**New Job posting**
Bourque & Associates P.A.
835 Hanover St., Suite 301
Manchester, NH 03104
Tel: 603-623-5111
Tel: 800-539-5111
Fax: 603-624-1432
dbourque@nhpatlaw.com
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF PATENTS, TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHTS
Patents
are territorial that is, a patent must be applied for and obtained in each country in which protection is desired. There are very few "regional" patents and therefore, the approach to international patenting is on a country-by-country basis. After filing a US patent application, the patent owner has twelve months in which to file an international application to ensure that the international application has the same filing date of the owners original US patent application.The United States is a member of the World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO) which has adopted the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The PCT process is, in essence, a "delay tactic". The PCT system allows the patent owner to delay the filing of an international application from 12 months to 30 months from the applicant's US filing date. Thus, the term "delay tactic". There are several other benefits which we can explain to you more fully in person. In addition, it is important to remember that most international patents have added costs over and above those of US applications. These added costs include translation costs, payments for requesting examination, and annual maintenance fees (even though the patent may not yet have been issued).
Trademarks
are also territorial. Unlike patents, however, there are several "regional" trademarks that are available most notably, a European wide trademark which is good in all of the EEC countries.Starting in November 2003, a U.S. trademark owner will be able to file a single on-line application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in English, pay the fees in U.S. dollars, and potentially obtain protection for its mark in any or all of the 58 Madrid Protocol member countries. Without this treaty, the trademark owner seeking equivalent protection would have to file an individual application in each country, in the language of that country and in the currency of that country.
In the United States, Great Britain, and other countries whose laws come from the British "common law", trademark rights stem from the use of a trademark in connection with various products or services. In the rest of the world, trademark rights are based on the first to go to the trademark office and "register" these rights. Accordingly, it is important when doing business internationally to anticipate those foreign countries in which trademark protection is desired, and to file the applications as early as possible. Trademark "pirating" is still rather prevalent in many parts of the world.
Copyright
rights internationally differ significantly from patent and trademark rights in that without any registration requirement, copyright rights belonging to a US author automatically extend internationally. Although there is no registration requirement in most countries, many countries require a copyright notice, which is not mandatory in the US. Therefore, all published materials should include a copyright notice, as described earlier in this publication, and the term "all rights reserved" to meet some to the international notice requirements.
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