Patent Cooperation Treaty

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international treaty with more than 150 Contracting States. The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a large number of countries by filing a single “international” patent application instead of filing several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent offices in what is called the “national phase”.

PCT News and Announcements

The International Patent Legal Administration (IPLA), part of the USPTO’s Office of International Patent Cooperation, educates and assists the patent community, develops policy, and resolves legal issues relating to the PCT and other international cooperative patent projects or agreements, including the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs and the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH). The IPLA decides petitions to the Commissioner in international applications filed under the PCT and in U.S. national stage applications submitted under 35 U.S.C. 371. 

To learn more about the PCT, visit the PCT frequently asked question page of the WIPO website.

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