Patents registered in US provide protection only within the borders of USA, but all Patents are protected only in the countries where they are registered. It is not possible to register a patent in all countries with a single application. There are patent registration systems that reduce costs and shorten the process with some international agreements. The most used system among international agreements is the PCT application. Apart from this, there are systems such as the European Patent Application that make regional patent registration possible.

Patent or utility model documents are documents that provide protection only in the country of origin. When it is requested to protect the invention in countries other than US, it is necessary to apply directly to the patent offices of the requested countries for registration. When a patent or utility model application is made in US, if it wants protection abroad, this process must be carried out within 12 months at the latest from the date of application.

PCT (Patent Cooperation Agreement) Application

It is a Patent Application system that includes 188 countries around the world. A joint research report is prepared and applications in the countries continue from the examination report stage. The PCT application is not a document application. It is a transition application made in order to reduce the cost and shorten the certification process in countries where protection is requested. Advantages:

  • provide a 30-month temporary protection in 188 PCT member states;
  • Providing an economical patent application opportunity;
  • Possibility to use a single application and a single language;
  • Being an application that shortens the patent certification process;
  • Being a system that prevents you from wasting 10 thousands of EURO for a non-new invention by making the innovation research of your invention much lower costs.

European Patent Application

It is a regional patent registration system in which joint research, examination and certification processes are carried out in 38 countries with a single application. In case all processes are positive, European Patent certificate is obtained. Validation (validation) process is required to make this document valid in member countries. It is a type of application that should be preferred if the target market of the product or service you have developed is Europe.

Advantages:

Providing a patent certificate that can be validated in 38 European Patent member states;
Providing an economical patent application opportunity;
Possibility to use a single application and a single language;
Being an application that shortens the patent certification process;

InventHelp company cooperates with attorneys who are experienced in their field in the European Union and provides services both directly on CTM registration and on CTM registration through the Madrid system. Read more about InventHelp on UrbanMatter.

Patent Research

Before a patent application is made, it is necessary to determine whether the invention is new all over the world, that is, whether it is included in the state of the art, with the preliminary research to be made for the product or method. The state of the art consists of “information about the invention, which is publicly accessible in any part of the world, disclosed in written or verbal promotion, use or otherwise, before the date of the patent application”. Invent Help recommends that you do a preliminary research before the application and obtain information about whether the subject of the invention has been taken under patent protection anywhere in the world before.