There is no such thing as an “International Patent” that covers all countries. Therefore, you need to file patent applications in each country where you want protection.

However, following the the filing of a provisional patent application, you can file a so called Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application that will keep your rights reserved in 140 countries of the world for a further 18 months, but within that period, applications still have to be filed in each country of interest. The cost of protecting your invention internationally is therefore dependent on the cost of an application in each country.

By Wessel on Aug 7, 2009