Patent Cooperation Treaty V/s Paris Convention

One of the most asked question in the field of Intellectual Property is, "If I file my patent in India, is it protected in the US?" and "Is there such a thing as a 'worldwide patent'?"

The answer to such questions is NO. There is no such thing as a worldwide patent, a global trademark, or an international design. In order to receive protection for your intellectual property, you must file an application for the same in each country you want protection in.

Sounds cumbersome? Yes, it does. While applicants are always welcome to file their applications separately in each country, they desire protection in, the same is not a practice, especially if there are several countries the application intends to file in, lestit becomes too difficult to meet the date of priority for each application.