Global Patents
Global Patents
Patents are time and date sensitive. You have 12 months in which to file a complete patent application based on your provisional patent application. If you'd like to file a complete patent application, it is important that you contact us within 10 months or so of filing your provisional patent application in order to give us sufficient time to draft and prepare a complete patent application for your invention.
As mentioned above, failure to file a patent application or patent applications within the set deadlines may result in your patent rights being forfeited. You may claim patent priority in a foreign patent application from an Australian provisional patent application, but only within 12 months from the date of filing the provisional patent application.
The importance of dates in the patent process.
We file patents all over the world for our clients. Nearly every country in the world has a patent system and you need to file your patent and get it granted in each country that you want to protect your idea in.
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There is no such thing as a global "patent". This would imply that you simply file a single application somewhere and it magically gets granted in every country of the world. Unfortunately, there isn't this level of hegemony in international trade yet, although it is coming closer.
Rather, you have the opportunity of filing what's called an "International" patent application. This is only an interim application and does not result in the granting/finalisation of an international patent. As an interim international process, it not only buys you 18 (very valuable) months at the beginning of your patent journey to help you spread out your patent costs over a much longer time, but also allows us an opportunity to engage with international patent examiner's should they find any relevant prior art, effectively streamlining the process when the time comes to file in individual countries of the world. It is used by most companies and individuals worldwide when they wish to file in 2 or more foreign countries, as it gives you a very handy search report to show you what has gone before and whether your patent is, in fact, new and inventive.
Speak to us about the filing of an international patent application via the so-called Patent Cooperation Treaty. For overseas patents, we have established networks of foreign patent attorneys allowing us to file foreign patent applications in your countries of interest. As a few countries are not members of certain international patent treaties, we would ask you please to let us know at the time of filing your provisional patent application in which countries you are considering.
