JUrISdIctIOn repOrt: perU
AdVAntAGeS OF
SIGnInG tHe pct
Lilie c. delion and Alain c. delion
Estudio Delion S.R.L.
On June 6, 2009, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) came into force
“ tHe pct SeeKS tO UnIFY tHe WAY
in Peru. The treaty represents an important step forward for intellectual
tHAt InVentIOnS Are deALt WItH
property in the country and has a number of implications. One of these
is that there are now three ways to obtain protection for an invention:
And reGIStered In ALL 141 OF ItS
through a national application or a direct application; through an member cOUntrIeS. bY USInG tHe
application under the Paris Convention; and through an application
pct SYStem, AppLIcAntS cAn AppLY
under the newly enacted PCT system.
FOr tHe prOtectIOn OF An InVentIOn
The PCT seeks to unify the way that inventions are dealt with and
And, IF tHeY Are SUcceSSFUL, tHIS WILL
registered in all 141 of its member countries. By using the PCT system,
be enFOrceAbLe In ALL 141 member
applicants can apply for the protection of an invention and, if they are
successful, this will be enforceable in all 141 member countries of the
cOUntrIeS OF tHe treAtY.”
treaty. Entities in Peru will now be able to take advantage of this process.
The procedure used by the PCT has two parts: an international phase
and a national phase.
The international phase involves filing a patent application with the
Receiving Office of the relevant country. For Peruvian companies and
inventors, this will generally be the Peruvian Patent and Trademark
Office (INDECOPI), but it could also be any other member or guest
country of the PCT. At this stage of the application, the applicant must
If an application is not filed in the country of origin, the priority date
used by the PCT is the filing date of the international application.
indicate that they wish to use the PCT process.
The WIPO publishes the international application 18 months after the
The national phase is the process whereby each individual member
priority date.
country either grants or denies the invention in accordance with that
country’s own laws.
It is important to note that, during the international phase, the application
cannot be amended or split in any way. If several inventive concepts are
The PCT procedure has several advantages. The first is that the application
present within the same application, the respective fee for each one should
need only be submitted in one language. This is generally the common
be paid.
language of the country where it is filed. Despite this, the application
remains valid in all the countries where protection is requested.
It is possible to assign the international application, the advantage being
that it is not necessary to pay any additional fees; however, the assignee
As the Receiving Office in Peru, INDECOPI will be responsible for
must not be from a member country of the PCT.
sending the application to the International Search Authority (ISA).
This organisation will then carry out a search of all relevant documents
In order to enter into the national phase, the respective national fees must
with a date previous to the PCT application or priority application that
be paid. In some cases, translations of the application must also be filed.
could affect the novelty or inventive activity. The ISA will then issue a
written opinion regarding the patentability of the invention.
Lilie C. Delion is senior manager at Estudio Delion. She can be contacted
The applicant will have the opportunity to update the application and
at: lcd@estudiodelion.com.pe
fine-tune it where necessary. The International Preliminary Examination
Authority (IPEA) has been put in place to work with applicants to make Alain C. Delion is an intellectual property partner in the
any necessary amendments and to ensure the application fulfils all the international department at Estudio Delion. He can be contacted at:
patentability requirements. vcd@estudiodelion.com.pe
68 World Intellectual property review September/October 2009 www.worldipreview.com
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