1. PCT-FILING SYSTEM

2. HISTORY
The Washington Diplomatic Conference on the Patent Cooperation Treaty was held in Washington from May 25 to June 19, 1970.
The Patent Cooperation Treaty was signed on the last day of the conference on June 19, 1970.
The Treaty entered into force on January 24, 1978, initially with 18 contracting states. 
The first international applications were filed on June 1, 1978. The Treaty was subsequently amended in 1979, and modified in 1984 and 2001.

3. PCT-PATENT COOPERATION TREATY
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. A patent application filed under the PCT is called an international application, or PCT application.
A PCT application does not itself result in the grant of a patent, since there is no such thing as an "international patent", and the grant of patent is a prerogative of each national or regional authority.

8. PCT-FILING
The first step of the procedure consists of filing an international (patent) application with a suitable patent office, called a Receiving Office (RO). This application is usually called an international application or simply a PCT application since it does not result in an international patent nor in a PCT patent (both of which do not exist). The international application needs to be filed in one language only, although translations may still be required for international search and international publication, depending on the language of filing and the International Searching Authority to be used. Upon filing of the international application, all contracting states are automatically designated

9. PCT-FILING
SEARCH: A search or international search is then made by an authorized International Searching Authority (ISA) to find the most relevant prior art documents regarding the claimed subject matter. The search results in an International Search Report (ISR), together with a written opinion regarding patentability.

10. PCT-FILING
PUBLICATION: 18 months after the filing date or the priority date, the international application is published by the International Bureau at the WIPO. From the publication of the international application until 28 months after the priority date, any third party may file observations regarding the novelty and inventive step of the invention. The observations may be submitted anonymously, and no fee is due for filing such observations.

11. PCT-FILING
SUBJECT MATTER: The PCT does not make any specific provision concerning the types of invention which may be the subject of an international application. Rules 39 and 67 permit International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities not to carry out search and examination on certain types of subject matter, such as scientific and mathematical theories, methods of doing business and computer programs to the extent that the Authority is not equipped to carry out a search or international preliminary examination concerning such programs.

12. PCT-FILING NATIONAL PHASE:
Finally, at 30 months from the filing date of the international application or from the earliest priority date of the application if a priority is claimed, the international phase ends and the international application enters in national and regional phase. However, any national law may fix time limits which expire later than 30 months. For instance, it is possible to enter the European regional phase at 31 months from the earliest priority date. National and regional phases can also be started earlier on the express request of the applicant, even before publication of the international application.

13. PCT FILING
CONCLUSION: ♪ Brings the world within reach. ♪ Postpones the major costs associated with internationalizing a patent application. ♪ Provides a strong basis for patenting decisions. ♪ Used by the world’s major corporations , universities and research institutions when they seek international patent protection. ♪ Allows to apply securely and easily online and to save money by doing so.

14. REFERENCES http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/filing/filing.html