Italy can be designated in a International Patent
Application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty only as contracting
State of the European Patent Convention.
Therefore, the prosecution in Italy of a PCT application (as well
as in other European Countries, such as France, Belgium, Ireland,
Monaco) can initially be made only in the frame of the European
Regional Patent. This means that the start of a PCT national phase
in Italy must necessarily correspond to the start of the European
Regional Patent application phase.
Only after the European Patent is Regionally granted, it can be
validated nationally in Italy, as well as in the other Countries.
The Regional phase must be started within 31 months even if from
the priority date an International Preliminary Examination is
requested in due time.
We can file and prosecute both the European regional phase and
the validation in Italy and in all the other countries designated
in the European regional phase of an International Patent Application
PCT.
