An Overview of the PCT System

• Author: Jay Erstling - Samson Helfgott - T. David Reed
• Pages: 1-17

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CHAPTER 1

An Overview

of the PCT System

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is the heart of the interna-

tional patent system. It plays an indispensable role in patent practice

and should be considered in every applicant’s patent filing strategy.

Yet many patent practitioners lack sufficient familiarity with the PCT

system. PCT rules are opaque, and PCT terminology is obscure. The

combination of the two can easily cause confusion among PCT users,

and it makes the system difficult to master. The objective of this guide

is to demystify the PCT. The guide is based on the authors’ many years

of experience with the system, on the numerous PCT seminars and

presentations they have given, and on the important lessons they have

learned from the mistakes they have made. It is the authors’ conviction

that the PCT need not be confusing or understood only by a select few,

and it is their hope that this guide will allow the broader patent com-

munity to take full advantage of all the benefits the PCT has to offer.

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2 The Practitioner’s Guide to the PCT

1. What the PCT Is

The PCT is a uniquely successful multilateral treaty that provides a

unified procedure for filing patent applications in each of its member

countries. Instead of having to file a separate patent application in every

country where you would like patent protection for your invention, the

PCT makes it possible for you to file all of your applications simultane-

ously with a single “international” PCT application. With 146 countries

currently party to the treaty and over two million patent applications

filed since its inception, the PCT has come to represent the interna-

tional patent system.

2. The PCT Framework

2.1 History

The PCT was signed in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 1970, at the con-

clusion of a diplomatic conference attended by 78 countries. The treaty

entered into force on January 24, 1978, and opened its doors to receipt

of international applications less than six months later on June 1, 1978.

Despite the large number of attendees at the diplomatic conference in

1970, there were only 18 member countries on the first day that applica-

tions were received. This number has now increased eight-fold to 146,

which, with a few exceptions (Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan,

in particular), includes the world’s major industrialized and emerging

countries. The member countries of the PCT are deemed to consti-

tute a Union, and they meet periodically either in committees, working

groups, or an all-country Assembly to debate and adopt changes to the

system that helps the PCT continue to meet the needs of both applicants

and national patent offices.

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