the patent cooperation treaty (pct) wipo-kipo-kipa ip panorama business school 7 october 2008 kim...

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

WIPO-KIPO-KIPA IP PANORAMA BUSINESS SCHOOL

7 October 2008

Kim Jae Hyon, PCT Legal DivisionWIPO

(1) What is the PCT?

(2) Why use the PCT? What are its advantages?

(3) Recent PCT Developments

(4) Things we’re working on

(1) What is the PCT?

• A mainly procedural international treaty facilitating certain steps in the process of obtaining patents internationally

• More specifically, the PCT establishes a procedure for the filing and processing of a single application for a patent which has legal effect in the countries which are Treaty members

• Simplifies the procedure for obtaining patent protection in many countries, making it more efficient and economical for:

(1) users of the patent system (applicants and inventors); and

(2) patent Offices

• The decision on granting patents is made exclusively by national or regional Offices in the national phase

• Signed in June 1970, in Washington, D.C., and became operational in June 1978 with 18 States

• As of 27 September 2007, the PCT has 138 Contracting States

=PCT

AlbaniaAlgeriaAngola (27 December 2007)Antigua and BarbudaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahrain BarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana BrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoCameroonCanadaCentral African RepublicChadChina Colombia Comoros Congo

Costa RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDemocratic People's Republic of KoreaDenmarkDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial Guinea EstoniaFinlandFrance,

GabonGambiaGeorgia GermanyGhana GreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuinea

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

MalawiMalaysiaMaliMaltaMauritaniaMexicoMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMozambiqueNamibia NetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorwayOmanPapua New GuineaPhilippines

PolandPortugalRepublic of Korea Republic of MoldovaRomaniaRussian FederationSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the Grenadines San MarinoSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSwaziland

St. Kitts and NevisSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTajikistan The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia TogoTrinidad and Tobago TunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited Republic of TanzaniaUnited States of AmericaUzbekistanViet NamYugoslaviaZambiaZimbabwe

138 PCT States

Growth in PCT member States over last 10 years

2003Papua New GuineaSyrian Arab RepublicEgyptBotswana

2002Saint Vincent

and the Grenadines

Seychelles

2001Colombia Ecuador Equatorial Guinea Philippines Oman Zambia Tunisia

2000AlgeriaAntigua and

BarbudaMozambiqueBelize

1999United Arab

EmiratesSouth AfricaCosta RicaDominicaUnited

Republic of Tanzania

Morocco

1998Cyprus Croatia Grenada India

1997YugoslaviaGhanaZimbabweSierra LeoneIndonesiaGambiaGuinea-

Bissau

1996TurkeyIsraelCubaSaint LuciaBosnia and

Herzegovina

2004San Marino

2005ComorosNigeriaLibyan

Arab Jamahiriya

St. Kitts and Nevis

2006HondurasEl SalvadorMalaysiaLao People’s Democratic RepublicGuatemala

2007MaltaBahrainDominican

RepublicAngola

Growth in PCT filings

PCT Filing forecastsPCT Filing Forecast

93,

239

10

8,2

30

110,

39

0

115

,19

3

122

,61

0

13

6,6

80

148,

846

157

,80

0

165

,40

0

17

4,6

00

18

3,8

00

192

,70

0

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

200,000

220,000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Num

ber

of P

CT

ap

plic

atio

ns

File

d

The PCT System--typical use, in more detail

(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30

International search report

& written opinion

16 18

Internationalpublication

(optional)File

demand forInternational

preliminary examination

File localapplication

Enternationalphase

22 28

(optional)International preliminary report on

patentability


(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30


& written opinion

16 18


(optional)File




Enternationalphase

22 28


patentability

Typically a national patent application in the home country of

the applicant


(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30


& written opinion

16 18


(optional)File




Enternationalphase

22 28


patentabilityTypically filed in same

national patent office--one set of fees, one language,

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


(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30


& written opinion

16 18


(optional)File




Enternationalphase

22 28


patentability

Report on state of the art (prior art

documents and their relevance) + initial

patentability opinion


(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30


& written opinion

16 18


(optional)File




Enternationalphase

22 28


patentability

Disclosing to world content of application in standardized way


(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30


& written opinion

16 18


(optional)File




Enternationalphase

22 28


patentability

Request an additional patentability analysis on basis

of amended application


(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30


& written opinion

16 18


(optional)File




Enternationalphase

22 28


patentability

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

making


(months)

File PCTapplication

120 30


& written opinion

16 18


(optional)File




Enternationalphase

22 28


patentability

Express intention and take steps to pursue to grant in

various states

(2) Why use the PCT?

What are its advantages?

1. brings the world within reach

2. postpones the major costs associated with internationalizing a patent application

3. provides a strong basis for patenting decisions

4. is used by the world’s major corporations, universities and research institutions when they seek international patent protection

5. allows you to apply securely and easily online, and to save money by doing so

As the cornerstone of the international patent system, the PCT provides a worldwide system for simplified filing and processing of patent applications, which--

1. Brings the world within reach

How?

PCT application = Legal effect of a regular national patentapplication in all PCT States

2. Postpones the major costs associated with internationalizing a patent application

What are those large initial costs?

1) Translations of the patent applications (which are highly technical documents) into various national languages

2) Official fees for payment to national/regional patent offices (for example, filing fees, claims fees, etc.)

3) Fees for the services of local patent agents/attorneys in the designated states

When are these costs incurred?

Traditional patent systemvs.

