How the priority year and the PCT buy time
You have 12 months to file abroad, and the PCT can delay the country decision to about month 30, but there is still no international patent.
Lesson 6 of 12 · 5 min
There is no such thing as an international patent. Patents are granted country by country or region by region (WIPO PCT FAQ). What you can buy is time to decide where to file.
The priority year
Under the Paris Convention, your first filing starts a clock of 12 months for patents and 6 months for designs. If you file abroad inside that window, the later filings are shielded against acts that happened in between. Re-filing does not normally reset the clock. Multiple and partial priorities are allowed, which means one later application can rely on several earlier ones (Paris Convention).
What the PCT adds
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) lets you file one application that has the effect of a national application in all Contracting States (WIPO PCT FAQ). That filing does not grant anything. It holds your place and gives you a search report before you commit to the big costs.
Counted from the priority date, the main steps look like this:
- Search report: due at the later of 3 months from receipt of the search copy or 9 months from priority (PCT Regulations).
- Article 19 amendments: you may change the claims by the later of 2 months from the report or 16 months from priority (PCT Regulations).
- Publication: follows promptly after 18 months (WIPO PCT FAQ).
- Optional extras: a supplementary search may be requested up to 22 months from priority. A Chapter II demand, which asks for a further preliminary examination, is due at the later of 3 months from the report and opinion or 22 months from priority (PCT Regulations).
- National phase: the point where you enter each country you want. It is 30 months for the US, Japan and Canada, 30 for China (32 with a late fee), and 31 for the EPO, Korea, Australia and India (WIPO time limits).
If you miss the year
Priority can sometimes be restored within 2 months on "due care" or "unintentional" grounds, and offices apply at least one of those standards (PCT Regulations). Treat this as a rescue and not a plan, because the offices you need may not all accept it.
The real value
National phase fees are "the most significant pre-grant costs", and the PCT postpones them (WIPO PCT FAQ). You get more than a year of extra thinking time, with a search report in hand.
Timeless wisdom
Paris priority is 12 months for patents and 6 for designs, runs from the first filing, and shields against intervening acts. Re-filing does not normally reset it (Paris Convention). One PCT filing has the effect of a national application in all Contracting States (WIPO PCT FAQ). National phase comes at 30 months for the US, Japan and Canada, and 31 for the EPO, Korea, Australia and India (WIPO time limits). The principle is that treaties buy time and a common starting point. Rights still come from each office.
What's current
As of November 6, 2026
The international filing fee is CHF 1,330, plus CHF 15 per sheet over 30, with e-filing reductions of CHF 100/200/300 (table dated Oct. 1, 2026) (PCT Newsletter 10/2026). Search fees run roughly CHF 150 to 2,000 (WIPO PCT FAQ).
Since July 1, 2025, receiving offices may stop accepting paper, with exceptions (PCT Newsletter 06/2025). The Bahamas became the 159th PCT state on Aug. 19, 2026 (PCT Highlights).
WIPO reports that email and telephone data rules take effect on July 1, 2027, so add those fields to filing checklists now (WIPO news).
On restoring priority, China withdrew its incompatibility from Jan. 20, 2024 (PCT Guide, China), and Mexico withdrew its notices on April 4, 2026 (PCT Newsletter compilation). We did not compile a full list of offices keeping reservations.
Key takeaways
- There is no international patent, only a way to reach many offices.
- You have 12 months from your first filing to claim priority abroad.
- The PCT delays the country decision to month 30 or 31.
- The search report lets you decide with more information before the big costs arrive.
Check your understanding
Sources
The Academy is general education, not legal advice, and reading it doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Patent law and fees change, so check the linked sources and have a registered patent attorney or agent review your situation before you file. Obsidyan sells patent software, including AI drafting tools, so weigh what these lessons say about AI tools with that in mind.