There is no single international patent. Patents
are national instruments and the power of a patent is therefore
limited to the boundaries of the country that grants it. Fortunately
for inventors and patent owners, there are international agreements
that make it easier to expand their reach.
The Paris Convention allows you to file your
patent in almost any country of commercial importance, up to
one year from when you file your first patent application on
a given invention. This means that you have an "option" to file
but that you don't have to take up that option. Your patent
application will be treated overseas, as if it had been filed
there originally, so long as you abide by the one year provision.
Some countries require that an invention be
absolutely "new" when the patent application is filed. Other
countries like Australia and the United States allow one year
between the first public knowledge, sale or use of an invention
and the date on which the patent application is filed. If you
are interested in wide international coverage, you should file
your first patent application on an invention before you publicise
or offer to sell your invention.
PCT
(Patent Cooperation Treaty)
If you
are considering patenting your invention in 5 countries or more,
a mechanism called the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) may be
useful. You can make a PCT application within one year from
the first patent application for an invention. In short, the
PCT application extends your option to file overseas for up
to 30 months from the first application instead of only 12 months.
This extra 18 months can be critical to help raise funds and
build overseas networks for exploiting your invention.
US
Patent
For many Australians, the single most important
overseas patent is the US one. At Molins & Co. we have responded
to this need by offering Australia's only direct
lodgement service into the US Patent Office. This means better,
faster, less expensive patents in your most critical export
market. We can also prosecute your patents here in Australia
and in any country where patent protection is available.
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