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An EPO patent can be made e ective in the United Kingdom. Remark- ably, the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union—this month, in what we all know a ectionately as Brexit—does not change this. e EPO is not an agency of the EU but rather an independent in- ternational organization (of which the UK was a founding member back in 1977). Indeed, there are a number of members of the EPO that are not members of the EU (including now the UK).
PCT APPLICATION
A PCT application conveys no rights to the applicant and is not a sub- stitute for either the direct ling of the application in the selected coun- try or the ling of the application with the EPO. Rather, a PCT applica- tion reserves the applicant’s rights to later le in other countries. By ling a PCT application, an applicant defers the date upon which ling must be made, hopefully to a time when the amount of coverage available for patent protection and the interest in the marketplace for the invention can be more clearly de ned.
It is possible to designate the EPO in a PCT application without in- dividually designating every country belonging to the EPO. By ling a PCT application, the applicant reserves its right to le applications in a designated country until about 30months a er the original U.S. ling date.
Seeking international patent protection is an expensive proposition and takes several years to bear fruit. It can provide a signi cant advan- tage, however, for a company attempting to raise capital or trying to el- evate the value of the company by showing that steps have been taken to protect the intellectual property of the company in areas outside the United States (such as in markets of interest or regions of competitive manufacturing). Enforcement of international patent protection is quite mature in some countries but not as fully developed in others. It is also an expensive proposition, although not typically as expensive as U.S. pat- ent litigation.
It is important to remember that in all countries, a patent is not an af- rmative grant of rights from the government. Rather, a patent provides the owner of that patent with the right to exclude others from engaging in certain activities related to the patented invention for a limited period of time.
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