Registration of an International Patent at the Patent Authority

Registering an international patent at the Patent Authority: is it possible to receive a worldwide patent? Sometimes, inventors approach us and tell us they want to register an international patent at the Patent Authority. Although patent registration is indeed an important part of many business enterprises, it is not possible to register an international patent at the Patent Authority. Patent registration involves submitting a request at the Patent Authority of any country, but it is not possible to receive a registered patent in one country and automatically claim a worldwide registered patent.

A registered patent is granted to the owner of an invention in a country that grants registered patents. Various international treaties can be invoked to protect the priority date in additional countries where the inventor has not yet filed a patent application, through prudent use of treaties signed by many countries worldwide. A strategy can be built to allow the inventor to delay various payments for registering patents round the world.

For example, an inventor who files a patent application in Israel will receive a patent application number together with his submission date. If the applicant acts correctly, and if it serves his purpose, the Israeli submission date can be used as a priority date. If fewer than 12 months have passed since the initial filing date at the Israeli patent office, a patent can be filed in an additional country that signed the Paris Treaty. For example, an inventor who wishes to submit an application for a US patent must request his priority documents from the Israeli Patent Authority. These documents, called Priority Documents, will be appended to his US patent application. The patent office will then note in the US patent application that the application can rely on the Israeli priority date.

Another treaty is the PCT. A PCT application can be submitted at the Patent Authority and this is what some people believe to be a worldwide international patent, but this is not the case. An application using the PCT treaty allows the priority date to be saved in many countries for approximately two and a half years from the initial priority date. Specifically, an inventor who has filed an Israeli patent can file a second application in accordance with the PCT before 12 months have passed, which will save the priority date of his Israeli application for a further year and a half, granting him a total of two and a half years from the initial filing date his Israeli patent application.

A patent attorney should be consulted for each individual case; the above information is not comprehensive. Prudent use of tools that use the Law and various treaties and business activities, and sometimes also building a model or other marketing activities, can help the inventor to make the most of his invention and save unnecessary expenditures.