Complete the online application form on the IAP Online Platform. You will need to create a WIPO Account if you do not already have one.

The application form will automatically show your contact details from your WIPO Account. If these have changed, you can update your account using the pencil icon. Make sure to describe your invention well, including how it provides an improvement over other similar solutions.

You will also be asked to confirm your financial eligibility for the Program.

When finished, press the "Submit application" button at the bottom of the screen.

If the process is finished successfully, you will receive an electronic notification with your IAP Case ID. You can use this number to follow up with your application.

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:

• "Applied" means that your IAP application is successfully submitted with the requested eligibility details. Please note that your application cannot be considered for support until all required details are provided. Your local IAP focal point may ask you to provide additional information regarding your invention or eligibility. Please send pending information at your earliest convenience. Your IAP case will be inactivated if the requested details are not provided within two months from the date when you submitted your IAP application.
• "Eligible" means that you have provided your eligibility details, which are confirmed by your local focal point. Your IAP application is now waiting for decision to be made by the National Screening Board. No action is needed from your side.
• "Selected" means that your IAP case has been selected by the National Screening Board. The IAP is working on matching you with a volunteer to help with your patent application. No action is needed from your side. If the Board does not select your case, the status will be "Rejected". When this happens, you will receive a notification with additional details.
• "Matched" means that a volunteer has confirmed their availability to assist you within the framework of the IAP. You will need to contact the volunteer to schedule an initial meeting with them. We ask that you confirm when the initial meeting has taken place.
• "Pending" means you have confirmed the initial meeting with your volunteer, and you have agreed on further steps regarding your patent application. During the process, the volunteer should provide details on relevant milestones related to your patent application. No action is needed from your side.
• "Final" means that either your patent has been granted, or your patent application rejected or withdrawn. Your IAP case has been finalized. No action is needed from your side.

Once we identify a volunteer, you will receive a notification. It will provide contact details for your volunteer and ask you to schedule an initial meeting. We ask that you confirm when the initial meeting has taken place in the IAP Online Platform.

When you log in, click your case ID. On the IAP case screen click either "Click here to confirm" in the upper part of the screen, or "Confirm contact" in the Filing section (you can select "Filings" from the top on the IAP case screen or scroll down to find the Filings section).

Then press the button "Confirm".

If you cannot reach the volunteer within two weeks, let us know. You can contact us at iap@wipo.int, or send a message through the IAP Online Platform using the button "Send message" in the upper right of your case screen.

You will need to choose "Focal Point" or "WIPO User" in the drop-down list of recipients, type your message, and press the button "Send".

Strong authentication is required to access your case containing confidential data. You need to set up strong authentication in your WIPO Account.

Click on your username at the top right of the screen and select "My WIPO Account" from the dropdown menu. Scroll down to the "Authentication methods" section and click "here". Read the informational box and click "Set up authentication methods".

After reading and accepting the terms of using WIPO's secure eServices, select an authentication method you want to use, such as an authenticator application (like Google Authenticator) installed on your mobile device or PC to generate one-time passwords.

Complete the online application form on the IAP Online Platform. You will need to create a WIPO Account if you do not already have one.

The application form will automatically show your contact details from your WIPO Account. If these have changed, you can update your account using the pencil icon.

Make sure you have provided all required details/data, including details about your qualifications, technical skills, level of experience, services you are able to provide, and jurisdictions where you will offer your services.

Upon reviewing your application, we will get back to you about your acceptance into the Program.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, you will see all your assigned cases. Select the case you want to accept, click on "Confirm assignment" and then on "Accept".

Once you accept the case, the inventor will receive a notification with your contact details, asking them to reach out to you to arrange an initial meeting.

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".

Indicate the reason for rejecting and press the "Reject" button.

Once you reject the case, we will receive a notification and reassign the case to another volunteer.

You are asked to update the case status on the IAP Online Platform.

When you log in, you will see a dashboard with all your assigned cases. Open the case by clicking the case ID, and on the IAP case screen select “Filings” from the top or scroll down to find the Filing section. Then hover your mouse over the filing you want to update and click “Add milestone”.

Select an appropriate milestone from the drop-down list and date (that should be the date of relevant milestone, and not the date of adding the millstone). If the patent application number is available and not yet included in the record, please update the field as well. You may also provide any relevant comments.

Kindly note, that the box “Milestone not supported by IAP” should be checked, if the relevant action was not supported in the framework of the IAP (for example, the patent application was filed by the beneficiary before matching them with the volunteer).

Finally, press the button “Add milestone”.

Please update us regularly regarding major milestones, such as drafting and filing of a patent application, office actions, and granting of a patent. The IAP Online Platform is not meant to be a docketing system.

If you have any issues updating the case, please reach out to us at iap@wipo.int.

You have the access to the IAP dashboard for your country on the IAP Online Platform where you can see all application and the case status, including all pending actions, for your country. You can view this screen when you log in.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform and open an IAP case, on the status bar you can see the current case status with the dates of relevant decisions or actions:

• "Applied" means that the IAP application is successfully submitted with the requested eligibility details. However, if the provided details are incomplete, or if you need additional information regarding the invention or eligibility, you may wish to reach out to the applicant.


