection available, and usual priority claim(s)

Effect of a regular national filing (including establishment of a priority date) in each designated State

Delays national processing until 30 months from priority date

International search and examination reports improve basis for decision making

35

PCT Basics

Work sharing tool for Offices:

Central formality checking

Central international publication

International search report (ISR)

International Preliminary Reports on Patentability

preliminary, non-binding opinion on novelty, inventive step (non-obviousness) and industrial applicability

36

Traditional Patent Systemvs. PCT System

0 12

File local application

Filing of national applications & processing by national Offices

Fees for translations, Offices, local agents

(months)

Traditional

(months)

File PCTapplication

12 30

International search report & written opinion

16 18

Internationalpublication

(optional)File

demand forInternationalpreliminaryexamination

File localapplication

22 28

(optional)International preliminary report on

patentability

PCT 0

delay of processing by national Offices

Entering of national phase before & processing by national Offices

Fees for translations, Offices, local agents176 States

148 States

37

The PCT System

(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30

International search report

& written opinion

16 18

Internationalpublication

(optional)File

demand forInternational

preliminaryexamination

File localapplication

Enternationalphase

22 28

(optional)International preliminary report on

patentability

Typically a national patent application in the home country of

the applicant

Typically filed in same national patent office--one set of fees, one language,

one set of formality requirements--and legal effect in all PCT States

Report on state of the art (prior art

documents and their relevance) + initial

patentability opinion

Disclosing to world content of application in standardized way

Request an additional patentability analysis on

basis of amended application

Additional patentability analysis, designed to assist in national phase decision-

making

Express intention and take steps to pursue to grant in

various states

The ISAs are the following 20 offices: AustraliaAustriaBrazilCanadaChile ChinaEgyptEuropean Patent OfficeFinlandIndiaIsraelJapanNordic Patent InstituteRepublic of KoreaRussian FederationSingapore appointed @ 2014 Assemblies (Sept. 2015)SpainSwedenUkraine (not yet operating)United States of America

PCT International Searching Authorities

… and more to come? (Visegrad (CZ, SK, HU, PL))

39

Prior Art for International Search Prior art:

everything which has been made available to the public,

anywhere in the world,

by means of written disclosure,

which is capable of being of assistance in determining that the claimed invention is or is not new and that it does or does not involve an inventive step,

provided the making available to the public occurred prior to the international filing date.

40

Documents relevant to whether or not your

invention may be patentable

Symbols indicatingwhich aspect of

patentability the document cited is

relevant to (for example, novelty, inventive step,

etc.)

The claim numbersin your application to

which the document isrelevant

Example: PCT International Search Report

41Example: PCT Written opinion of the International Searching Authority

Patentability assessment

of claims

Reasoning supporting the

assessment

42

The PCT System

(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30

International search report

& written opinion

16 18

Internationalpublication

(optional)File

demand forInternational

preliminaryexamination

File localapplication

Enternationalphase

22 28

(optional)International preliminary report on

patentability

Typically a national patent application in the home country of

the applicant

Typically filed in same national patent office--one set of fees, one language,

one set of formality requirements--and legal effect in all PCT States

Report on state of the art (prior art

documents and their relevance) + initial

patentability opinion

Disclosing to world content of application in standardized way

Request an additional patentability analysis on

basis of amended application

Additional patentability analysis, designed to assist in national phase decision-

making

Express intention and take steps to pursue to grant in

various states

43

The PCTfiling tool for applicants

with global reach

work-sharing tool for Offices

harmonized formalities

buys time

patentability analysis

ePCT filing and processing

allows for correction of errors

flexibility, keeps options open

44

The PCT in 1978

PCT Coverage Today 45

=PCT

AlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahrainBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana BrazilBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoCameroonCanadaCentral African RepublicChadChileChina Colombia Comoros Congo

Costa RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDemocratic People's

Republic of KoreaDenmarkDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial Guinea EstoniaFinlandFrance,

GabonGambiaGeorgia GermanyGhana GreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuinea

