Patent Pct Application

---
name: patent-pct-application
description: >-
  Prepares and reviews international and European patent filings for portfolio companies: PCT
  applications, unity of invention, claims and abstract, deadline and fee planning from the
  priority date, national phase strategy, Euro-PCT and EPO quality checks, and EPC/PCT rule
  research with citations. Use when the user mentions PCT, international patent application,
  priority year, national phase, EPO, EP filing or two-part claims. Not for IP in deal diligence
  (use technical-dd).
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Bash, WebSearch, WebFetch
---

# PCT Application Skill

Preparation and validation of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international applications under PCT Rules 5-12.

## When to Use

Invoke this skill when users ask to:
- Prepare a PCT international application
- Check PCT formalities compliance
- Assess unity of invention under Rule 13 PCT
- Plan national/regional phase entry strategy
- Calculate PCT fees and deadlines
- Convert a national application to PCT format
- Understand PCT procedure and timelines

## What This Skill Does

Provides comprehensive PCT application support:

1. **Application Preparation** (Rules 3-12 PCT):
   - Request form (PCT/RO/101) guidance
   - Description format (Rule 5 PCT)
   - Claims structure (Rule 6 PCT)
   - Abstract requirements (Rule 8 PCT)
   - Drawings standards (Rule 11 PCT)
   - Physical requirements (Rule 11 PCT)
   - Sequence listings: verify the applicable current PCT provisions and WIPO ST.26 requirements

2. **Unity of Invention** (Rule 13 PCT):
   - Single general inventive concept assessment
   - Special technical feature identification
   - Linking technical feature analysis
   - Unity objection risk assessment
   - Claim grouping strategy

3. **Formalities Validation** (Rules 3-12 PCT):
   - All formal requirements checking
   - Fee calculation per Receiving Office
   - Language requirements per RO
   - Physical document requirements

4. **National Phase Strategy**:
   - 30/31 month deadline tracking
   - Country selection guidance
   - Translation requirements per country
   - National phase fee estimates
   - Strategic filing considerations

## Sources (no special tools needed)

There is no patent-law database connected. Work from the user's documents and the official texts, fetched with web search / web fetch, and cite the provision and the date you read it:

- PCT Articles, Rules, Administrative Instructions and fee tables: https://www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/ and the PCT Applicant's Guide https://www.wipo.int/pct/en/guide/
- EPC articles and rules: https://www.epo.org/en/legal/epc ; EPO Guidelines for Examination: https://www.epo.org/en/legal/guidelines-epc ; Board of Appeal case law: https://www.epo.org/en/legal/case-law
- Prior art for unity / novelty sanity checks: Espacenet https://worldwide.espacenet.com and WIPO PATENTSCOPE https://patentscope.wipo.int (search by keywords and CPC class; report what you searched)

Quick provision map: `references/epc-pct-provisions.md`. EPO quality checklist and report format: `references/epo-compliance-checklist.md`.

Fees and deadlines below are estimates; confirm current amounts on the WIPO/EPO fee schedules before quoting them. This skill gives procedural guidance, not legal advice; flag anything that needs a registered patent attorney.

## How to Use

When this skill is invoked:

1. **Determine user's stage**:
   - New PCT filing from scratch
   - Converting national application to PCT
   - Reviewing existing PCT draft
   - Planning national phase entry

2. **For new applications, guide through**:
   - Invention disclosure review
   - Unity of invention assessment
   - Description drafting (Rule 5 format)
   - Claims structuring (Rule 6 format)
   - Abstract preparation (Rule 8)
   - Formalities checklist

3. **For review, analyze**:
   - All Rule 5-12 requirements
   - Unity of invention
   - Generate compliance report
   - Suggest fixes

## PCT Application Structure

### Request (Rule 4 PCT)

Form PCT/RO/101 requires:
- Applicant details (name, address, nationality, residence)
- Title of invention
- Priority claim(s) (if any, within 12 months)
- Designation of states (automatic for all since 2004)
- Choice of International Searching Authority (ISA)
- Agent/representative details

### Description (Rule 5 PCT)

Required sections in order:
```
1. Title of the Invention
2. Technical Field
3. Background Art
4. Disclosure of the Invention
   - Technical problem
   - Technical solution
   - Advantageous effects
5. Brief Description of Drawings
6. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
7. Industrial Applicability
8. Sequence Listing (if applicable)
```

### Claims (Rule 6 PCT)

Structure requirements:
- Numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals
- Independent claims: define essential features of the invention
- Dependent claims: refer back and further limit
- Clear, concise, fully supported by description
- Multiple claim categories allowed (product, process, apparatus, use)
- Unity of invention required (Rule 13)

### Abstract (Rule 8 PCT)

- Confirm the current Rule8 abstract length guidance and language-specific counting requirements from WIPO before assessing compliance
- Indicate technical field
- Clear summary of technical problem, solution, and principal use
- Designate most illustrative figure
- Not used for interpreting claim scope

### Drawings (Rule 11 PCT)

- A4 paper (29.7cm x 21cm)
- Usable area: 26.2cm x 17cm
- Margins: top 2.5cm, left 2.5cm, right 1.5cm, bottom 1cm
- Black, dense, well-defined lines
- No text except single words
- Reference signs matching description

## Unity of Invention (Rule 13 PCT)

### Assessment Framework

Unity requires claims to relate to **one invention only** or a **group of inventions linked to form a single general inventive concept**.

