Despite the fact that there are many ways to receive and international patent, there is still no way to receive a patent valid in all countries. Patent is valid only on the territory of the country where it was received, except Eurasian and European patent. But there is a way to patent an invention or solution in several countries simultaneously. It is an international patent application filed in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). PTC includes more than 140 countries. This procedure allows applicants to submit a one application for several countries.

The international application is not a patent. It is a document confirming authorship and granting the applicant priority for acquisition of patent in different countries. The patenting procedure according PCT has significant advantages that allow the applicant to save time and money. For example, by submitting a single set of applications, the applicant automatically submits it to more than 100 countries around the world and receives additional time - about 30 months from the priority date - to make a final decision on the number of countries where they need a legal protection, search for investors, translation of documentation and etc. In addition, during this time, the applicant can carry out an international patent search and international expertise and, based on the results, analyze the expediency of further actions for obtaining a patent in the selected countries until the moment when it is required to pay the national fees that make up most of the expenses.

There are two ways of filing an international application. The applicant can apply for a patent in the Russian Federation and it will then be transferred to international registration. Or the applicant submits an international application and it is then transferred for patenting in the Russian Federation It is worth noting that all applications created in the Russian Federation are submitted to foreign agencies only after a mandatory check for the content of National Security Information. 

The international application structured in accordance with the requirements of the contract is submitted to a certain receiving Office. It has the power of the national application in each specified country since the filing date of the international application and is the basis for establishing priority.An international patent search is carried out for each international application for identifying information that has become publicly available. Patent search determines whether the invention has novelty and whether it had a level of invention.