Guinea-Bissau HondurasHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIreland IsraelItalyJapanKazakhstanKenyaKyrgyzstanLao People’s Dem Rep.Latvia Lesotho LiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtenstein LithuaniaLuxembourgMadagascar

MalawiMalaysiaMaliMaltaMauritaniaMexicoMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMozambiqueNamibia NetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorwayOmanPanamaPapua New GuineaPeruPhilippines

PolandPortugalQatarRepublic of Korea Republic of MoldovaRomaniaRwandaRussian FederationSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and

the Grenadines San MarinoSao Tomé e PrincipeSaudi Arabia SenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSwaziland

St. Kitts and NevisSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTajikistan ThailandThe former Yugoslav

Republic of Macedonia TogoTrinidad and Tobago TunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited Republic of TanzaniaUnited States of AmericaUzbekistanViet NamZambiaZimbabwe

148 PCT States46

Countries not yet in PCTAfghanistanAndorraArgentinaBahamasBangladeshBhutanBoliviaBurundiCambodiaCape VerdeDemocratic Republic of

CongoDjiboutiEritreaEthiopiaFijiGuyanaHaiti

IraqJamaicaJordanKiribatiKuwaitLebanonMaldivesMarshall IslandsMauritiusMicronesiaMyanmarNauruNepalPakistanPalauParaguaySamoaSolomon Islands

SomaliaSouth SudanSurinameTimor-LesteTongaTuvaluUruguayVanuatuVenezuelaYemen

(45)

47

48

PCT Applications

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 14

+4.5% for 2014

0

10'000

20'000

30'000

40'000

50'000

60'000

70'000

US JP CN DE KR FR GB NL CH SE CA IT FI ES IL

International applications received in 2014 by country of origin

CN: +18.7%

GB: +9%

US: +7.8%

• These 15 Offices received almost 92% of all applications filed in 2014

• PCT fees=78% of WIPO’s revenue in 2014

Trend in PCT national phase entries 

. 16.1 40.0 16.1 18.6 8.6 20.8 8.4

-0.3

11.3 11.0 11.0 8.8 7.1

-4.1

8.5 4.6 6.5 4.3

100,000

300,000

500,000

PC

T na

tiona

l pha

se e

ntrie

s

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

PCT national phase entries Growth rate (%)

Application year

PCT national phase entries by office – 1‐10

Growth rate (%): 2012-13

9.0 2.3 4.6 2.1 14.4 -5.9 -1.0 -0.4 8.4 4.1

119,899

87,367

72,867

54,157

35,16827,592 26,627 22,576 20,720

13,115

PC

T na

tiona

l pha

se e

ntrie

s

United

Stat

es of

Ameri

ca

Europe

an P

atent

Office

China

Japa

nRep

ublic

of Kore

aInd

iaCan

ada

Brazil

Austra

lia

Russia

n Fed

eratio

n

Office

PCT national phase entries by office – 11‐20

Growth rate (%): 2012-13

2.0 -1.7 . -2.7 16.9 5.4 17.0 -8.6 -1.3 3.8

11,766

6,557 6,129 6,105 5,604 5,284 5,253 5,1013,808

3,063

PC

T na

tiona

l pha

se e

ntrie

s

.

Mex

icoSing

apore

Indon

esia

South

Africa

Thaila

ndMala

ysia

German

yIsr

ael

New Zea

land

Viet N

am

Office

Top PCT Applicants 20141. Huawei Technologies—CN (3,442)2. Qualcomm—US (2,409)3. ZTE—CN (2,179)4. Panasonic—JP (2,881)5. Mitsubishi Electric—JP (1,593)6. Intel—US (1,852)7. Ericsson—SE (1,467)8. Microsoft—US (1,460)9. Siemens—DE (1,399) 10. Philips—NL (1,391)11. Samsung—KR (1,381)12. Toyota—JP(1,378)13. Bosch—DE (1,371)14. Sharp—JP (1,227)15. NEC—JP (1,215)16. LG Electronics—KR (1,138)17. Tencent—CN (1,086)18. Fujifilm—JP (1,072)19. United Technologies—US (1,013)20. Hitachi—JP (996)

