Overseas Application of Patents

Patents are granted by each nation. Therefore, a given patent is only useful for protecting an invention in
the country in which that patent is granted. In other words, patent law is territorial in nature.
If an inventor wishes to seek patent protection for his/her invention, the inventor must apply for a patent in the countries in
which the inventor wishes his/her invention to be protected.

According to the territorial principle, a patent must be granted in the country in which a inventor wishes to obtain the patent, so that the inventor may secure an exclusive right in the corresponding country. For example, even if an inventor obtained a patent right in South Korea, the invention that the inventor is granted with the patent right in South Korea is not protected in other countries. For the reason as such, an overseas patent is needed, and two methods are available in obtaining the overseas patent; (1) conventional method, and (2) PCT method.

Methods of Overseas Application of Patents

  • 01
    Traditional Patent System
    The traditional patent system, which is also referred to as the Paris Convention, is a method to apply for a patent at each country in which an inventor wishes to obtain the patent. However, in a case of filing an application for a patent with a priority claim with respect to a prior application, the priority claim may be effective if the application is filed within 12 months, starting from the date on which the prior application is filed.
    Traditional Patent System
  • 02
    PCT System
    The PCT system is provided to help an inventor to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a multiple number of countries by filing one international patent application at the country of origin or at the country of residency, instead of filing several separate national patent applications. The date of application of the PCT international filing is recognized as the date of application at the country in which the inventor wishes to apply the patent protection. However, in a case of filing an application for a patent with a priority claim with respect to a prior application, the priority claim may be effective if the application is filed within 12 months, starting from the date on which the prior application is filed.
    PCT System