Patent application procedure (…and costs) Knowledge Transfer Group

Reminder... What can be patented? Inventions which are: Prior Art 1) New – not already in prior art 2) Inventive – not obvious to someone skilled in the art 3) Industrially applicable – solves a technical problem Date of Filing Prior Art

The Patent System Patent Application Granted Patent Publication Applicant Patent System Patent Application Granted Patent Publication Society

Application procedure... Inventors Assessment & Search Assessment Review KT Patent Attorneys Novelty Search Drafting Filing Patent Office Date of Filing

Question... When can you disclose information about your invention without jeopardizing your patent application?

Disclose only after filing (typically) Inventors Assessment & Search Assessment Review KT Patent Attorneys Novelty Search Drafting Filing Patent Office Date of Filing

Application procedure, cont... Inventors Assessment & Response Assessment & Response KT Patent Attorneys Patent Office Search Examination Date of Filing Patent Granted

Patent families – International context Cooperation Treaty (PCT) (1978)

Regional/ national phase PCT phase Regional/ national phase Publication Convert to PCT (if national filing) USA National or PCT filing GB Europe (EP) DE FR Japan Priority application S. Korea 12 18 30 48 – 60 84 - 240 Time (months)

PCT vs. Paris Convention http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/faqs/faqs.html http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/paris/summary_paris.html

Patents cost money 20 years Prosecution (approx. 3 – 5 years) Renewal Cumulative CHF for an application covering Europe, US and Japan Renewal fees (CHF) 0K 6K 7.5K 50K 60K +1K per country, per year until end date Search for commercial partners (licensing) Revenue

Patent application v. patent Document as submitted to the patent office. Patent: Document as granted (i.e. approved) by the patent office How can you distinguish between the two ? It is written on the document A = Application B = Patent

European patents European Patent Convention (1973) Important: There is (currently) no such thing as a European patent that is legally enforcable over all European countries. Once a European patent is granted it must be validated, and subsequently renewed, in each individual country of the applicant(s)’ choosing.

Questions?