It is often asked at the first invention meeting whether a single filing can secure a “worldwide patent”. The curiosity is understandable, especially when products are headed to multiple markets at once. The reality is simpler and more practical. Patents are territorial rights. There is no single global patent, so a filing strategy has to be built around the right international routes, careful timing, and a view of enforcement and cost in each country.
First Principles: Territorial Rights, No Global Patent
Patents are granted and enforced by national or regional offices. Protection in multiple countries is achieved either by filing separate national applications under the Paris Convention, or by using the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which centralises the initial phase but still requires national or regional phase entries for grant. A good strategy begins with two decisions, where protection is truly needed and how to use the 12-month priority window most effectively.
Routes That Actually Work
Paris Convention, the direct route
How it works: File a first application in one member country, then file in other member countries within 12 months claiming priority.
Why use it: Useful when only a few countries are targeted, when claim language is already stable, and when early examination is desired in specific markets.
Watchouts: Each national filing triggers its own translation, attorney, and official fees from day one. Miss the 12-month deadline and the right to claim that priority is usually lost.
PCT, the staged route
What it is: A single international application that preserves your option to enter many countries later, usually by 30 or 31 months from the earliest priority date, depending on the jurisdiction.
What it is not: The PCT does not grant a patent by itself. You must still enter the national or regional phase where you want protection.
Why use it:
Defers big translation and attorney costs for up to 18–19 months beyond the Paris route.
Provides an International Search Report and a Written Opinion that highlight prior art early, allowing claim refinement before national entries.
Facilitates Patent Prosecution Highway requests in some countries after a positive opinion.
Practical tip: Use the international phase to align claim sets with business plans, drop low-value countries, and strengthen the specification before examination elsewhere.
Regional systems at a glance
EPO: One examination, post-grant validations across chosen European states.
Others: ARIPO, OAPI, GCC, EAPO and a few more regional arrangements exist.
India’s position: India is not part of a regional patent grant system. Protection here is always via the Indian Patent Office, either by a direct national filing or PCT national phase.
India-Specific Essentials Before You File Abroad
Foreign Filing Licence for Indian residents
If you are resident in India, Section 39 of the Patents Act requires a foreign filing licence (FFL) before you first file abroad, unless you first file in India and wait the statutory period for the Controller’s permission to be deemed. An FFL is typically sought by submitting a brief description or the draft specification to the Indian Patent Office. Skipping this step can trigger serious consequences under Sections 39–40. In practice, most applicants either file first in India or secure an FFL before any non-Indian filing.
Timelines you will actually track in India
Priority window: 12 months from the first filing to add Paris filings or file a PCT.
PCT national phase in India: 31 months from the earliest priority date.
Request for Examination: Within 48 months from the priority date or Indian filing date, whichever is earlier.
Pre-grant and post-grant opposition: Available under Sections 25(1) and 25(2), so factor possible delays when planning product launches.
Choosing Countries: A Focused, Business-Led Checklist
Use the following lenses to avoid over-filing and under-protecting.
Revenue and growth markets: Where will you sell in the next 5–10 years.
Manufacturing and assembly hubs: Where infringement is likely upstream.
Competitor footprints: Where key rivals file or manufacture.
Customs and border measures: Where blocking exports or imports is useful.
Enforcement climate and timelines: Injunction standards, court speed, and damages culture differ by jurisdiction.
Total cost of ownership: Filing, translation, prosecution, annuities, and local counsel.
Regulatory overlays: For pharma, diagnostics, agro, or telecom, align patent timing with marketing approvals or standards adoption.
PCT Versus Paris: When to Prefer Which
Choose PCT if
the invention is early-stage and claims may evolve after the search report;
the country list exceeds four or five jurisdictions;
there is value in deferring major costs and using the international opinion to shape claims.
Choose Paris if
only a few countries are in play and early grant is desired there;
you already have strong claim language and want parallel prosecutions;
government incentives or tender timelines require rapid local filings.
Drafting for Many Countries, Not Just One
Draft a specification with fall-backs: Layer independent and dependent claims to accommodate stricter standards in some offices.