() of publishedPCT applications

Top University PCT Applicants 20141. University of California (US)2. MIT (US)3. University of Texas (US)4. Harvard University (US)5. Johns Hopkins (US)6. Leland Stanford University (US)7. Columbia University (US)8. Cal Tech (US)9. University of Pennsylvania (US)10. Seoul National University (KR)11. Cornell University (US)12. Nanyang Technological University (SG)13. University of Florida (US)14. Kyoto University (JP)15. Danemarks Tekniske Universitet (DK)16. University of Tokyo (JP)17. University of Michigan (US)18. Korea University (KR)19. Peking University (CN)20. University of Washington (US)

56

The PCT “Market Share”

*

57

Postpones major costs of internationalizing a patent application

Provides a strong basis for patenting decisions

Harmonizes formal requirements

Helps applicants to correct errors

Evolves to meet user needs

PCT Key Advantages

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The PCT ─ 1970 to TodayAs filing tool: PCT extremely successful

Preferred route for international patenting (> 200,000 applications in in 2013, > 54% “market share”)

Harmonization of formal and procedural requirements, beyond PCT (national laws; Patent Law Treaty (PLT))

59

The PCT ─ 1970 to Today

However: as work sharing tool not as effective in practice for addressing national quality of examination and (for some Offices) backlogs

Expectation was: “flying start” for offices; completing, checkingand criticizing …

Reality is: many Offices start “from scratch”, perhaps not in complete isolation, but …

What is needed: building trust between patent offices, so that duplicative international phase and national phase processing canbe reduced

60

PCT Areas of WorkImprove the quality and consistency of PCT international phasework products

Develop quality metrics for measuring usefulness of work products and identifying areas of further work

Develop quality feedback system for offices

Help designated Offices to better understand reports

Search strategies, standardized clauses, explanations of relevance of cited documents, …

Explore collaborative search and examination

Third party observations system

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Improve timeliness of actions in international phase

Develop metrics for entire PCT system

Create incentives for applicants to use system efficiently

Encourage high quality applications and early correction of defects and filing of amendments

PCT/PPH

Improve access to national search and examination reports

Patentscope, CASE, Global Dossier

PCT Areas of Work

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Helping developing countries benefit from the PCT

Top 10 countries responsible for 87% of IAs published in 2013; top 15 countries = 92%; top 20 countries = 96%

Improve training for examiners, better coordinate training already offered

Improve access to affordable online search systems

Making PCT accessible to applicants of all types from all Contracting States

Fee reductions (SMEs, universities, research institutes, individual applicants)

PCT Areas of Work

63

ePCT: Seeks to provide electronic interface to entire PCT international phase process (RO, ISA, IPEA, IB)

Real time access to IB files and bibliographic data

Flexible applicant-controlled access rights system

Increasing access to RO, ISA, IPEA documents not traditionally held by IB

Increasing transmission of documents to RO, ISA, IPEA

Where possible, replace letters with directly usable information

Notifications of significant events and approaching deadlines

PCT Areas of Work

PCT Training Options

29 video segments on WIPO’s Youtube channel and WIPO’s PCT page about individual PCT topics

PCT Distance learning course content available in the 10 PCT publication languages

PCT Webinars

free updates on developments in PCT procedures and PCT strategies

also for companies or law firms

In-person PCT Seminars and training sessions

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For further information about the PCT, see

http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/

For general questions about the PCT, contact the PCT Information Service at:

Telephone: (+41-22) 338 83 38

Facsimile: (+41-22) 338 83 39

E-mail: pct.infoline@wipo.int

PCT Resources/Information65

Thank You!

Claus MatthesDirector, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Business Development Division

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)34 chemin des Colombettes, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland

T + 41 22 338 98 09; claus.matthes@wipo.int; www.wipo.int