Legal Definitions - Convention application

A convention application is a type of patent application filed in accordance with an international patent treaty, such as the Paris Convention or the Patent Cooperation Treaty. It allows an inventor to seek patent protection in multiple countries by filing a single application.

For example, if an inventor files a convention application in the United States, they can use that application to seek patent protection in other countries that are members of the treaty. This can save time and money compared to filing separate applications in each country.

Other types of patent applications include:

• Provisional application: filed to establish a priority date for an invention
• Continuation application: filed to continue prosecution of an earlier application
• Divisional application: filed to claim a different invention from an earlier application
• International application: filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty for patent protection in multiple countries