Mind exclusions: For example, diagnostic methods, algorithms, and plant varieties face different bars across countries. Align embodiments with what is patentable in each key market.
Clarity and support: Add working examples, comparative data and technical effects that help survive inventive-step challenges abroad.
Enablement and best mode: Ensure the description enables the full claim scope. Thin disclosures save pages but cost rights.
Managing Costs Without Weakening Protection
Stage decisions: Use the PCT to push big spends to month 30 or 31, then enter only where justified.
Prune early: After the international search, drop embodiments or countries that show weak novelty or commercial fit.
Translations: Budget realistically. Translate only for countries you will genuinely pursue.
Consolidate portfolios: Keep families coherent. Continuations or divisionals should be strategic, not habitual.
Leverage work-sharing: Where available, use PPH or cite favourable examination in one office to speed another.
After Filing Abroad: What It Takes to Maintain and Enforce
Annuities: Pay renewal fees on time in every jurisdiction. Missed annuities can sometimes be restored, but costs and uncertainty rise.
Marking: Mark products and literature with patent numbers where permitted. It deters copying and supports damages in some countries.
Customs recordals: In certain jurisdictions, customs can seize infringing shipments when the patent is recorded.
Working statements in India: File Form 27 annually for granted Indian patents, indicating commercial working or reasons for non-working.
Licensing: Structure royalty, sub-licensing and audit rights by territory. Localise clauses for competition law and compulsory licence risks.
Enforcement snapshots from Indian courts
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd v. Cipla Ltd (Delhi High Court, 2008), interim stage: injunction was declined by the Single Judge in a pharma dispute after a credible validity challenge and public interest concerns were noted. Ratio, interim relief in patent cases depends on a prima facie case, balance of convenience, and public interest, especially where life-saving drugs are involved.
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp v. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (Supreme Court of India, 2015), interim stage: an interim injunction was granted protecting a DPP-4 inhibitor, reflecting that a strong prima facie case and comparative hardship can justify immediate restraint even in complex patent matters.
Bajaj Auto Ltd v. TVS Motor Co. (Supreme Court of India, 2009): the Court emphasised that patent disputes at the interim stage should weigh prima facie validity, irreparable injury, and expeditious trial, signalling that injunctions are not automatic and speed to final decision matters.
What this means for a multi-country plan: do not assume that grant equals an easy injunction. Evidentiary quality, validity challenges, public interest, and time to trial vary by jurisdiction. Build a litigation file from day one, with lab notebooks, test data, and claim charts aligned to each country’s granted claims.
FAQs, Answered Along the Way
Can one PCT application cover every country I want?
It preserves the option for many, but you still must enter each desired country or region by the deadline to proceed to grant.Do I need to re-examine in every country?
Yes. Each office examines under its own law. The international search helps, but it is not binding on national offices.If I miss the 12-month priority deadline, is there any cure?
Some countries allow limited restoration of priority on a due care or unintentional standard, but do not rely on it. Build internal calendars to avoid this problem.Should I file a continuation or divisional to broaden coverage?
Use divisionals to pursue disclosed but unclaimed inventions or to navigate unity objections. Keep each family focused and commercially relevant rather than filing reflexively.A Simple Action Plan
Fix your first filing, either in India or with an FFL if filing first abroad.
Open a PCT within 12 months unless a short, focused Paris strategy obviously fits better.
Use the international search to refine claims and decide countries by commercial need, enforcement climate, and budget.
Diary hard deadlines, especially month 30 or 31 national entries and India’s 48-month examination request.
Prepare for enforcement early with claim charts, evidence of use, and a marking and customs plan.
Review annually which countries remain worth the annuity spend and whether licensing can monetise less critical markets.
Bottom Line
There is no worldwide patent, but there is a proven playbook. Use the Paris Convention for targeted filings or the PCT for a staged, option-preserving path. For Indian residents, clear the foreign filing licence or file first in India. Choose countries by business value and enforceability, not by wish-lists. Maintain discipline on deadlines, annuities, and evidence. When the time comes to enforce, Indian jurisprudence shows that strong papers and a credible case, not just a granted patent, secure meaningful relief.
