Patent family

Patent family

Paris Convention, entered into force in 1883, enables the applicant to file the same application in several member countries in one year started with the filing date of the first application referring to the right of priority. Patent whose documents referred to the same common application make the so-called natural patent family. If the applicant didn't referred to the priority of the application for any reason when filing was made in other countries, being or not the member of the Convention, it is possible to establish the so called artificial patent family with an intellectual consideration on the basis of the name of the applicant and the subject of the invention.