The national phase of processing an international application generally begins at the end of the international phase which may occur due to the expiration of time limit prescribed or once certain acts are performed. Such acts must be performed before the expiration of the time period in order for the national phase to commence. The prescribed time period is generally 30 months from the priority date and 20 months for some countries that find the revised PCT provision incongruent with their national law. Some countries have also extended their limit to beyond the 20 month or 30 month time frame.
The applicant can also make an express request to the country/ designated Office concerned to start the processing and the examination of the international application at an earlier date.

The applicant must perform the following acts within the time limit prescribed, such acts include

• paying national fee in the currency of that country and
• furnishing a translation in language accepted by it.

In exceptional cases, a copy of the international application must be furnished and otherwise, the name and address of the inventor, if it has not been previously submitted. If the applicant fails to complete these acts within the stipulated time period, the international application loses the effect of a national application and the procedure terminates in each Office before which the acts have not been performed, whether in part or full. Non-performance of the acts in one Office will not affect the international application before the other Offices.

After the completion of the above mentioned acts, the national phase process starts and the requirements under a country’s national law need to be fulfilled (also called special requirements). In the national phase, an applicant directly deals with the national or regional patent office of the country. The special requirements under the national phase are prescribed under Rule 51bis of the Treaty.

The applicant is required to furnish documents relating to

• the identity of the inventor,
• the applicant’s entitlement to be awarded a grant,
• declaration of inventorship/ oath; and
• evidence containing non- prejudicial disclosures.
• Other special requirements include representation by an agent, furnishing a copy and translation of the priority document as and when required and giving proof of the applicant’s entitlement to claim priority of an earlier application, where the applicant has changed or the applicant’s name has changed since the date on which the earlier application was filed.

The list of special requirements given above is not exhaustive and differ for each country/ designating party. This means that the national phase process in India is not the same as that of Japan. In India, for example, every patent application is published after 18 months from the date of filing.

A request for earlier publication can be made in Form 9 along with the prescribed fee. Once published, the application is deemed to have entered the public domain.

An applicant should also file a request for examination within 48 months from filing. The Controller of Patents forwards the documents to the Examiner within a month from the date of publication or one month from the examination request, whichever is later. Within 3 months of receiving the documents, the Examiner establishes the first examination report. This report is then forwarded either to the applicant or to this agent within 6 months from date of publication or from date of examination request, whichever is later. An applicant has to comply with the requirements imposed on him or else the application is deemed to have been abandoned.

After these conditions are met, the application along with the complete specification will be published in the Patent Journal. It is then open to opposition, if any, for a period of 4 months or as prescribed. If no oppositions are filed or if the opposition is successfully overcome, the application will proceed for grant of the patent.