International application
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (hereinafter referred to as the "Treaty") helps the obtention of foreign rights; in the framework of the Treaty the patent (utility model) procedure may be commenced with a single application filed at one place and drafted in one language, even in each and every contracting state.
The application corresponds to the national (or regional) applications in those contracting states which are members of the Treaty.
The granting procedure has two phases in the framework of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. In the first phase of the procedure, i.e. in the international phase, an international search report is prepared in conformity with the legal regulations and at special request an international preliminary examination report is prepared, further the application will be published.
During the procedure fees have to be paid for the individual procedural steps.
In the second phase of the procedure, i.e. in the national phase national authorities proceed at the special request of the applicant according to national legal regulations.
The international search report and the international preliminary examination report are of valuable help in the determination whether the invention is patentable and in deciding, whether it is worth to commence the national proceedings of high costs.
Regarding the high costs and the legal consequence of the international application it advisable to resort to the help of a patent attorney.