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The PCT patent application is a placeholder patent application that buys you more time to file your patent application internationally.
Basically, you have 12 months from either the filing of a provisional U.S. patent application or a utility U.S. patent application to file this PCT patent application as a placeholder for international filings. By filing the PCT patent application, you are able to delay international filings in individual countries for an additional 18 months beyond this 12 month time period (e.g., a total of 30 months from the filing of either your provisional U.S. patent application or your utility U.S. patent application, whichever is sooner. If you decide not to file a PCT patent application, you will lose your international filing rights for countries you do not internationally file in directly. This will occur immediately after 12 months of filing a patent application in the United States.
The PCT patent application follows an international treaty, called the Patent Cooperation Treaty (that’s where the name PCT comes from). This treaty has been signed by more than 128 countries around the world. Most major countries are signatories of this treaty, with perhaps a few exceptions such as Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Taiwan. Note: Filing fees for the PCT patent application are expensive (e.g., around $1850 U.S. dollars).
In the Gold Package, you are referred to a patent attorney based on your technology area, potential conflicts, and geography. The patent attorney takes over management of this matter, and directly follows up with you and the International Receiving Office to ensure that requirements are met in preparing and filing your PCT patent application. The U.S. patent attorney may abridge your U.S. patent filing, remove labels from figures, and make your document in better state for international patent office scrutiny through a number of advanced techniques.
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