PCT systemFees for:

--translations--Office fees--local agents

0 12

File local application

Fileapplications

abroad(months)

Traditional

(months)

File PCTapplication

12 30

International search report & written opinion

16 18


(optional)File




Enternationalphase

22 28


patentability

PCT 0

Fees for:

--translations--Office fees--local agents

PCT Costs--in perspective

According to IP Global Estimator, the total cost of hypothetical application(RO/US, ISA/EP, 46 pages/12 claims w/3 independent, national phase in AU, CA, EPO, JP, MX, US, and EP validation in DE, FR, GB,

IT, NL & SE, + maintenance fees--from filing until expiration of 12 national phase patents at 20 years from the filing date) would be USD $232,742

Thus, the PCT filing fees, including the international search by the EPO, (total: USD $3,637) represented 1.6% of what the PCT applicant could expect to pay throughout the full life of this patent family

If the payment of annual maintenance fees is eliminated from the above calculation, the total amount that the applicant would expect to pay to see his/her patents granted is reduced to USD $86,398. PCT filing fees would then represent 4.2% of this amount

[Estimate date: July 1, 2007]

3. Provides a strong basis for patenting decisions

Together with the time gained (as previously explained) and the postponement of the significant costs, it is the

information about the potential patentability of the invention

that is received during the PCT process which is the most valuable for the PCT applicant

What does this potential patentability information consist of?

In Chapter I of the Treaty (before the international publication), it is the content of the

International Search Report (ISR)

and the

Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority

In Chapter II of the Treaty (after international publication), it is the content of the

International Preliminary Report on Patentability (Chapter II) (IPRP (Ch. II))

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: international search report

Example: written opinion of the ISA

Patentability assessment of claims

Reasoning supporting the

assessment

Example: international preliminary report on patentability (Ch. II)

Reasoning supporting the

assessment

Patentability assessment of claims

(usually, as amended)

He/she uses it as a basis for their patenting decisions--decisions about:

1) whether to enter the national phase

2) where to enter the national phase

Example--

Based on the information received during both Chapters I and II, the Procter & Gamble company found that it:

--abandoned 20% of PCT filings at national phase (did not enter national phase at all anywhere);

--when it did enter national phase, it did so in only 70% of the States it had originally intended to patent in

What does the applicant do with the information from the ISR, ISO and IPRP Ch. II?

4. Is used by the world’s major corporations, universities and research institutions

when they seek international patent protection

International applications received in 2007 by country of origin

Top PCT Applicants (2007)

TOP Korean PCT users

• LG Electronics• Samsung Electronics• LG Chemicals• ETRI – Electronics & Telecom. Research Institute• Seoul National University• POSCO – Pohang Iron & Steel Company• AMORE PACIFIC CORP.• LG Innotek Co. Ltd.• KIST – Korea Institute of Science & Technology

5. apply securely and easily online, and save money for doing so!

PCT Electronic filing overview1. Prepare application body: in XML using the PCT-SAFE Editor or in PDF

2. Prepare Request using free, WIPO-produced PCT-SAFE software

3. Electronically sign: WIPO Customer digital certificate or other

0101010

1010101

0101010Signat

ure

4. Transmit (on-line or on CD-R)

5. Receive a receipt (for on-line filings)

PCT E-filing fee reductions 100 Swiss francs: paper filings

request printout created with PCT-SAFEdiskette prepared with PCT- SAFE

100 Swiss francs: electronic filings request not in character coded format (for

ex., PDF)

200 Swiss francs: electronic filingstext of application not in character

coded format (for example, PDF)

300 Swiss francs: electronic filingstext of application in character coded

format (for example, XML)

39.5% of IAs filed fully electronically

Less than 40% are filed on paper only

23 receiving Offices accept PCT

electronic filing

E-Filing Percentage Forecast

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Per

cen

tag

e o

f P

CT

ap

plic

ati

on

s

XML PDF Easy Paper

Percentage of filing method types

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Paper 71.3% 65.3% 59.0% 54.2% 51.2% 46.0% 43.3% 38.3% 36.0% 34.0% 31.7% 29.9%

Easy 28.7% 34.7% 41.0% 44.9% 34.7% 27.7% 25.0% 22.2% 19.6% 17.9% 16.2% 14.6%

PDF 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 5.5% 8.9% 12.1% 16.8% 20.0% 22.2% 24.1% 25.7%

XML 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 8.7% 17.4% 19.6% 22.7% 24.3% 26.0% 27.9% 29.7%

(3) Recent PCT developments

Effective April 2007:

• restoration of the right of priority (PCT Rule 26bis.3)

• applications filed with parts missing (PCT Rule 20)

• addition of patent documents of the Republic of Korea to the PCT minimum documentation (PCT Rule 34.1)

1 April 2007 Amendments to the PCT Regulations

1 July 2008 Changes to the PCT Regulationsand other changes

Effective July 2008:

• Use the results of an earlier search

(PCT Rule 12bis.1)• Use of e-mail address, for receiving communication

from a PCT office, in the PCT Request

(Form PCT/RO/101)

1 January 2009 Amendmentsto the PCT Regulations

• Supplementary International Search

(PCT Rule 45bis)• Korean is a PCT publication language

(PCT Rule 48.3)

(4) Things we’re working on

PCT-related projects currently underway

• Priority document digital access service

• Extension of national phase entry information availability

– 30 Offices currently providing data, with 1.2 million national phase notifications, updated monthly

• Patent landscaping tools

• Private file inspection

• XML processing

• Terminology database/Multilingual searching

• National patent collections

Future PCT Issues

• Comprehensive review of PCT minimum documentation• PCT solution for color drawings• EPO future proposal for claims fees in PCT• Ramifications for PCT of new US rules on claims and

continuations• Potential for creating online repositories of national and

PCT search and examination reports• New PCT translation paradigm, building on multilingual

searching

Questions?