PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) is an international treaty designed to simplify the procedure of patent application in multiple countries. Under the PCT, applicants can seek patent protection in multiple countries through filing one international application, which help to save efforts and costs. Consequently, PCT route increasingly becomes the preferred route for applicants to seek patent protection.
The PCT application can be divided into the international phase and the national phase. When filing a PCT international application, if the application involves drawings or sequence listings, they shall be submitted in addition to the PCT request, description, claims, and abstract. The article focuses on the common issues of drawings in the PCT international phase, including ways to modify drawings and the requirements of modifying drawings when filing applications with the China Receiving Office.
