Updates and PCTs
Work is piling up. It is not because it has started increasing but because of all the other things I need to do. I am thinking of taking Fridays off to spend more time working on my research projects. It may be a good idea.
Well as far as international research goes. I have to brush up on my PCTs. I am back to working with patents. Trademarks were very fun to learn about but I think I am more comfortable with patents. Because I am not a lawyer I can not fully register trademarks by own. I learned as much as I legally could and had a great teacher. I am very happy with the progress I made with trademarks this summer.
The research projects are approaching their final states. At least I really hope so. And I have to start actually writing the final papers. A little bogged down with having taken a few vacations here and there. Hershey Park was lots of fun. No wait for any lines. I rode 5-6 roller coasters in less than 3 hours. And there is a zoo, although the animal looked very hot. For the most part I enjoy sitting in a park mindlessly reading a book I got from stranded.
I am not really making progress on learning Japanese anymore. It is a lot harder than I expected. But I will be going to Japan next year to visit. I am already excited about that. Probably a week in Osaka, a week in Shanghai, and if my schedule is very nice (10 weeks) then a week in Changsha. I miss China a lot. The last time I went back was in 2006 for a summer study abroad in Nanjing. I said the whole summer visiting my relatives. My mom, dad, and little sister are in the U.S. but the rest of my family is still in China. Sometimes I get homesick for the noodles. And of course Duck. And almost all of my cousins are married. A trip to China is vastly overdue. Watching the Karate Kid (the new remake) makes me miss it even more.
For the remainder of the blog I will talk about PCTs. I am taking the information from my old outline. I believe my old outline uses Kayton’s study guide as a skeleton. The PCT is a multilateral treaty between 130 contracting states. It was entered in 1978. The International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization administers these patents. The main idea is to permit a resident or national of any contracting state to file only ONE patent application that will have effects in multiple states. The applicant has 30 months to file a patent application.
There are three stages. Chapter I Processing is the filing, searching, and publication. Applicant files an International Application in the Receiving Office. The claimed invention is searched by an applicant-selected International Searching Authority. The International Searching Authority issues an International search report and a written opinion and mails them to the applicant. The International Bureau then publishes an International Application and International Search Report.
The next step is Chapter II. Chapter II is actually optional. It deals with preliminary examination. Applicant may skip this part although it is unwise. International Preliminary Examination is conducted by the applicant-selected International Preliminary Examining Authority.
The last step is the national Stage. This has to be entered into or the PCT application expires. The PCT application undergoes examination in each national or regional patent office and is nationalized by the applicant.
That’s just a general overview. I think I will post more detailed blogs later.
Tony