The following is not considered legal advice.
Companies who have filed patent applications in the United States may receive the date of their United States filing in foreign jurisdictions if they file applications in the foreign countries within one year of the United States filing.
Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application, the company may preserve the original filing date by making the application within one year of their United States filing. The cost for a PCT application will be about $4,500 for official filing fees and attorney time. The PCT application does not result in any patent in any country. After the PCT application, the company has to choose individual countries for filing. After the PCT there is research conducted.
After choosing the countries to file in, the costs vary from country to country. During prosecution, maintenance (annuity) fees will also be due and added to the costs. Costs may range from around $9,000 for a filing in China to $24,000 for a filing in Europe which includes European Union (EU) countries.
Some countries require translations which boost the costs for filings. For example, the EU application will need to be registered and translated in each country a company selects.
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