Inventions can be protected by applying patent protection across the countries globally. But the only problem is that protections of patents are territorial and allow the patentee or the owner to prevent others for a specified time period not to exploit his/her monopoly right over the patent. So it is not quite unusual that a patentee, for example, while enjoying his rights over his process patent to prevent others in a designated country, may face helplessly situations that a competitor, at the same time, is using the patented process in another country and imports the finished product by the said process to the country where the patentee holds his rights over his process patent.
Yet no applicant usually files patent application to each and every country because, the process is not only tedious but at the same time it is very expensive. The best way to be followed is to file applications in some designated countries with best possible commercial exploitations on priority basis as explained on https://www.jpost.com/special-content/hire-inventhelp-experts-for-patent-services-694280 article.
What are the procedures to overcome this situation?
A number of international treaties and conventions try bridging the gap so that an applicant gets the opportunity to file his patent application across the countries of his choice globally.
There is a concept of regional patent offices for example, European Patent Office(EPO), African Regional Intellectual Property Organization(ARIPO). An applicant can file a ‘regional patent application’ in these offices and may be granted patents over the inventions and have the same effect if the application would have been filed in each of the member countries separately as shown in https://expressdigest.com/how-inventhelp-patent-service-is-the-best-option-for-you/ post.
Another way to file an international application is PCT. This mechanism allows an applicant to file a single international application and at the same time to have the same effect of a national application filed in a designated contracting country under PCT. However, it is the discretion of the said designated country whether to grant the application for a patent or not is according to the act and laws of the said state.