Where Should You Be Filing Foreign Patent Applications?

Since applying for foreign patents can be very expensive, you should carefully select the countries in which you want to file. The first consideration should be to protect your important markets.

If you do not have the capability to really penetrate a market, but you believe that a certain part of the world would be a good market for your invention, you may want to consider getting patent protection in that part of the world with the idea of licensing someone located there to exploit the invention.

If Canada and Mexico are becoming important markets to you as a result of NAFTA, you should consider filing patent applications in those countries. Once the U.S. application has been prepared and filed, filing in Canada costs about $2,000. Mexico is more expensive, due to translation requirements.