Editing Patent (section)

===Governing laws===
{{See also|Outline of patents}}

The grant and enforcement of patents are governed by national laws, and also by international treaties, where those treaties have been given effect in national laws. Patents are granted by national or regional patent offices,<ref>Staff, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) [http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/patents_faq.html#patent FAQ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225083135/http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/patents_faq.html |date=2013-02-25 }}</ref> i.e. national or regional administrative authorities. A given patent is therefore only useful for protecting an invention in the country in which that patent is granted. In other words, patent law is territorial in nature. When a patent application is published, the invention disclosed in the application becomes [[prior art]] and enters the [[public domain]] (if not protected by other patents) in countries where a patent applicant does not seek protection, the application thus generally<!--There might be grace periods in some countries (?)--> becoming prior art against anyone (including the applicant) who might seek patent protection for the invention in those countries.

Commonly, a nation or a group of nations forms a [[patent office]] with responsibility for operating that nation's patent system, within the relevant patent laws. The patent office generally has responsibility for the grant of patents, with infringement being the remit of national courts.

The authority for patent statutes in different countries varies. In the UK, substantive patent law is contained in the Patents Act 1977 as amended.<ref>United Kingdom law requiring no explicit authority due to the [[Supremacy of Parliament]].</ref> In the United States, the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] empowers [[United States Congress|Congress]] to make laws to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts ...". The laws Congress passed are codified in [[Title 35 of the United States Code]] and created the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]].

There is a trend towards global harmonization of patent laws, with the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO) being particularly active in this area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intellectual property: protection and enforcement |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=World Trade Organization |archive-date=August 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828081818/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2022}} The [[TRIPS Agreement]] has been largely successful in providing a forum for nations to agree on an aligned set of patent laws. Conformity with the TRIPS agreement is a requirement of admission to the WTO and so compliance is seen by many nations as important. This has also led to many developing nations, which may historically have developed different laws to aid their development, enforcing patents laws in line with global practice.

Internationally, there are international treaty procedures, such as the procedures under the [[European Patent Convention]] (EPC) [constituting the [[European Patent Organisation]] (EPOrg)], that centralize some portion of the filing and examination procedure. Similar arrangements exist among the member states of [[African Regional Intellectual Property Organization|ARIPO]] and [[Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle|OAPI]], the analogous treaties among African countries, and the nine [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] member states that have formed the [[Eurasian Patent Organization]]. A key international convention relating to patents is the [[Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property]], initially signed in 1883. The Paris Convention sets out a range of basic rules relating to patents, and although the convention does not have direct legal effect in all national jurisdictions, the principles of the convention are incorporated into all notable current patent systems. The Paris Convention set a minimum patent protection of 20 years, but the most significant aspect of the convention is the provision of the right to claim [[priority right|priority]]: filing an application in any one member state of the Paris Convention preserves the right for one year to file in any other member state, and receive the benefit of the original filing date. Another key treaty is the [[Patent Cooperation Treaty]] (PCT), administered by the [[World Intellectual Property Organization]] (WIPO) and covering more than 150 countries. The Patent Cooperation Treaty provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states along with giving owners a 30-month priority for applications as opposed to the standard 12 the Paris Convention granted. A patent application filed under the PCT is called an international application, or PCT application. The steps for PCT applications are as follows:

1. Filing the PCT patent application

2. Examination during the international phase

3. Examination during the national phase.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chapter 3, International Phase of the PCT Applicant's Guide|url=https://www.wipo.int/pct/en/guide/ip03.html|access-date=2020-12-16|website=www.wipo.int|language=en|archive-date=2021-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226190500/https://www.wipo.int/pct/en/guide/ip03.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Alongside these international agreements for patents there was the Patent Law Treaty (PLT). This treaty standardized the filing date requirements, standardized the application and forms, allows for electronic communication and filing, and avoids unintentional loss of rights, and simplifies patent office procedures.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Patent Law Treaty (PLT)|url=https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/plt/index.html|access-date=2020-12-16|website=www.wipo.int|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119191717/https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/plt/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Sometimes, nations grant others, other than the patent owner, permissions to create a patented product based on different situations that align with public policy or public interest. These may include compulsory licenses, scientific research, and in transit in country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} intellectual property – TRIPS and public health: Compulsory licensing of pharmaceuticals and TRIPS|url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/public_health_faq_e.htm#:~:text=What%20is%20compulsory%20licensing?,the%20patent-protected%20invention%20itself.|access-date=2020-12-16|website=www.wto.org|archive-date=2020-12-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219190408/https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/public_health_faq_e.htm#:~:text=What%20is%20compulsory%20licensing?,the%20patent-protected%20invention%20itself.|url-status=live}}</ref>