Many applicants use the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system as a first step to obtain patent protection for their inventions in a large number of countries. This practice-oriented book on the PCT – the only such book available – provides expert guidance on how to carry out the treaty’s procedures, from filing a single international patent application to starting prosecution before a plurality of national Offices.

Building from an authoritative overview of the PCT’s sources and how they link to form the legal basis for a complete procedure, the contributors elucidate such invaluable practical details as the following:

• complete details on filing under the PCT, including the means of filing, fee payments, and priority, both in general and in specific national patent Offices;
• strategy points for making decisions on options in procedures and for drawing attention to important issues;
• citations from the Practical Advices published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO);
• differences between several regional and national Offices, such as the EPO and the USPTO;
• extensive treatment of remedies available in each procedure;
• guidance through the PCT – Patent Prosecution Highway (PCT-PPH); and
• extensive linking to international and national resources for the PCT.

The authors include legal experts from WIPO and the European Patent Office (EPO), as well as well-known patent law practitioners.

With its wealth of guidance ranging from a broad introduction to specific details of procedural strategy, this book will be of immeasurable value in the day-to-day practice of patent attorneys, corporate counsel, and paralegals worldwide. It will be of great use to candidates preparing for exams where a profound knowledge of the PCT is required.