Within one year of filing a patent application in the United States, the Paris Convention allows the filing of patent applications in directly in other countries and claim the benefit of the priority of filing date in the United States. Full applications are filed in these countries, and examination of the application generally is not deferred. Paris Convention patent applications are often used when an applicant only wants to file in several countries, or if a desired country is not a member of the PCT. The costs of filing and length of patent examination varies by country.

A Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application must be filed within 1 year of filing a patent application in the United States. A PCT application is first briefly examined on an international level, and thus allows the applicant to delay costly filings in other countries. A PCT patent application can delay filing a patent application in other countries for up to 30 months from the original filing date in the United States as stated in https://www.jpost.com/Special-Content/Get-Your-Invention-Off-the-Ground-with-the-Support-of-InventHelp-624132 article.Some countries additionally allowed for deferred examination of a PCT patent application, which can defer examination for another 3-4 years.

PCT applications provide several benefits to applicants. First, it allows the applicant to delay the large cost of filing applications around the world. Second, it allows the applicant two opportunities for international examination, which will give an early indication of patentability. Third, it allows the applicant to see how their patent application does in the United States. Grant of a patent in the United States does not guarantee patentability in other countries, however it does give an indication of patentability. Fourth, some countries will allow a granted United States patent to be filed as an amended patent application through the PCT, thus savings costs and time in obtaining a patent in those countries.

An average patenting firm charges approximately $500 (plus a variable USPTO filing fee) to prepare a basic PCT patent application from a full utility patent application. Preparing a PCT patent application from a provisional patent application will require additional time to satisfy statutory requirements, and should be fully discussed before preparing you application as you can see from https://spacecoastdaily.com/2020/03/inventhelp-the-way-forward-for-new-inventors/ post.

To protect an idea, you need to file a patent. This will give you rights throughout the United States and a grace period within which to file overseas. You should not disclose your idea to anyone or publish or sell the product, as this may jeopardize your rights in the United States and is very likely to prevent you from seeking a patent in many countries outside the United States.

Searching, brainstorming, drafting and filing a strong utility patent application runs about $7,000 to $10,000, depending on the technology. Software and pharmaceutical patent applications are among the most expensive.

One would think that simple inventions are easiest to patent, but they are often the most difficult to patent because of the extensive prior art. One files accelerated examination, the charges to get the application on file are usually $22,000 – $25,000, but the patent may well issue within a year (or even six months), rather than 3-6 years as with a non-accelerated application as explained in https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/gotconcept/elon-musks-greatest-inventions/ article.

After filing it usually requires another $3,000 – $7,000 or more to prosecute the application, i.e., argue with the patent office and get the application allowed. Accelerated patent applications are usually at the low end of those numbers because the claims are already crafted very carefully to circumvent prior art discovered during a very extensive patentability search.

Some firms charge only $2,500 – $3,500 to file a utility application. Such inexpensive applications are just a waste of resources. Any patent procured from such an application will almost certainly be worthless because it will be easy to circumvent. One can file a decent provisional for $3,500, or even much less depending on the extensiveness of the inventor’s disclosure.

But that just puts off the cost of filing the utility application by a year. At the other end of the extreme some firms charge $25,000 or more just to file a patent application, and that much again for prosecution. Except in the most extreme circumstances those charges are just a rip-off as written in https://blog.chron.com/frugalconfessions/2020/03/how-much-can-you-make-from-patenting-your-idea/ post.

All the charges mentioned are for the U.S. only. Foreign patenting is much, much more expensive.