PDF, PCT Yearly Review - WIPO

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Supplementary International Search
As of January 1, 2009, the PCT Supplementary International Search (SIS) service offers applicants the option
to request searches from ISAs other than the one that carried out the initial search. This service aims to
provide a more complete overview of the prior art in the international phase, by allowing the applicant to
have a search performed in the ISA’s specialty language. Applicants can request a Supplementary
International Search Report (SISR) by an SISA up to 19 months from the priority date.
International Preliminary Examination
After receiving the ISA’s written opinion, applicants can request an optional international preliminary
examination, i.e., a second evaluation of the invention’s patentability, to be carried out by an IPEA usually
on an amended version of the application. (All ISAs are also IPEAs.) The resulting International Preliminary
Report on Patentability (IPRP II) further assists the applicant in determining whether or not to enter the
national phase.
National Phase
Under the PCT, applicants have at least 18 months from the date on which the PCT application was filed
before entering the national phase at individual patent offices. This 18-month delay affords the applicant
additional time – compared to that provided under the Paris Convention – to evaluate the chances of
obtaining a patent and to plan how to use the invention commercially in the countries in which protection
is sought. In the national phase, each patent office is responsible for examining the application in
accordance with its national patent laws and deciding whether to grant patent protection. The time required
for the examination and grant of a patent varies across patent offices.
For more information on the PCT, please visit: www.wipo.int/pct/en/