International Patent or European Patent?

Question

Could anyone tell me what the benefits of an International patent over a European patent are.

I developed a new invention in a European country which I would like to use in Latin America.

Would you advice me to choose an International patent or a European patent and why?

Thank you for your help!

Answer 1

Hi.

Technically, there is no such thing as an "International Patent". You can file a patent application via the "Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)" system, but this is simply a way of filing in lots of countries simultaneously - you still have to go through certain procedures in each country you are interested in to obtain a granted patent in such countries.

A European patent covers all countries in the EU, plus some others, and would provide you with a monopoly right in respect of the whole of Europe. The fact that you developed the invention in Europe does not mean it is worth getting a patent there, the important thing is to get a patent for the countries in which you wish to obtain a monopoly right.

If you are only interested in having a monopoly right for Latin America, then a European patent would be of no real use to you. You would need to obtain patent protection in some or all of the Latin American countries of interest. This could be achieved using the PCT (international) system, but would ultimately end up with you having individual patents for each of the Latin American countries you are interested in.

I would advise you to talk to a patent attorney.

Hope that helps!