The Patent Cooperation Treaty
It is now clear that patent rights are limited to each country where registration has been obtained. Moreover, securing patents in other countries could be quite an exercise. If you have been involved in an international filing programme, you will also know that it can be quite expensive.
Enter the PCT. A treaty is, basically, an agreement between two or more nations which regulates commercial transactions between them. The PCT, which South Africa joined in 1997, makes life much simpler by making it possible to seek international patent protection in many countries by filing a single application — instead of separate applications in all the desired countries. A PCT application is effectively filed in all member countries — there are approximately 150 such contracting states.
To secure the grant of a patent in a particular PCT member state, you must pursue the grant of the patent according to the procedures and laws of that particular state. This is called the national phase of the PCT procedure, and the advantage is that you can choose the countries in which you wish to obtain patent protection, claiming priority from your initial application.
Read section 43A–F of the Patents Act. See also the FAQs on the WIPO site: www.wipo.int/pct/en/faqs/faqs.html.
There are other treaties. Again, consult a patent attorney about seeking international patent protection.