Request A Free Patent Consultation

PCT and Convention Patent Applications are the two ways for filing a patent application for the invention.

Filing of these two patent applications depends upon various factors which we will discuss later. So first let’s understand these two patent applications individually, on what situation these two patent application file.

Convention Application :

If the request for a patent is claiming the priority date of the same or a large extent similar patent application filed in one or more of the Convention countries, then it is called Convention Application.

To claim convention status, an applicant has to file the application within twelve months from the basic application in Indian Patent Office (IPO).

PCT International Application :

PCT stands for Patent Cooperation Treaty which is an international patent law treaty that provides a unified patent application filing platform that protects the invention in all contracting states.

Under PCT filing an applicant can file a single international application for a patent in a receiving office to seek protection at the same time in all the contracting member countries.

It takes approximately 31 months for the applicant to enter into various countries from the date of filing of PCT application.

Comparison of PCT and Convention route :


PCT application has high filing fee as a comparison to Convention filing and with the same amount applicant cane file more than two to three Convention applications. So, when an applicant has a tight budget and wants to secure patent protection in only a few countries, then it is better to go with Convention Application.

In comparison with Convention Application, PCT application takes time in grant so when an applicant wants to protect his/her invention in very less time than it is better to go for Convention Application.

The need for filing Convention Application arises when an applicant wants to secure his/her rights in non-PCT member countries like in Argentina, Pakistan, Taiwan, Kuwait, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Eritrea then can go only with direct filing.

So filing of Convention Application or PCT Application depends upon business strategies, and for fulfilling business strategies applicant generally adopt both filing options as per their need, so it all depend on, where applicant want to protect his/her rights. PCT provides a platform where with a single application applicant can file his/her application in all PCT member countries.

It is often seen that filing strategies are a very complex task so, it is better to consult with the patent attorney and try to communicate about commercial and business planning so that better protection can be made.