INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Patent family with PCT national phases

This patent family tree starts with a US provisional priority application, then shows the PCT filing and its national-phase entries. The US branch continues to a granted patent, while the EP, Japan and China applications remain pending. The hierarchy represents procedural descent, not technical claim scope. It helps an IP team see which jurisdictions derive from the same priority chain and where prosecution has produced a grant. Use a structure like this for a landscape review, a filing-status summary or a handoff to outside counsel. Confirm application numbers, dates and legal status against the relevant official registers before relying on the diagram for a legal decision.

UPDATED 2026-09-24
EXAMPLEPatent family with PCT national phases
Make this diagram your own.

Open it in the AI editor with a prompt pre-filled — keep what works, change what doesn't.

CASE ANALYSIS

Scenario

International patent family review

Key decisions

  • Priority root: Put the earliest filing at the top.
  • PCT branch: Show the international application before national entries.
  • Jurisdiction status: Label each national-phase application clearly.

When to reuse this

Use this to explain how an international application branches into national prosecution files.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is a PCT national phase?01
It is a jurisdictional application entered from an international PCT application.
Does a PCT filing create a global patent?02
No. It provides an international filing route; protection is pursued in selected jurisdictions.
Why show priority at the top?03
It identifies the earliest filing from which the family claims priority.
Open this example in the editor →

Tweak it with chat, export PNG/SVG, or fork it for your own use case.