**Test**: Do all claims share a **special technical feature** that:
1. Makes a contribution over the prior art, AND
2. Is present in all independent claims (or links them)

### Common Unity Patterns

**Unity Maintained**:
- Product + process for making product
- Product + use of product
- Process + apparatus specifically designed for process
- Product + process + apparatus (all sharing special technical feature)

**Unity at Risk**:
- Multiple independent claims without shared special technical feature
- Markush groups without common structural feature
- Method and apparatus addressing different problems

### Unity Strategy

```
Independent Claim 1 (System): A system comprising feature X...
Independent Claim 8 (Method): A method using feature X...
Independent Claim 15 (Use): Use of feature X for...

Special Technical Feature: "feature X" - shared across all groups
Unity: MAINTAINED (single general inventive concept linked by X)
```

## PCT Deadline and Fee Planning

Build a dated jurisdiction-specific table from the current WIPO Applicant’s Guide, receiving/designated office rules and current fee schedules. The old hardcoded month/fee table is withdrawn as unverified; do not use it for a filing decision. Establish the earliest claimed priority date, international filing date, notices and relevant office before calculating each deadline. Include the exact governing provision, trigger, extensions/restoration conditions if applicable and source access date. Missing trigger dates or office rules mean the deadline is unresolved, not guessed.

## National Phase Strategy

### Key Decisions

1. **Which countries?** - Based on markets, competitors, manufacturing
2. **Which ISA?** - Affects search quality, cost, language
3. **Chapter II?** - Optional preliminary examination for stronger report
4. **Early national phase?** - Some countries allow before 30 months
5. **Translation strategy** - Cost and timing considerations

### Common Filing Strategies

**Broad Coverage**:
- US + EP + CN + JP + KR (covers ~85% of global patent value)

**Cost-Conscious**:
- Prioritize jurisdictions using current deadlines and commercial evidence; do not assume deferred jurisdictions remain available after their entry deadlines

**Technology-Specific**:
- Pharma: US + EP + JP + CN + IN + BR
- Software: US + EP + JP + KR
- Manufacturing: US + EP + CN + DE + JP

## Compliance Report Format

```
PCT APPLICATION COMPLIANCE REPORT
====================================

Application: [Title]
Receiving Office: RO/[XX]
ISA Selected: ISA/[XX]

DESCRIPTION (Rule 5 PCT):
[PASS/FAIL] Title present
[PASS/FAIL] Technical field
[PASS/FAIL] Background art
[PASS/FAIL] Invention disclosure
[PASS/FAIL] Brief description of drawings
[PASS/FAIL] Best mode
[PASS/FAIL] Industrial applicability

CLAIMS (Rule 6 PCT):
[PASS/FAIL] Consecutively numbered
[PASS/FAIL] Supported by description
[PASS/FAIL] Clear and concise

UNITY OF INVENTION (Rule 13 PCT):
[PASS/WARN/FAIL] Single general inventive concept
Special technical feature: [identified feature]
Risk of unity objection: LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH

ABSTRACT (Rule 8 PCT):
[PASS/WARN/FAIL] Word count assessed against cited current provision
[PASS/FAIL] Figure designated
[PASS/FAIL] Technical field indicated

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS (Rule 11 PCT):
[PASS/FAIL] A4 format
[PASS/FAIL] Margins
[PASS/FAIL] Page numbering
[PASS/FAIL] Line spacing

FEES:
Transmittal: [amount]
International filing: [amount]
Search: [amount]
Total: [amount]

DEADLINES:
[Date or unresolved] - Each deadline with office, triggering date, governing provision and source access date
```

## EPO / Euro-PCT quality check

When the user is entering the EP regional phase, filing directly at the EPO, or answering an EPO communication, run the checklist in `references/epo-compliance-checklist.md`:

1. **Claims (Art. 84 EPC)** — clarity (relative terms need an objective reference), conciseness, support by the description, two-part form (Rule 43(1): preamble + "characterised in that"), claim categories, excluded subject matter (Art. 52(2), 53).
2. **Sufficiency (Art. 83 EPC)** — reproducible by the skilled person, claim breadth vs disclosure, at least one worked example.
3. **Formalities (Rules 42-49 EPC)** — description sections and order, claims form, drawings without text, abstract length and figure requirements verified against the current EPC rules.

Report issues as Critical / Important / Minor with the EPC article/rule and Guidelines section for each, plus a concrete fix. To convert US-style claims, identify the closest prior art, put the known features in the preamble and the novel features after "characterised in that". The EPO-vs-USPTO differences table (absolute novelty, problem-solution inventive step, medical-method exclusion) is in the checklist reference.

## Legal research questions

For "what does the EPC/PCT say about X": locate the provision in `references/epc-pct-provisions.md`, fetch the current text from the official site, quote the relevant passage briefly, give the article/rule/Guidelines section number, and note related Board of Appeal case law if found.