Ultimately, patents must issue within each of the countries for which the inventor seeks patent protection. Once a country-specific filing is made, the prosecution and eventual issuance of a patent takes a number of years. During this period the UILO will respond to actions taken by the patenting office and will try to secure the broadest range of claims it can. Researchers may be involved in providing supporting information during this process.
Filing patents in multiple countries is expensive, with fees being due throughout the term of the patent. The choice of countries in which to file patent applications is dependent on the potential market of a technology and/or the wishes of a commercialization partner.
Due to the high expense of national phase entry, the UILO rarely supports progressing from a PCT to National Phase filings without a commercialization partner to cover patenting costs or an exceptionally strong commercial case for proceeding.
