Patent Filing Strategy – A Brief Outline

There are usually several different routes to achieve international protection for a given invention, and it may be useful to review the patent filing strategy from time to time. The following brief overview may help:

1. In general – which routes to international patent protection?

There are "European" (EP) and even "global" (PCT) patent applications, but the resulting protection from granted patents is (still) a purely national matter. Only the application, search and examination procedures can be carried out, at least in part, for several countries at once. It is, however, also possible to file individual national patent applications, and thus to pursue the respective application and examination procedures before the individual patent offices.