What is one requirement to enter National Phase?

To enter the National Phase, one key requirement is to pay national fees. This is an essential step because it allows the applicant to proceed with the national examination of their patent application following the international stage. Typically, these fees are necessary to cover the administrative costs of processing the application within the specific country’s patent office and are a prerequisite for engaging with the substantive examination of the patent.

The requirement to pay national fees emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the financial obligations associated with the examination process are met, allowing the applicant to maintain their rights while transitioning from the international phase to national treatment.

Other tasks, such as filing a new patent application or submitting experimental data, may be relevant in some contexts but are not standard requirements for entering the National Phase established by the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). A patentability opinion is also not required to enter the National Phase; instead, it may be a part of the overall patent strategy but does not constitute a formal requirement for proceeding nationally.