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Option Where At Least One Co-Applicant is not a National or Resident of Canada
If at least one of the inventors or applicants is not a Canadian national or resident then it is possible to file the PCT application in a different Receiving Office. For example, if at least one of the inventors is an American citizen, it is possible to file the PCT application in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As well as being the Receiving Office for such an application, the USPTO (rather than the Canadian Patent Office) would prepare the International Search Report and Written Opinion, and, if a Demand is filed, the International Preliminary Report on Patentability (Chapter II). There are both potential advantages and disadvantages to filing a PCT application in a country other than Canada, and no definite conclusion or recommendation can be made as a general rule. We would wish to know more precisely the client's situation before recommending in any case that this alternative be selected, even if it is available. This alternative is never available unless at least one inventor or applicant is a national or resident of a PCT member country other than Canada.
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