So you missed the CLE-accredited webinar about the Patent Cooperation Treaty that took place on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 entitled Picking an International Searching Authority? Well, all is not lost. You can download the program materials here and you can view the video recording here. It is unlikely you will ever find anyplace that offers a comparable 86 minutes of discussion of this fascinating topic. As a reminder this recording is provided free of charge, courtesy of the World Intellectual Property Organization. You might be able to view it directly in your web browser here:
Here is a description:
The October 2021 issue of WIPO’s PCT Newsletter has a very helpful Practical Advice column entitled Filing strategies: factors to consider when deciding which International Searching Authority to choose where more than one Authority is competent. You can read the article here. The article, of course, speaks in general terms because the reader might be anywhere in the world. This webinar addresses the particular situation where the filer of the PCT application is from the US.
A PCT filer from the US has eight International Searching Authorities to choose from:
- Australian Patent Office (ISA/AU)
- European Patent Office (ISA/EP)
- Israel patent office (ISA/IL)
- Japanese Patent Office (ISA/JP)
- Korean Intellectual Property Office (ISA/KR)
- Russian patent office (ISA/RU)
- Singapore patent office (ISA/SG)
- United States Patent and Trademark Office (ISA/US)
Is there some particular ISA among these eight ISAs that is always or nearly always the best choice for nearly all PCT filers? (The answer is no!)
What are the advantages and disadvantages of these various International Searching Authorities? What are aspects of a particular patent application that might make a big difference to an applicant in the applicant’s process of selecting an ISA?
As a bonus topic we talk about ways that power users can use ePCT to communicate with ISAs, and we talk about ways to transfer funds to ISAs.