• "Eligible" means that the applicant has provided requested eligibility details, and the IAP application is waiting for decision to be made by the National Screening Board of your country. Upon the decision of the Screening Board, you should accept or reject the case in the in the IAP Online Platform, and the applicant will receive an automatic notification.
  
  To learn how to accept or reject the case, go to the question "How do I accept or reject a case?"


• "Selected" means that the IAP case has been accepted by the National Screening Board, and it’s waiting for the matchmaking with a volunteer. If the Board decides not to accept the case, the status will be “Rejected”. The applicant will receive an automatic notification confirming the acceptance/rejection of the case. Upon selection of the case, you should assign a volunteer.
  
  To learn how to assign a volunteer, go to the question "How do I assign a volunteer to the case?"
  
  Once the case is assigned, the volunteer will receive a notification asking to accept or reject the case in the IAP Online Platform. The volunteer will have an opportunity to review some details on the IAP beneficiary and invention to perform a conflict check and confirm their availability before accepting the case. The system automatically sends reminders to the volunteer every seven days, asking to confirm availability. However, you may wish to reach out to the volunteer directly. If the volunteer does not accept or reject the case within two weeks after the assignment, you should reassign the case.
  
  To learn how to reach out to the volunteer, go to the question "How can I reach out to a volunteer or remind the volunteer to accept the assigned case?"
  
  To learn how to reassign the case, go to the question "How do I reassign the case?"
  
  If the volunteer has a technical issue with accessing the IAP Online Platform, upon receiving the volunteer’s confirmation via email, you can update the case in the IAP Online Platform accordingly.
  
  To learn how to do it, go to the question "How can I confirm that the volunteer accepted the assigned case?"


• "Matched" means that a volunteer has been assigned to the IAP case, and the volunteer confirmed their availability to assist the beneficiary within the framework of the IAP. The beneficiary has to contact the volunteer to schedule an initial meeting with them, and then confirm when the initial meeting has taken place. The system automatically sends reminders to the beneficiary every two weeks, asking to confirm the meeting. However, if the meeting is not confirmed within a reasonable amount of time, you may wish to reach out to the beneficiary.
  
  To learn how to reach out to the beneficiary, go to the question "How can I remind the beneficiary to provide requested details or to confirm the meeting with the volunteer?"
  
  If you know that the initial meeting has taken place, you can update the case in the IAP Online Platform accordingly.
  
  To learn how to do it, go to the question "How can I confirm that the initial meeting between the beneficiary and the volunteer took place?"


• "Pending" means that the beneficiary has confirmed the initial meeting with the volunteer, and they have agreed on further steps regarding the patent application.
  
  The volunteer is requested to keep the records and update information for the assigned case on the IAP Online Platform by adding major milestones, such as drafting and filing of a patent application, office actions, and granting of a patent. Milestones should be added as soon as possible upon relevant actions to keep the status of the case up to date. To facilitate this process, you should also take care of updating information on your country’s cases.
  
  To learn how to add a milestone, go to the question "How do I add a milestone to the case?"


• "Final" means that either a patent has been granted, or the patent application has been rejected or withdrawn. The case should be updated accordingly.
  
  To learn how to finalize the case, go to the question "How do I finalize the case?"

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, on the dashboard for your country you can see the list of IAP applications awaiting decision from the National Screening Board.

Open the case by clicking the case ID, and on the IAP case screen select “Decision” from the top or scroll down to find the section “Eligibility, Decision and Comments”.

To accept the case, hover your mouse over the section and click “Accept”. Then indicate the date when the decision was made by the Screening Board, add “Filing office” and press the button “Ok”.

To reject the case, hover your mouse over the section and click “Reject”. Then select a reason for rejection from the drop-down list, or select “Other” and provide your own reason, indicate the date when the decision was made by the Screening Board and press the button “Ok”.

You can send an email from your mailbox.

The IAP Online Platform also allows you to send an ad-hoc message. Open the case you need and click “Send message” in the upper right corner of the screen.

Then choose “Inventor” in the drop-down list of recipients, type your message, and press the button “Send”.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, on the dashboard for your country you can see the list of IAP applications requiring more details.

Open the case you need to update by clicking the case ID. On the IAP case screen select “Decision” from the top or scroll down to find the section “Eligibility, Decision and Comments”, hover your mouse over the section and click “Details received”.

Then indicate the date when the details were received, and press the button “Ok”.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, on the dashboard for your country you can see the list of patent specialist applications that need to be reviewed.

Open the application you want to review by clicking the applicant’s name. You will see relevant details, including qualifications, technical skills and experience.

To accept the volunteer, on the application screen click “Click here” from the top of the screen and then press the button “Accept”, or scroll down and press the button “Accept”.

To reject the volunteer, press the button “Reject”, then select a reason for rejecting from the drop-down list, or select “Other” and provide your own reason in “Comments”, and press the button “Relect”.

When it’s done, the applicant will receive an automatic notification confirming acceptance to the program or informing on the reason for rejecting.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, on the dashboard for your country you can see the list of IAP applications ready for matchmaking.

