National phase
Entry into the national phase outside Finland
After the international phase has ended, you can apply for the grant of a patent directly at the national or regional patent offices of the countries where you want to obtain patent protection. As the outcome of the PCT system is not an international patent, you must enter a national or regional phase in the selected patent offices. In this case, you must decide in which regional or national patent offices you want to continue your PCT application.
Depending on the designated country, the decision must be made within 30–31 months of the filing date or priority date of your application. You can also enter the national phase before this.
The national patent offices you have selected in the national phase decide based on international searches, among others, whether they grant a patent for your invention.
Even though the PRH has been the ISA or the IPEA, you must proceed to the national phase at the PRH if you want your PCT application to result in a Finnish patent. In Finland, you enter the national phase within 31 months of the international filing date or, if priority has been claimed, from the priority date.
Entry into the national phase at the PRH also requires that an application fee or a registration fee for a utility model is paid within 31 months.
Entry into the national phase at the PRH
In Finland, you must enter the national phase of the PCT application within 31 months of the international filing date or, if priority has been claimed, from the priority date. When you enter the national phase at the PRH, you can apply either for a Finnish patent or for a Finnish utility model.
Within the same period of 31 months, you have to pay an application fee for a patent or a registration fee for a utility model.
If you have paid the above fee for patent application within 31 months, you will get a further period of 2 months to submit the required translations if you pay an additional fee within those 2 months. However, for utility models, this additional fee must be paid within 31 months.
You may also limit your translation to only comprise that part of the application with which you are proceeding after making an amendment before the WIPO International Bureau. If you want to leave out a specific part of the translation, you must give an assurance that clearly indicates which part of the application is not contained in the translation, and also give the reason for leaving it out.
Read more about how to file a national Finnish patent or utility model application with the PRH, and which documents you have to submit:
What must a patent application include?
Contents of a utility model application
Go to our price lists for national Finnish patents and utility models:
Application fees for patents
Utility model fees and payment instructions
Further information
You will find further information in WIPO’s PCT Applicant's Guide: Finland - National Chapter.Avautuu uuteen välilehteen