The Written Opinion of International Search Authority (WOSA) is a report that the ISA creates along with the International Search Report. Basically, it is a preliminary opinion on whether the invention adheres to or meets the patentability criteria or not. Also, the applicant receives the Written Opinion of International Search Authority along with the international search report. It helps an applicant understand and interpret as to how the chances of obtaining a patent can be enhanced.
This report will help you decide on 1 one of the following actions:
- Continue with the application without any hesitation. This can happen only if your application is strong, it has no closely linked prior art, and satisfies the 3 patentability criterion. Those are novelty, unobviousness and industrial applicability.
- Make changes to the application to overcome issues. You might come across a situation where your application is overlapping with another patent. But, the overlap is minor and you can change your application to avoid any potential infringements.
- Abandon the application. This is a case where a closely similar invention exists already. You will have no choice but to abandon your application.
Also, make sure that you check out this free e-book: A Quick Guide to Patents.
A Quick Guide to Patents – Written Opinion of International Search Authority
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