What international agreements can form the basis for a priority claim?

Several international agreements can form the basis for a priority claim in patent applications. The MPEP mentions:

• The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
• The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs
• The Benelux Designs Convention
• The Convention on the Grant of European Patents (European Patent Office)
• The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
• The International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)

The MPEP states: “Under Article 4A of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, a right of priority may be based on an application for a patent or for the registration of a utility model or an industrial design filed under the national law of a foreign country adhering to the Convention, or on a foreign application filed under a bilateral or multilateral treaty concluded between two or more such countries.”

These agreements facilitate the international protection of intellectual property rights and enable applicants to claim priority based on applications filed in various jurisdictions.