Patent family

A patent family is a set of patents or patent applications in various countries in relation to a single invention, for example when a first application in a country – the priority application – is extended to other countries.^[1] In other words, a patent family is "the same invention disclosed by a common inventor(s) and patented in more than one country."^[2] Patent families can be regarded as a "fortuitous by-product of the concept of priorities for patent applications".^[3]

^ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Economic Analysis and Statistics Division, OECD science, technology and industry scoreboard: towards a knowledge-based economy, OECD Publishing, 2001, ISBN 92-64-18648-4, ISBN 978-92-64-18648-4, page 60.
^ United States Patent and Trademark Office web site, Glossary Archived 2009-04-30 at the Wayback Machine. Consulted on April 27, 2009.
^ "Beyond patent families – an updated perspective" (PDF). Patent Information News (1). European Patent Office: 4–5. March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.

[1] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Economic Analysis and Statistics Division, OECD science, technology and industry scoreboard: towards a knowledge-based economy, OECD Publishing, 2001, ISBN 92-64-18648-4, ISBN 978-92-64-18648-4, page 60.

[2] United States Patent and Trademark Office web site, Glossary Archived 2009-04-30 at the Wayback Machine. Consulted on April 27, 2009.

[pin2014-March-3] "Beyond patent families – an updated perspective" (PDF). Patent Information News (1). European Patent Office: 4–5. March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.

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