Open the case you want to assign by clicking the case ID. On the IAP case screen select “Filings” from the top or scroll down to find the Filings section, hover your mouse over the section and click “Assign”.

Search for a volunteer using the search filter, or scroll down to see the full list of volunteers, available by default. Then choose a qualifying volunteer taking into account technical field, earlier assignments, and when possible, physical location, and click “Assign”.

The volunteer will receive an automatic notification asking to accept or reject the assigned case in the IAP Online Platform.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, search for a case you want to reassign. If the volunteer has not accepted the case yet, on the dashboard for your country you can see the list of IAP applications awaiting acceptance by patent specialists.

Open the case you want to reassign by clicking the case ID. On the IAP case screen select “Filings” from the top or scroll down to find the Filings section, hover your mouse over the section and click “Reassign”.

Search for a volunteer using the search filter, or scroll down to see the full list of volunteers, available by default. Choose a qualifying volunteer taking into account technical field, earlier assignments, and when possible, physical location, and click “Assign”.

Then indicate the reason for reassigning the case and click “Assign” to finish the process.

The volunteer will receive an automatic notification asking to accept or reject the assigned case in the IAP Online Platform.

You can send an email to the volunteer from your mailbox, or use the ad-hoc message option available in the IAP Online Platform.

To send an ad-hoc message, log in to the IAP Online Platform, and search for a case you need or find the case in the list of pending cases available on the dashboard for your country.

Open the case you need by clicking the case ID. On the IAP case screen click “Send message” in the upper right corner of the screen.

Then choose the volunteer in the drop-down list of recipients, type your message, and click “Send”.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, search for a case you want to update.

Open the case by clicking the case ID, and on the IAP case screen select “Filings” from the top or scroll down to find the Filing section. Then hover your mouse over the filing you want to update and click “Add milestone”.

Select an appropriate milestone from the drop-down list and date (that should be the date of relevant milestone, and not the date of adding the millstone). If the patent application number is available and not yet included in the record, please update the field as well. You may also provide any relevant comments.

Kindly note, that the box “Milestone not supported by IAP” should be checked, if the relevant action was not supported in the framework of the IAP (for example, the patent application was filed by the beneficiary before matching them with the volunteer).

Finally, press the button “Add milestone”.

There is no separate procedure for finalizing cases in the IAP Online Platform. When the milestone “Patent granted”, “Patent rejected” or “Withdrawal/Abandonment of the patent application” is added, the case will be finalized, and its status on the case status bar will change to “Final”. Status of the case does not change to “Final”, if there is another pending filing in a multi-filing case, and a filing along will be finalized.

To learn how to add a milestone, go to the question "How do I add a milestone to the case?"

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, search for a case you want to update and open the case by clicking on the case ID.

To inactivate the case, on the IAP case screen select “Decision” from the top or scroll down to find the section “Eligibility, Decision and Comments”, hover your mouse over the section and click “Inactivate”.

Then indicate the reason for inactivation (e.g., “The requested details were not submitted”) and press the button “Ok”.

In a similar way, you can inactivate a filing within the multi-filing case – on the IAP case screen select “Filings” from the top or scroll down to find the Filing section, hover your mouse over the filing you want to inactivate and click “Inactivate”.

Then indicate the reason for inactivation and press the button “Ok”.

It is the volunteer’s responsibility to accept or reject the case in the IAP Online Platform. However, when the volunteer has a technical issue with accessing the IAP Online Platform, and upon receiving the volunteer’s confirmation via email, you can update the case in the IAP Online Platform accordingly.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, on the dashboard for your country you can see the list of IAP applications awaiting acceptance by patent specialists.

Open the case you want to update by clicking the case ID. On the IAP case screen select “Filings” from the top or scroll down to find the Filings section. Hover your mouse over the section and click the pencil icon.

Then choose an appropriate date and press the button “Update”.

When it’s done, the beneficiary will receive an automatic notification requesting to contact the volunteer and schedule an initial meeting with them.

It is the beneficiary’s responsibility to confirm when the initial meeting with the volunteer has taken place. However, if you know that the initial meeting has taken place, you can update the case in the IAP Online Platform accordingly.

When you log in to the IAP Online Platform, on the dashboard for your country you can see the list of IAP applications waiting for the initial meeting between the inventor and patent specialist.

Open the case you want to update by clicking the case ID. Then on the IAP case screen click either “Click here to confirm” in the upper part of the screen, or scroll down to find the Filings section, hover your mouse over the section and click “Confirm contact”.

Then press the button “Confirm”.

Strong authentication is required to access the IAP cases containing confidential data. You need to set up strong authentication in your WIPO Account.

Click on your username at the top right of the screen and select “My WIPO Account” from the dropdown menu. Scroll down to the “Authentication methods” section and click “here”. Read the informational box and click “Set up authentication methods”.

After reading and accepting the terms of using WIPO’s secure eServices, select an authentication method you want to use, such as an authenticator application (like Google Authenticator) installed on your mobile device or PC to generate one-time passwords.