Going Global
File selected foreign applications within the 12-month patent priority period.
Use one international application to preserve options before entering chosen national or regional phases.
Useful where no priority is needed or a first filing abroad is strategically justified.
Inventions or utility models completed in China require confidentiality examination before foreign filing.
Send us the issue, the relevant rights, and any deadline. We will route it to the right practice lead within one business day.
Contact UsA PCT application is not a worldwide patent. It creates an international filing and search framework, after which the applicant must enter the national or regional systems where protection is wanted. The Paris route moves from a first filing to separate foreign applications within the priority period. A direct foreign filing may be made without priority where legally and strategically appropriate.
All routes ultimately face local law, examination, translation, representation, and enforcement. The choice determines when those country decisions and costs occur.
Paris filings can suit a small, settled country list, a mature specification, and applicants ready to fund local filings within 12 months of the first patent application. Earlier national examination may be valuable where grant speed matters or local claims must be developed quickly.
The compressed period requires early search, translation, budget, ownership, and country decisions. Adding a country after the priority deadline may not preserve the original filing date.
PCT can suit a larger or uncertain country list, technology that needs market validation, fundraising, licensing discussions, or applicants who want an international search before major national-phase spending. It consolidates the initial filing but adds its own fees and does not remove later national costs.
Use the extra time for decisions. Do not wait until national-phase deadlines to begin translations, assignments, country budgets, and local claim strategy.
A direct first filing abroad may be considered for a market-specific invention, a foreign R&D project, or a strategic examination route. For technology completed in China, however, foreign filing of an invention or utility model requires prior Chinese confidentiality examination. Filing through CNIPA as a receiving Office for a qualifying PCT application can incorporate the prescribed review mechanism.
Identify where the substantive technical solution was completed, not only the inventors' citizenship or the applicant's registered office.
Compare country certainty, product launch dates, disclosure, expected patent life, claim maturity, competitor location, enforcement prospects, translation volume, official and professional costs, internal approval, and licensing plans. The answer may be a mixed strategy: rapid Paris filings in key markets, a PCT for remaining options, and no filing where secrecy or low enforceability offers better value.
WIPO: PCT Applicant's Guide, International Phase
WIPO: Summary of the Paris Convention
CNIPA: Confidentiality Examination Before Foreign Patent Filing
This article is general information about Chinese IP practice, not legal advice for a specific matter. It was last reviewed on 2026-08-21. Rules, fees, and timelines change; confirm current requirements before acting. For advice on your situation, contact our team.