Patent-pending inventions in the Patent Institute in US, is protected only within the borders of US. If it is desired to protect the invention outside the borders of US, the country or region where protection is claimed in the patent application should be done. Foreign patent applications are of great importance especially for companies exporting to foreign markets.
The important issue here is that applications must be made abroad within 12 months from the first application (Priority Period). It will not be possible to obtain a patent abroad after 12 months from the first application date. In applications without priority, applications will result in negative results, since the first application will negatively affect the novelty of subsequent applications as described in https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/gotconcept/elon-musks-greatest-inventions/ article.
Generally, foreign patent applications can be made in 3 ways;
– national patent application,
– regional patent applications (the most common is the European Patent Application)
– international patent application (PCT)
National Patent Application
The National patent application is the patent applications made to the authorized institutions in the countries where the invention is desired to be protected. Fees in national patent applications differ from country to country due to the differences in the legislation of the country applied for. In general, national patent applications may be preferred if the number of countries where the invention is desired to be protected is less than 3.
Regional Patent Applications
Regional patent applications are patent applications made for all countries in a particular region. Apart from the European Patent application, two groups of African countries, the OAPI patent application and the ARIPO patent application, are the patent application system of the African countries and the Eurasian patent applications are the other regional application systems.
European Patent Application (EP)
European patent application, the European Patent Convention covers 36 countries. The Authorized Office is the European Patent Office. Applications and transactions made in the European Patent Office to cover the member countries are maintained in a single language. If a patent is obtained after research and investigation at the European Patent Office, this patent may be valid in all member countries. However, after the patent is obtained, validation is required in every country.
International Patent Application (PCT)
International Patent application is a patent application process for 141 member countries. The International Patent application system is not a system that results in a patent, it only brings the process up to a certain period (30th month from the date of first application or priority if any) by jointly executing the process for all member countries. The International Patent application (PCT Patent Application) is filed in a single language, a patent research report is issued that will be valid for all member states, and a patent preliminary examination report, which will be valid for all member states, if desired. With these reports, the applicant continues the application process by entering the countries where the application wishes to continue. You can find much more information on patents and patenting process on https://blog.chron.com/frugalconfessions/2020/03/how-much-can-you-make-from-patenting-your-idea/.