Harbor Consulting attends BPLA's "Advanced Seminar on Patent Cooperation Treaty Practice"

As part of our commitment to remain at the forefront of any and all changes to patent prosecution, we sent a representative to attend BLPA's informative seminar on all topics related to filing a patent application in the PCT.

This seminar was presented by Carol Bidwell (PCT consultant, previously supervisor of the USPTO) and Matthias Reischle (Deputy Director, PCT Legal Division, Innovation and Technology Sector) and covered a variety of topics including requirements and mechanisms for filing a PCT application, making priority claims, recording changes, International Searches and Written opinions, International Preliminary Examinations, National phase filings in the USPTO and EPO and, last but of course not least, requirements concerning Sequence Listings.

Not only did this seminar give us insight into additional services that we may offer our clients to make the filing of PCT listings less burdensome regarding time and cost, but also offered some interesting data regarding the PCT (all statistics/information credited to WIPO/International Bureau courtesy of BPLA):

•    In 2010, East Asia overtook North America and Western Europe as the region accounting for the most PCT
     filings with a ±55% increase in PCT filings originating from China alone.
•    In April of 2011, Qualcomm filed the 2 millionth PCT application.
•    In 2010, Panasonic was in the lead for the top PCT applicants with the filing of 2,154 PCT applications.
•    At some point in the future, Russia may become the next ISA for PCT filings.
•    As a result of the natural disasters in Japan in March of 2011, as of July 1, 2012, the PCT will excuse the
     delay in meeting certain time limits due to war, revolution, civil disorder, strikes, natural calamity and other
     similar "force majeure."