Patent protection is only valid in the country that granted the patent. For example, if you are granted a patent in country A,your invention is not protected is not protected in country B, so anyone in country B can copy,use, distribute and sell your invention without your permission. In order to protect your invention in country B, you would have to obtain a patent from the government of country B.
Inventions such as airplanes and the internet have made our world smaller. it iis now faster and easier for people and ideas to travel around the world. Because of this, it is no longer enough for inventor s to protect their ideas in only one country.
Obtaining patent can be a long and expensive process. Fortunately for inventors, several countries decided to simplify the process for protecting patents around the world by creating the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Thanks to the PCT, inventors can submit just one internal application which is valid in any or all of the more than 140 countries that are members of this treaty. Inventors can decide if they want to apply for a patent in all of this countries or select a group of specific countries.
Only inventors who are citizens or residents of the countries that are member of the PCT can use this easier system to file international patent applications.
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