File a PCT International Application
You are filing for international patent protection from India and weighing the PCT route. This page covers what a PCT international application is, when it earns its overhead, what Intepat handles at the Indian Patent Office as Receiving Office, and how the route hands off to national phase. PCT engagements are led by Registered Indian Patent Agents.
Speak to a Patent AgentPCT International Filing Timeline
When the PCT route is the right choice
PCT is the right choice when three conditions converge: coverage is wanted in several jurisdictions, national-stage cost is best deferred, and search-stage feedback has strategic value before national filings commit.
Three or more jurisdictions
For one or two countries, direct Paris Convention filings often produce comparable coverage at lower cost. At three or more, PCT pays back through unified filing, a single international search, and a deferred decision point. Below the threshold, the PCT route can still earn its overhead where the applicant needs decision time, investor validation, market clarity, or search-stage feedback.
Cost deferral
National-stage fees and translation costs are pushed out by roughly two and a half years from the priority date, aligning IP spend with capital-raising, market validation, or product launch sequencing.
Flexibility
The international search report, written opinion, and preliminary examination provide an evidence base for which jurisdictions to pursue. Borderline jurisdictions can be dropped before national-phase commitments harden; strong ones can be reinforced with claim amendments tuned to local examination practice.
How the PCT international filing works
Home-country compliance
A foreign filing license under Section 39 of the Patents Act, 1970 may be required before any international application is filed outside India. Where an India-origin invention is filed as a PCT through the Indian Patent Office as Receiving Office, Section 39 is typically addressed through the Indian filing route itself. Where a non-Indian Receiving Office is proposed, the position is checked first.
International filing
The international application is filed with a Receiving Office. For Indian applicants and matters routed through India, IPO is the typical Receiving Office; the WIPO International Bureau is also available.
International search
The selected International Searching Authority (ISA) prepares the international search report together with a written patentability opinion. ISA choice turns on technology fit, search corpus strength, and downstream examination implications.
International publication
WIPO publishes the application at 18 months from the earliest priority date.
Optional Chapter II preliminary examination
A demand is considered where the written opinion is adverse, where claim amendments may improve the international record, or where an additional patentability report is wanted before national phase.
National phase entry
Each target jurisdiction is entered within the statutory 30 or 31 month window, calculated from the earliest priority date. Prosecution then runs under each jurisdiction's national patent law.
What Intepat handles in India
For Indian-routed PCT filings, Intepat handles the international application end-to-end:
PCT route selection
Ahead of the 12-month Paris Convention deadline, avoiding default to PCT where direct filing is cheaper or vice versa.
Section 39 position and foreign filing licence assessment
For India-origin inventions.
Specification and claim-set readiness review
At the international stage, ensuring later national phase amendments are supported.
Filing through the Indian Patent Office as Receiving Office
ISA selection guidance
Matched to the technology and downstream jurisdictions.
PCT fee calculation and filing formalities
Chapter II demand and response to the written opinion
Where useful before national phase.
National phase strategy
Ahead of the 30 or 31 month deadline.
Deadline tracking covers priority, international, and national phase milestones. A PCT filing through India usually starts from priority application details, complete specification, claims, drawings, abstract, applicant and inventor details, assignment documents, Power of Attorney, and the desired ISA.
What is handled by foreign associates
During the PCT international phase, Intepat prepares the national phase handover. Once specific jurisdictions are selected, foreign associate counsel takes over: local-language translations, jurisdiction-specific claim adjustments, hearing representation, prosecution, and renewal management. Intepat does not act as an agent before foreign patent offices.
As coordinating Indian counsel, Intepat selects associates by jurisdictional fit and conflict clearance and briefs them with a single coherent package: priority details, specification, drawings, claim amendments, assignment documents, applicant details, and filing instructions.
Who this is for
Related IP services
PCT International Application FAQs
What is the difference between PCT and direct national filing?
A direct national filing produces, on grant, a national patent in that jurisdiction. A PCT application does not produce a patent: it is a unified international filing that preserves the priority date, generates a search report and patentability opinion, and gives the applicant up to 30 or 31 months to enter national phase. Direct filing is typically more efficient for one or two jurisdictions; PCT pays back at three or more.
Does PCT actually grant a patent?
No. The Patent Cooperation Treaty does not grant any patent. The treaty unifies the filing step, produces an ISA-prepared search report and written opinion, allows optional preliminary examination, and gives applicants a deferred decision point on national phase. Grant happens only at national phase, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, under each country's national patent law.
What is the timeline from PCT filing to national phase?
The 30 or 31 month deadline runs from the earliest priority date, not the PCT filing date. The exact length depends on each target jurisdiction's PCT implementation. India allows entry up to 31 months; some jurisdictions allow only 30. The deadline is statutory and applies per jurisdiction independently. Missing the window forecloses national entry in that country, subject to limited and discretionary restoration where available.
Which countries are covered by PCT?
The Patent Cooperation Treaty currently covers more than 150 contracting states, including the United States, Japan, China, Korea, the European Patent Office region, and India. A PCT filing reserves the option to enter national phase in any contracting state; the applicant decides at the 30 or 31 month point which jurisdictions to actually enter. Coverage for any specific country should be verified against the current contracting-state list before filing.
Can the Indian Patent Office act as the International Searching Authority?
Yes. The Indian Patent Office is a competent International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority, available for eligible PCT filings. Other ISAs may be available depending on Receiving Office, applicant nationality or residence, and applicable PCT arrangements. ISA selection turns on technology fit, search corpus strength, downstream examination practice in the intended national phase jurisdictions, and cost.
Outline Your PCT International Application Requirements
Send your details and a Patent Agent will respond within one business day. All consultations are confidential.