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While services provided directly by our volunteers through the IAP is free of charge, no direct financial assistance is offered. The IAP provides support of a patent specialist in your country and in selected jurisdictions. These include professional services associated with apply for a patent (see services offered for further details).
The official costs associated with a patent application (e.g. those costs paid to the patent office) and any out-of-pocket costs necessary to complete your application (e.g. translation of documents) remain your responsibility. Your volunteer patent specialist should describe these costs to you. If you're not sure, ask your patent specialist.
After being submitted through the IAP Online Platform, you may be asked to provide further details regarding your invention or eligibility by your countrys focal point. Your application will not be considered for support until these details are provided.
Once complete, your application will be reviewed by the National Screening Board. The National Screening Board considers your eligibility and the volunteers available in your country. Then you will be matched with a qualified patent specialist who will assist you in securing patent protection for your innovations. At any stage, you might be requested to provide additional information. A notification with the details of the patent specialist, as well as notifications requesting additional information will be sent to your email, relevant communication will also be available on the IAP Online Platform.
For more details see How it Works for Inventors.
Through the IAP, volunteer patent specialists provide pro bono services related to the obtaining of patent protection, including:
The precise scope of services will be defined on a case-by-case basis, through agreement between the applicant and the attorney. Litigation and commercialization services are outside of the scope of the IAP.
When you log in to the IAP Online Platform and open your IAP case, on the status bar you can see the current status of your case with the dates of relevant decisions or actions:
No. If you have another invention, you need to submit a new application to the IAP to be considered for support by the National Screening Board of your country.
The IAP’s global network of volunteers can help you file your application in other countries. We suggest you work with your assigned volunteer to first file a PCT application within 12 months of filing your first patent application. This gives you additional time to decide where to file and raise funds.
You may wish to use the PCT Time Limit Calculator which would assist you in the computing of essential PCT time limits.
Once you file a PCT application in the framework of the IAP, we can provide support to the national or regional phase of your PCT application in certain jurisdictions.
Start by having a discussion with your volunteer about the timelines for filing abroad. Then ask your volunteer to send us a request indicating the jurisdictions where you want support. This request should be made at least six months before the national or regional phase of the PCT application is due (this is usually within 24 months after filing your first patent application). Once the volunteers in selected jurisdictions are confirmed, you would be able to contact them to discuss further steps.
Please note that you are responsible for official fees and any out-of-pocket costs, like translation of documents. Your volunteer may be able to help you determine the costs, or you can visit the websites of the patent offices where you want to file. Be sure to check on discounts that apply to individuals and small entities offered by a growing number of patent offices.
The IAP supports under-resourced inventors and small businesses in participating countries. Patent specialists qualified to practice before their local patent office can offer their services to the IAP. This includes patent attorneys and agents in participating countries and selected jurisdictions. In some countries, in addition to patent attorneys and agents, the IAP accepts other types of volunteers including patent drafters.
Please note that volunteers must accept the IAP Guiding Principles to participate
If you are a patent attorney or agent from a country not currently supported by the IAP, we still encourage you to apply as a volunteer. We are continually working to add new countries. Supported countries currently include IAP participating countries, countries party to the European Patent Convention and the United States of America. If the country where you practice joins the IAP, we will let you know. We encourage you to reach out to your local patent authorities to consider joining the program.
Volunteer patent specialists provide pro bono services related to the obtaining of patent protection to inventors who would not be able to bear the costs of such services on their own and therefore are selected for support in the IAP. The services can include:
The precise scope of services will be defined on a case-by-case basis, through agreement with the inventor. The level and quality of services must not be different from that provided to paying clients.
Finally, please note you will be requested to accept the IAPs Guiding Principles to become a volunteer.
Upon reviewing your application, we will get back to you about your acceptance into the Program.
Attorneys or agents who can practice in more than one jurisdiction may offer their services in multiple countries.
Applications selected by the National Screening Board, are matched with a volunteer. Matches are based on the technical field of the invention, a common language between the beneficiary and the volunteer, and when possible, physical location.
Once assigned, the volunteer has an opportunity to review the case to confirm availability and ensure there are no conflicts of interest. Once confirmed, the inventor will be notified and requested to contact the patent specialist and schedule an initial meeting.
You will be able to review some details concerning the applicant and the invention to perform conflict check and to confirm your availability.
When you accept a case, the inventor will be automatically notified and will receive an email with your contact details to set up an initial meeting. From there, a client relationship forms. We recommend you enter into an agreement that explains the services you will provide and describes obligations of confidentiality. For a sample form, click here.
If you are not available when a case is assigned, or if you identify a conflict of interest, the case will be reassigned to another volunteer. Please be sure to reject the assignment on the IAP case screen as shown here.
When you log in, you will see all your assigned cases. Select the case you want to reject, click on "Confirm assignment" and then on "Reject".
For all other potential collaborations, please write to us at via email iap@wipo.int.
Patent specialists (patent attorneys and agents) can volunteer whether they are part of a law firm or self-employed.
Volunteers provide their services directly to the IAP beneficiary, as part of a professional relationship. The relationship should operate the same way as if the beneficiary was a paying client. Neither WIPO nor the National Patent Office has access to the advice provided by the volunteer to the IAP beneficiary. We recommend you enter into a written agreement with the IAP beneficiary to avoid any confusion. You can use the template available here, or your own agreement.
Yes. You’ll receive a notification asking to accept or reject when a case is assigned. In the IAP Online Platform, you can review details on the IAP beneficiary and invention to perform a conflict check and confirm your availability before accepting the case. Once you confirm, the beneficiary will be notified and requested to contact you to schedule an initial meeting.
To learn how to accept the case, go to the question "How should I confirm my availability and accept the case?"
To learn how to reject the case, go to the question "What if Im not available or have a conflict for an assigned case?"
The IAP does not require its volunteers to accept a certain number of cases annually. We take care not to overload volunteers by ensuring that a reasonable number of cases are assigned to a volunteer. Generally, an IAP volunteer may be assigned up to three cases per year. The number of assigned cases depends on the nature of services and the availability of other volunteers who can provide services in certain technical fields.
We ask that you provide services to support beneficiaries for the local patent application and PCT application.
The IAP also provides services to support the national/regional phase of the PCT application in certain jurisdictions. If your beneficiary wants to file abroad, we ask that you serve facilitate the process by working with our volunteers in other countries.
Local volunteers support the IAP beneficiaries who are local residents. The Program has recently experienced a demand for filing between IAP participating countries. This is being tested on an ad-hoc basis, and a local volunteer might be asked to help a beneficiary from another IAP participating country, who wishes to protect their invention in the volunteer’s country, e.g. to support the national phase of a PCT application.
Your volunteer application asks you to describe the services you offer to the Program. The Program never requests you to provide or to pay for other services you do not provide to the Program. For example, if you do not have the ability to conduct a prior art search, you will not be asked to provide that service. If it’s needed, you can be paired with a drafter or a mentor who will help to close a service gap.
Currently, the IAP includes volunteers in each of its participating countries as well as in Europe and the United States. Volunteers connect in the context of supporting their beneficiaries. For example, if a local applicant would like to file in another country, the local volunteer manages this relationship. We continue to explore new ways to connect our volunteers, including our IAP webpage for volunteers.